Cap and Jacket

Observer, Volume XXVI, Issue 44, 21 July 1906, Page 15

Cap and Jacket

By Boz,

August 14, 1G and 18-C.J.C. Grand National Meeting;. September 5 and 6 — Marton J.C. Mack McetLnß. September 19 and 20— Rangitikei R.C. Spring Meeting.

Thames Jockey Club made a profit <if £(538 13s for the season. Up-to-Date has been allotted 12st. 1211) in V.A.T.C. G.N. Steeplechase. Mr R. Wynyard has been reappointed handicapper to the Thames Jockey Club. Chivalry started at Moorefield (Sydney) on Saturday, 7th inst., but was unsuccessful. J. Thorpe is preparing for a flit with his two-year-olds to Sydney at the oncl of the month. Ct. Price had his first winning mount in Sydney on Cairngorm at Moorefield Park on Saturday, 7th inst. The New Zealand mare. Windy was successful in the Dingley Handicap at Melbourne Hunt Club Meeting. She started at 2C to 1. Mr Georire Watson, for many years starter to the Victorian Racing Club, died recently at Melbourne. ITe was upwards of ?0 years of age. Mcl od eon has been backed in Melbourne for Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup to win £15,000 each event. The prices ranged from 100 to 2 to 100 to 3. The Aurkland Racing Club delegates to the Racing Conference were successful with their anti-bookma-ker motion to the extent of making it optional with Metropolitan committees to refuse programmes of clubs at whose meetings bookmakers are allowed to ply the hencil.

Lady Wallace scratched for Caul field Cup. Rurus, at Riccarton, is improving; dail" Wellington Steeplechase a " boil over." Bulawayo is coining on wHI at Riccarton. None of the jumps at Trentham exceed 4ft. in height. G.N. candidate Welbeck is putting in strong work at Ashburton. Wellington Steeplechase field (five) was the smallest on record. Both Slow Tom and Irish fell in the Wellington Steeplechase. Mahutonga is b6oked to leave Gishorne for Sydney this week. The Balbona Stud Farm, Hungary extends over ten thousand acres. Poverty Fay Turf Club intend spending £3000 on improvements. Poverty Bay Turf Club made a profit of £1198 for the racing year. £400 has been offered for the hurdler Hydrant, but the owner required another £100. Up-to-Date finished eighth in the V.R.C. Grand National Steeplechase on Saturday last. The yearlinc brother of Wairiki, owned in Melbourne, is to bear the name of Seddon. Both Cuiratrno and Irish had winning turns at Wellington on the second dav of the meeting. The Flomington correspondent of the Sydney Referee says that Up-to-Date makes a decided "noise." Starshoot's connections are said to have dropped a lot of money over a race at Warwick Farm recently. In America. Tom Thumb, a pony Pacer, is credited with showing 1.7-?, for half-miles, and 2.20 for miles. Liberator, by Freedom, having been purchased by a Wellington sportsman, has gone into F. Higgott's hands. At Napier £105 12s was collected by Mr T. Quinlivan jun. in aid of the. widow and family of the late S. Fergus. Mr C. R. Guinness has been elected President of the South Canterbury Jockey Club for the eleventh year in succession. Acceptances for the N.Z. Grand National Steeplechase, Grand National Hurdles, and Winter Cup close on Friday, 27th inst. Loch Fyne, says an exchange, is said to have jumped in better form than any other of the Steeplechase candidates at Gisborne. Bxmoor was made a strong favourite for the Final Hurdles, won by Cuiragno on Saturday at Trentham, but fell away, beaten, early in" the last stage. Cuiragno had a fairly easy win from Pushful, and Magnifi. cent finished third some lengths away. An Australian who saw Noctuiform at Kempton Park expresses the opinion that the ex-New Zealander is the best-looking horse by far that he has as vet seen in England, though on the big side, and manifestly re--•uiring some considerable time to get into racing condition. There was a good field for the Wellington Winter Hjurdle Race, but Pushful, Bounce and Magnificent had their chances settled for thorn by buimping at the start. The race was practically confined to the three placed horses, Shrapnel, Exmoor and Monarque, who finished in that order, Shrapnel winning by a length from Exmoor. Irish had only one horse to beat in the run up the straight for the finish of the "July Steeplechase at Wellington Meeting. Rongoa and Lissa had fallen and Kruger refused. Then Irish appears to have simply run away from Playfair, who had battled vigorously for the bulk of the distance. The victory was a very hollow one. Icelanders have a strange but effective plan for preventing horses from straying away. They tie the head of one horse to the tail of another, and the head of this to the tail of the former. In this state it is impossible for the horses to. move on, either backward or forward. If disposed to move at all, it will he only in a circle, and even then there must be mutual agreement to turn their heads the same way .^-Exchange.

Now . Zealand Grand National weights out. Kiatere is top weight in the G.N. Steeplechase with 12st. Irish has a handy weight in G.N. Steeplechase with lOst. 611). There was an increase of £5000 in the total isator turnover at Wellington Meeting. Solution was shipped to Sydney by the Talune which left Wellington last Saturday. Slow Tom was going strongly in the Wellington Steeplechase when he came down. Kinc Pin dropped dead after winning the Steeplechase- at Boulder (W.A.I Meeting. Renair has been retired from the race track and takes up stud duties on his owner's station. Rono;oa, winner of the Wellington Steeplechase, was bred by the Auckland sportsman Mr Dona.d McKinnon. The Roneoa-Narcotic winning combination on the opening day of Wellington Winter Meeting paid £249 IBs. Cuiragno. Irish, Cavalry and Swimmer are expected to go oft to Christchurch from Wellington. Decoration's time in the V.R.C. Grand National Steeplechase, 6min. 31 sec, is a record for the race. Roncoa, the winner of the Wellington Steeplechase, was the only horse in the field that started in last year's race. J. Stewart, rider of Slow Tom in Wellington Steeplechase, sustained a fracture of the collar-bone as a result of his mishap in that race. The New Zealand Metropolitan Club is in a splendid position financially. The assets of the Club figure at £9084, and the liabilities are nil. The following New Zealand Cup lines are reported from Christchurch : SCO to 12. Ghoorka ; 700 to 25, Notus ; 500 to 15, Flamen ; and 1000 to 45, Uenuku. Last the, Lochiel horse Bellis won the V.R.C. Grand National Steeplechase with lOst. 12ft. On Saturday he finished third to Decoration carrvin- 12st. 13ft. Backers had a fairly good time over the second day's racing of the Wellington Winter Meeting. The favourites were either first or second in nearly every instance. The comparatively small dividend of £7 7s went with the winning double on the second day of the Wellington Winter Meetine— lrish and Maui. Maui is by the Gisborne horse Mahaki. Narcotic gave backers a surprise in the Parliamentary Handicap at Trentham. There was no fluke about his win. The 5(5 investors on his chafnce received a dividend of £19 10s. The present vocation of Tod Sloan is the subject of two conflicting reports. The first states that he is billiard-marking, the second, that h« is the sportinc editor of a New York paper. i Irish does not appear to have been favoured by Rongoa's fall in the July Steenlechase at Wellington Meeting, as the Eton celding had the Wellington Steeplechase winner beaten before he fell. Decoration, by Coronet-Lady Peri, a G to 1 chance, won the "V.R.C. Grand National Steeplechase by fifteen leno-tbs from Syringa Bellis, who started favourite at 5 to 1, finished third. Pipi's owner decided not to send his horse to Wellington. Evidently he has an eye to the bigger event at Christchurch, as Pipi is to be sent to Riccarton at once, to be schooled over the Riccarton jumps. Irish evidently suffered no ill effects from his fall on the first day of the Wellington Meeting, as he easily captured the July Steeplechase on the second day. He did not jump too well, however, in the first round. Of the five starters in Wellington Steeplechase, only the winner and run-ner-up>—Rongoa and Moccasin respectively— succeeded in getting over the course without mistakes. Slow Tom and Irish fell, and Playfair ran off. At Wellington, Kiatere, Phaetonitis, and Euros were early seized on as pick- of the handicap for Wellington Steeplechase, and their withdrawal from that event was not looked for by a number of early brokers thert.