THE MOST BRACING OF BATHS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8841, 30 January 1907, Page 1

THE MOST BRACING OF BATHS.

A delicious sensation of Coolness and purity instantly follows a bath containing a little Condy's Fluid, which invigorates the body and braces the nerves in a manner that is unattainable by any other means. The Cooling and Bracing effects are Simply Magical — They last for several hours. Condy's Fluid is sold by all Chemists. All substitutes are greatly inferior. Insist «n having "Condy's Fluid."

to hare quite lost form at present. There is a disposition to descredit him now, but I am not' prepared to pass mm out yet. If he had only beaten horses of his own age there might have been room for doubt about him, but his defeat of Munjeet and Achilles at Feilding marked him as a colt of considerable, merit. I am inclined to think that his loss of form is only temporary, -andvthat he will yet demonstrate that he is €he best of his age in the colony. •When he won the Wellington Cup last week, Achilles broke a spell of bad luck which has followed him in handicap events since his two-year-old career. The Medallion horse made his firet public appearance at Eiccarton, when, under disadvantages, he was beaten_ by Helen Faueit in the Pioneer Handicap, but he won his other three races that season. In the following season he won all his eight engagements, but there were no handicaps among them. At four years he finished third in Canteen's memorable New Zealand Cup, a race which I have always thought he might have won- with a little luck. As a five-year-old he was unplaced in Nightfall's Wellington Cup, and also in the Racing Club Handicap on the second day. Lastseason, at the Wellington Spring Meeting, he was out of ia place in the Wellington Handicap, and on the following day he. ran second to Veneer i ll the Pearce Handicap. Coming on to Riccarton, he failed to gain a place in Noctuiform's New Zealand Cup or Signalman's Jockey Club Handicap, and at the Wellington Summer Meeting, after finishing second to Ropa in the Wellington Cup, he finished out of a place m. the Racing Club Handicap, won by Le•.nerin, closing the season's work by running second to Lyrist in the Autumn Handicap at Wellington. With such a list of failures against his' name, it began, to look as if Achilles was fated never to again succeed in a handicap, and his two wins at Trentham last week were therefore welcome, more particularly as we will probably not see much of the Porirua^ champion after this season. That he is a great horse noike can question, his claim, to the highest honours being firmly established by his defeat of tiie best that could be brought against him at all distances. The four-year-old Apa has fairly earned the. unwelcome title of being the unlucky performer of the present season . by reason of the number of times he has filled second place during the last few weeks. He commenced by running second to. Bourraeque in the Manawatu Cup, after whicii he iust succumbed to Riflemaid in' the Ashhurst i Cup and to Marguerite in the Rangitikei Cup. Then, at Wellington last week, he was runner-up to. Achilles in the Wellington Cup and also in the Racing Club Handicap. Under all the circumstances, it was rather hard lines for Apa'e owner that Achilles should have been on the scene last week to register his only two successes in handicap races since he was a two-year-old. Though the summer meeting "of the Canterbury Jockey Club will be on in little more than a week, the fixture is not causing much excitement ; in fact, it is hard to believe that a race meeting is near at hand at all. This, however, is due to the fact that the meeting is one that rarely attracts many horses save those from the local stables. The weights for the two leading handicaps on the first day made their appearance on Monday. In the Midsummer Handicap Signalman heads the list, and while he has, no doubt, earned his place, I have no fancy for him, as a mile and a half will probably be found too far for him. Submarine is more to my liking, and I expect to find him very handy at the finish. Stepdancer is nicely treated, and she would be dangerous if she was ready, but we may have to wait till a 'title later before we see her at her best. Eden's Wellington form cannot be ignored, and, taking a line that way she should be very hard to beat, as there will be no Achilles and Apa to bar the way to success next week. Clanchattan appears to have lost form just now, and I have no great fancy for Blythemaid in a race like this. Of those lower down Idasa is most to my liking, but to pick out two I would name Eden and Submarine. In the Filly Stakes Lady Landon leads the way, but I prefer Aimee Soult, who has shown some smart form lately over short courses. Ilarito can also gallop faat, and she may have ,to be reckoned with. Of the two-year-olds Guidwife, as was to be expetced, is reckoned the best after her success at Trentham on Saturday, and despite her weight she may run well. • Cockleshell and Ambroise have moderate winning form to recommend them. It- she were well Cockleshell might run a decent race, but she is suffering from a cold; as also is her stable mate, Sister Anne, a promising filly that has still to make her first public appearance. If I had to select one to win now I would take Aimee Soult. Acceptances for these two races and nominations for theminor events on the programme close to-night. At the same time forfeits are due for the Middle Park Plate. Though twenty-one horses still claim engagements, the field is likely to be very much reduced before the pest is reached, and it will surprise me if we see more than three or four starters. Mr Stead has a trio in yet, but it has been stated that he is not likely to b* represented. Elevation is a colt that might run well, but his owner may not care to make the journey with one horse for this race alone. Gold Crest

is another North Islander still in, but he also may be absent. All Guns has whining form to recommend him, hut I do not look. on, liim as a good one, in the meantime, at any rate. Ivanoff should have a big chance, ami I expect to see the real contest lie between him and one of Sir Georgo Clifford's lot. which includes Glenculloch and Guidwife. The position of jockeys in the present day is an anachronism. - How they have toeen allowed in recent yearn to risa to power is one of the singular features of turf history and' social decadence. Two-thirtls oi : a oentury ago they held, very properly, a very subordinate position, namely, that of smart and presumably trustworthy grooms, whose society leading patrons of the sport sought or permitted only for business purposes. These of them who made from £300 to £500 <a year were 'in the forefront of the profession Their masters never dreamt of smothering them in wealthier of placing themselves under the jockey's personal guidance in turf and financial matters. But, says a writer in an exchange, when the era of tlie late Marquis of Hastings and other thoughtless plungers was inaugurated there ensued a wild competition amongst reckless and unstable gamblers for the services of men and boys in the profession, and as «. result of extravagant payment,, and still more extravagant presents, the position of today has been reached, when, as we are told, jockeys "can dictate to owners and trainers." The scarcity of good jockeys is doubtless also * factor in the case. If there were more equally competent men there would be a greater chance of selecting. " I cannot get a jockey," we have heard many an owner exclaim, and everyone knows that he is prepared to pay extra in some form for the accommodation. Lord Durham has pointed out that there are many owners who will not run a horse if one of the principal jockeys cannot ride, and we have known trainers say it was no use putting up a boj r , because the boy would never be able to get off. The boy could not get off because he had not learnt from experience to understand the art of starting and the many tricks of older hands before th.c gate. Despite the extraordinary attractions of this profession at the present day, when £10,000 or £15,000 a year may be made ■by a first-class rider, there are very few coming to the front. There are few schools in which apprentices *re properly trained. There are not, for instance, half a dozen men who really know how to educate a jockey, the majority of ourtrainers having had but a scanty experience themselves as riders. Had it not been for Keystone 11. (says the "Field") there would not have been a single sire of Blacklock descent in the first ten stallions of the year, and this to some extent suggests that the line of St Simon is not quite maintaining the great superiority which ii showed a few years ago. For a tithe St Simon and his sons seemed to dominate the turf as sires of winning horses, and in modern times no line of blood has played a greater part. Indeed, so strong lias been the line on both sides of the house, or in other words, through females as ■well as males, that it has .altogether altered the pages of the Stud Book, and if, for a moment, there seems to be a- lull in the successes in tail male, the females are asserting themselves more strongly than ever. Indeed, St Simon himself has been far the most successful, eire of the dams, of winners in the past season, his grandsoiifi and daughters" xfh. the" female side" of the house having won nearly twice as much, as the grandsons and daughters of any other sire in the "female line. This shows the extraordinary vitality of the Blacklock blood through either channel, and it also strengthens the idea that the line may in the near future play even a bolder part than it has don© in the season which has just concluded. "Apart from' the many influences that have led to the deterioration of stud hor6es, I desire to draw attention to the pernicious habit of many breeders in castrating their colts too early," says a New South Wales writer. " Operating oh colts when young facilitates their management, but, unfortunately^ does so at the expense of the development. Castration is practised to render the male horse more serviceable for certain purposes, by doing away with the undesirable habits and vices of the stallion, while the good character of the entire, animal is retained. The best time, therefore, to caetrate horses is between one and two years of age, when the structural characteristics of the sex *re evident. Horses castrated under one year old are unsexed before their character has developed, and grow into loosely-made animals, with flat sides, parrow chests, and long, effeminatelooking heads. They often- lack stoutness, courage, and endurance, because these qualities liave hot had time to become properly developed. Several breeders who used to castrate their horses under twelve months old, acting on my advice, now allow their colts to run entire until they are between fifteen and eighteen months old, and report that there is a decided improvement in the young stock. "With improved castrating instruments, the risk of operating on the older animals is no greater than in castrating nine-month-old colts by means of the obsolete smearing iron, while the operation is more quickly performed, with less pain to the subject." An interesting article by " Vigilant " in the London "Sportsman" on that successful racehorse and sire, Hermit, concludes as follows: — " In these days of inflated fees for sires it eeems strange indeed that Hermit should have begun stud life at Blankney in 1870 at a fee .of 20gs, though, of course, the consistent defeats he had sustained as a four and five-year-old had seriously depreciated his value. From the very outset,

however, hie success was never in doubt, as in 1874 his brilliant son, Holy Friar, won. six of the seven races in which he took part.' The death of his owner, ' Parson Launde,' disqualified this «olt for the Derby, though in any circumstances he might not have been able to run at Epsom, as he never appeared in public after his two-yeaixld days. After 1875 Hermit's fee was most justifiably raised to lOOgs, and five years later it was further increased to 150gs. Then came the triumph of Thebais nn the One Thousand Guineas and Oaks of 1881. The following season Shotover landed the Two Thousand Guineas and Derby, St Marguerite won tke One Thousand . Guineas, whilst about tha same period Trappist, Peter, and Out of Bounds were winning numerous important races. These triumphs were succeeded by the Derby victory of St Blaise in 1883, whilst Lonely credited the Blankney sire with another Oaks in 1885, and Nellie Marden, Queen Adelaide, St Helena, Philosophy, and Tristan all helped to increase his fame. -Thus it was that in 1886 his subscription was further raised to the then unprecedented figure of 250gis, whilst two years later lie was restricted to five public mares. Timothy, Friar's Balsam. Heaume, and Alicante were about the best of his latest produce, and the old horse died in April, 1890., A full liab of the amount won by his stock .seems worthy of reproduction: — Year. . £ Year. £ s. . 1873 . , 100 1836 . . 22,758 1874 . . 4,690 1887 . . 25.536 1875 . . 3,748 1888 . . 13,269 1876 . . 9 423 18S9 . . 12 208 1577 . . 9,060 IBfO . . 6 229 1878 . . 14 535 1691 . . 18.183 12 1879 . . 7.577 1892,. . 8.201 16 *1880 . . 29.622 1893 . . 2.807 •1881 . . 27,222 3894 . . 1,622 *1832 . . 44,603 1835 . . 4,540 *1883 . . 30.801 1696 . . .100 *1884 . . 29,236 1897 . . 100 *1880 . . 30,121 > *First in list of winning sires. Altogether Hermit's stock won £351,121 8s in stakes in England, a wonderful amount "when it is remembered that when* he was in the zenith of his success ' ten thousand pounders ' were altogether unknown. In. addition to this Tristan, Gamin, Bavarde, Alicante, etc., did him excellent service in France, where they landed upwards of £30,000 in stakes. Thns.it is strange indeed that not one of his eods, should have made-«_*eal-«u.ccess at the stttd, - though Ac-cetic and others of them have given us some grand steeplechasers."