TURF GOSSIP

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXXV, Issue 5, 5 August 1905, Page 20

TURF GOSSIP

TURF NOTES.

ANSWERS TO 4'ORRESroNDEN”I'B. fiomniix. Will answer your query in Saturday *h issue. Wag<-r. Ev filing Wonder finished first. Jack second. and Straybird third. The other starters were Voltigeur IL, Rufus, ami rutting Billy. Bomnns. The only horse we can find out likely to carry the colours mentioned is Inniskilleii. and it. is not certain he will do *u». Newtown will carry them in the Hurdle Race. If wo henr anything definite in the meantime, will publish it. Yesterday (Tuesday), the Ist August, Was the equine birthday. The trotting stallion Prince Victor was shipped io .VlellHiiirne by the s.s. MonoW’a' on Friday. The Duke of Portland has nominated two of ('arid lie's sons for the English Derby of 11M7. J B. Williamson's quartette, Lpr*da, Loch Fine, Vexation, and the Sou’wester gilding, wire schooled over the hurdles at Ellerslie on Saturday. The programme for the Waikato Hunt Chib sports to hr held on September 6th has been passed by the Auckland Racing Chib. The Gleiiora Park sire Sol It’s list is full for file forthcoming season, but the services of Swordfish It. will lie available for breeders. The A.R.C. Committee have dechlcd to cal! for public traders for the erection of the new fence around the raiditg tracks at Ellerslie. George Absolum hail the two-year-old. celt by .Menschikoff Marjory brought down from Te Arolia hist week, and he is now In work hl Ellerslie. Manazona was scratched without authority from the owner, so the horse consequently remains in the Grand National Steeplechase. One of the finest-looking two-year-olds in work’at Ellerslie Is the gelding by Seaton Delnval .Margueritta. He has plenty of •ixr and substance, and looks almost certain to turn out a good one. The French colt Vai d’Or, which won the Eclipse Stakew, beating the Derby winner Cicero, started favourite at 7 to 4 aga’uxt for the Grand Prix de Faris, but eudid hot do better than run fourth. Al a commit tee meeting of the Auckland Racing I’luh held on Thursday afternoon trainers’ licenses were granted to S. Fergus, Weal, arid W. Gall, and jockeys’ licenses to F. Howard, L. .1. Morris, S. Fergus, C. Cress, and J. Buchanan. The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Co. sold by auction on Friday (he racehorses Mat aura am! Mangaroa. The former it a Used 2<»|gs. Mr G. Coates being the purvhasrr. and the latter was knocked down at 23|gs to Mr Gall. Private advices from Syd my state that the old steeplechaser Dingo hail a very rough passage across. The old gelding was of!’ liis tucker for a couple of days, but soon picked up his condition again, amt is new striding along in good style. The Gisborne Racing Club, at a meeting last. Friday, decided to purchase the racecourse grounds owned by the Gisborne Park Company for t’tMMto. The Borough Council was seeking to acquire this property for a public park. ■ it is quite on the cards that the Flying Fox colt, .lardy, wiil never again be of much account as a racehouse. The cohl that troubled him when he ran in the English Derby turned to inflammation of the lungs and pneumonia on his return to Frame, and at latest he wax in a very bad way. The two year old filly Colleen Dhas. in J. B. Williamson's stable. got away from the boy n:i the course at Ellerslie one day last week, md getting tangled up in her rug. f**ll down heavily. 'l’he fitly was very sore when she got back to the stable, and has not been on the track since the mishap. A private letter received In Auckland stales that Mahutonga was to be shipped to Sydney <ui Sat unlay, from Wellington. The hm'xe goca over in charge of his old trainer, M Maher, and Is tn be accompanied by the Au«*k ! uml horseman J. Buchanan, who steered him to victory In his most hnimrt- • nt engagements last reason. Luck’s Al! was brought from Gisborne by the steamer Moann Inst Sunday. A B«if sister to Luck’s Ail, belonging to the

siiiiit* owner, also arrived by the Moana. The owner of the pair intends settling in Auckland, but I understand. it is not yet decided which stable the horse will go into.

S|H»rtsmeii throughout the colony will regret to hear oT the great loss sustained by Mr ,1. <>. Evett, the well-known handicapper, in the death of his wife, which occurred last Tuesday, at her late residence, Remuera. at the comparatively early age of 49. Mr Evett lias the sympathy of the whole of the sporting community in his sad bereavement.

Il is not generally known that on his way to the Wellington meeting Nor’-west had rather a bail trip, being four hours off the Taranaki breakwater lief ore he could be landed. This put the old horse off his feed, and Mr Selby, his owner, says that the son of Sou’-west er was not seen at his best at Wellington as a result. He has been advised that Nor-west has been doing letter since Hie Wellington meeting.

At the annual meting of the Manawatu Raring Club, the balance sheet of the past year’s traifeae.t ions disclosed record figures. The net profit for the year was £l7OO, or £250 more than any previous year, notwithstanding the increase of E 1.050 that had b“en made in the stakes and additional interest payment of £482. Tile president’s speech foreshadowed an Increase in stakes for the next year. Mr C. A. Louglinan was re-elected president.

InniskiHen and Haydn were schooled over the steeplechase fences at Ellerslie on last week. Inniskilleii jumped too big at the first fence of the double, and did not give himself room for the second fence, which be struck with both his front ami hind legs, and dislodged his rider, although he did not fall himself. The horse was not knocked about at all, and the following morning was out and did a couple of solid rounds of the sand. Havdn fenced well. The A.R.C. committee have decided to erect a new fence around the race* track at Ellerslie, and the work Is Io h;* proceeded with Immediately the levelling of the course Is completed. The erection of the fence' is not being done before it was wrnited, hut now it is to be undertaken, it is intended to make a good job of it. am,. I understand, a fence similar to that around the Fle mington racecourse is to be put Tip. I he l Avondale Jockey Club are again unfortunate in their selection of elates. Last 2n!! r i i to Av oid clashing with the Shrubb-Duffey athletic gathering, they gave way to the* athletic body and postponed their meeting, by which postponement receipts suffered considerably. This season a big football match* .New South Wales v. Auckland, is to take place* on the day of the opening of she* Avondale* Spring Meeting. It is a great pi tv that those* two fixtures should clash, but the Avondale Club are powerless in the matter, ami there is no possible chance of their altering their elates. I understand that representations are* to be* made* tin* New Zealand Rugby In ion with the idea of getting them to start the* matches of the New South Wales team in Amklami instead of Dunedin. They may possiblv fall in with the suggestion, but I think the chance of their doing se> a very remote one. Betting on the. Grand National double has been fairly brisk during the w<*ek. Klatere ami Romeo is still the favourite combination, and the books are not offering better than 20 to 1 against the pair. The double. Haydn and Romeo, has also met with strong support. In fact, anything with a chance in the S<<*eple-<-hase has been supported with Romeo in Hie Hurdle Race. The following business is reported:— 2oi) to 5 Kiatere and Romeo. ItHMi to 5 Kiatere ami Hydrant. 950 to (» Kiatere and Repulse. 500 to 2j I'haetonitis and Repulse. 750 to 5 Haydn and Tup.ira. 450 to 1i Haydn and Bagpipes. 550 to 11 Havdn and Romeo. loot) to 4 Haydn and Hydrant. 250 to 1 Haydn and Repulse. 900 (m 2 Haydn and Wee Macgregor. 4<x» to 2 Slow Toni and Catherine Gor<k»n. 300 Io 3 Slow Tom and Mohican. 250 to 1 Inniskill<*n and Repulse. 500 to 5 Inniskilleii ami Waiw<*ra. SOO to 8 ('rensot ami Trumpery, loon to 2 Lur<*her ami Bagpijws. 1000 to 3 Lurcher and Trumpery. 3iMi to 2 Comfort ami Bagpipes. 800 to 8 I’omfort and <Tenant. 44)0 to 4 Comfort and Trumpery. Romeo went South last Thursday by the Rotolti. in charge of his trainer, .L .Jones. 'l’he Leolantis gelding wax brought from Paeroa on Wednesday, ami looks In splendid buckle. His connections have supported him for Hie Grand National Hurdle Race coupled with several of the faneh*d candidates in the Steeplechase, and they are quietly confident that he will give a good account of himself. He is to be ridden in the Hurdle Race by 8. Fergus.

From the manager of Cambria I‘ark <Mr A. E. Price) 1 learn that there are 13 yearlings there, all to lie offered at the next annual sal<*s in conjunction with Mr Walters’ lot from Papakura; so that Auckland, as usual, will show an attractive front in the number of yearlings to go into the market at midsummer time, for there are a good man descendants of Sou it in the Glenora Park l<»t. and .‘ill all told in the WelUngtou Park stud.

Says an exchange:—Although there were 25 runners for the Royal Hunt Club at Ascot (England) last month, backers took the short price of 9 to 4 alxuit a three-year-old named Sir Daniel, who was handicapped at <>.B. The favourite sadly disappointed his supporters, the winner turning up in Andover, a 10 to I chance, with Pharisee (!♦» to 1) second, ami Dean Swift (3 to 31) third.

H is probable that in England there will be an alteration with regard to apprentices’ allowances. At a meeting of the Jockey Club, fixed for the 19th of last month. Lord Crewe was to have moved that it was desirable to diminish the amount of weight claimed by apprentices under rule 55. ami to extend the time during which allowance can be claimed by lads when riding horses trained by the person to whom they are apprenticed.

The French Grand National Steeplechase <»f 40sovs each, with 50dOxovs and a trophy valued 400sovs added, weight-for-age, four miles and a-half. was run at Auteil on Sunday. June , and was won by M. Jean Stern’s four-year-old colt Canard (a 4 to 1 chance), ridden by the English jockey. I*. Woodland. The French Grand Annual Hurdle Race, of 24sovs each, with 2000sovs added, weight-for-age. three miles and a furlong, run on the same course on the following Wednesday, went to the Eng-lish-owned Karakoul, by Wolf’s <’raig. Karakoul. who is the projierty of Mr G. A. Prentice, was ridden by Mr J. Ferguson, and started at 2 to 1.

There is a big difference in the enjoyment of racing by a holiday crowd in England and in Germany. The (iermanx are no bettors, but. belonging to that broad, contented, middle class, don’t need any betting in order to get Amusement out of the race. They leave this to the nobility, to the army circles, and to that class of [people who like to imitate the former. Race betting in Germany is very different to what, it is here. There are few Iwokmakers on the German tracks, ami the few who defy tlw* law, visiting the boxes or stands, or mingling with the people on the lawns, and secretly offering odds on this or that horse, have to be very careful, if they don’t want to fall in the hands of the ever-watchful “Sch-utz-niann.” If the people wish to invest on a rave they van do- so on tire totalizator.

A writer in an exchange says he has heard that it has been finally decided by Captain Greer to retire Gallinuie altogether from stud duties after next season. The great sire will be twentytwo ’ years old tn 19(Mi. The wi iter adds that this will probably have the effect of sending the fee of Gallinule’s Irest son. Wildfowler, from fU» guineas up to 11M> guineas, esjiecially as the last-mentioned horses’s progeny are doing so well. Wildfowler is only nine years old, so that he has ample time in which to make a great jraine for himself at the stud. The chances are that if Wildfowler’s brother Condor <*o»ld In* landed in England as well as he looks at present, he would realise a veiy different price to the 35 guineas he was sold for when he was last submitted to auction in that country.

The caretaker of the Ellerslie racecourse (Mr C. Hill) and his staff are making excellent progress with the levelling of the course, and the back of the work is practically broken. In connection with the job now under way it may not. be generally known that the credit for the same l»eing undertaken is entirely due to the action of the stewards of the club. It will be remembered that after the unfortunate accidents last season, when a numlier of two-year-olds were killed, and several horses fell near the home turn, the stewards went exhaustively into the question as to whether the state of the course was resixmzilde for the accidents, and as the result of their inquiries handed in a number of recommendations to the committee, which they are now acting upon. The stewards are deserving of tin* thanks of all horseowners for their efforts in the matter.

Tn dixenssing the advisableuess of increasing the distance for the Alexandra Plate* from two and three-quarter miles to three miles. “Vigilant,” in the London “Sportsman.” urges that three miles is a distance ’‘which carried credit with it to the winner all the world over wherever Hie British thoroughbred is held in honour - and that. I think, is everywhere, except the Hunters’ linproveiuent Society, for whose benefit let me reproduce a question asked the other day by one of lhe best known Yorkshire dealers. Someone broached the subject of using Hie limiters’ Improvement Society’s halfbred sires, and without deigning to discuss that Mr . the dealer in question, replied. ‘Aye. but how are we Io breed the “mugs” to buy the stoik?’ How. Indeed? Will the H l. Society offer a suggestion?” The Auckland Trotting Club officials have at last got to the end of the Miss Wilmington case. It will be remembered that at the last Otahuhu Trotting Club’s Spring Meeting a pro-

test was entered against Miss Wilmlngteß getting a stake won on the ground that she was not what was r<*prrs<*nted «m the entry form. This protest was dismissed for want of vvidince. The mare Hm*h ran at the A.T.C. meeting ami won a race there, and «iDottier protest was entered. This was taken up by the stewards, who dvt4*rmhi(*d to see tin* matter through regardless of cost. After a lot of Him*, trouble, and exjieiise the ease has b<*vn ths hlvd. with the result that four p<*rsous connected with the mare have liven •lisqualifie<! for life. The bulk of the labour in connection with the inquiry has fallen upon the xhoukbTS of the secretary. Mi F. Mark.

From an «*x< hang«* we clip the following: In South Africa the bo«>kmak<*rs haw r«ceived a nasty knock, the Turf Club <*f that <-ountry having decided to conduct racing without them. As bookmakers are also barred from all Ficuch raeeeo arses from the beginning of next month, it would appear that they arc not as indispensable* as some m<*mh<*rs of the fraternity believe. One of the* amusing items i« connection with the* present trouble anrnt licensing fees in Sydney is that somi* of the odds-layers have hce*n querying, iu all seriousness, "Whew will the clubs get bookmakers if w<* refuse to bet?” Well, bookmaking may not he as profitable* nor a.« easy as many think, but, all the same, if the* present lot of bookmakers remain firm in their attitude* towards the proprietary clubs, they will discover that there is no particular difficulty about filling their places.

“Ranger. the English writer, in writing on the subject of betting, says:— With regard to hetHng. a friend of mine tells me ihat he has one invariable rule; if ever he* is what he calls “in front” at a meeting. he* stays there. Having been a-t the game for a long while, he has discovered that his (diancex «»f winning, are* remote. Times out of number he has Avon to begin with, or perhaps has “got home” with a hit to the good. Then, being “in fr«mt” he* plays at what used to he e-allcel “Button Park”—the late Duke of Beaufort t=o called a horse, who won the Great Yorkshire Stakes at Doncaster. It means, of fonrxe, buttoning up your winnings and not straying from the paik into dangerous gmumts outside, where you may meet with disasters. I recognise the wisdom of my friend’s theory without approving of it. partly bee anse* for most men it is an condition of affairs. Either you are wise er foolish when you go racing, that is to say, you do not bet at all er you do; I .have preached against the folly of the practice for many yeais and sedulously disregarded my own excellent precepts.

My friend’s theory is a counsel of perfection. Wlfat man is there who, having won a tenner over Agjgressor in the (’raven Stakes at Epsom last week, would hav« let the Derby and Oaks, and two doscen—exactly two dozen—other races go by and not have had a wager? There are sure to b«* two or three, or half a dozen, things that a hacker fancies, and <aw he have resolution to play at “Button Park,” and decline even to give his tenner a ebam*e? It is - not . within Jinman nature. .The way to win is to bet withi the ring’s money—when you « i an get hold of any of it to be with; and. as a general rule, bad days are due to the temptation of having betted to “get home.'* the most fatal of mistakes, for the man who bets small and with care on the first race or two will back anything for no good reason, and for large sums at the cud of a had day. As « rule—there may. of course, be exceptions—a man who is losing ought not to bet on the last two ra<*es, or if he does, never beyond his usual stake, not. I mean, to “get home,” which may probably necessitate a dash: and hr ought t » make an absolutely inflexible rule never to back more than one hoi sc in these last two races.

Horse-owners are often extraordinarily unobservant. They have the utmost confidence in their <«ombmen. faithful old thoughtless blunderers and pay no attention to things themselves. One afternoon not long since the subject of bearing-r«‘hw was discussed, and one of the ladies present was specially emphatic in her denunciation of the IniqurHrs of the practice. Hhe was anxious to subscribe to the funds of the society that Is rrsponsihle for (he pictures we sec on hoardings of a pair of horses properly bitted, standing comfortaldy. and of the pair that are barbarouxly borne up and are sufferingly accordingly. I took her to the < arriagr when she left, and was surprised to see her horses tossing their heads, with foam-fieck<*d lips, strained up lust about ns tightly as the malefactor on the bnx could screw them. “Aren’t v«mr bearing-reins rather severe?” I mildlv~ inquired. “Oh, now. I don’t think.she replied. “1 rather Ihomdtl they were the other dav. and spoke to Jones about if. but lie says it is necessary with this pair. They have rather peculiar months.” T should dearly have liked io keep him for a couple of hours with his head fastened at a similar angle; but his kindly mistress, full of sympatliv for hoifsex. wax p<rsHa<bd that h* could not do wrong. Tn my thinkbig there will he a great contest for the Emrlixli St. L<*g«-r. The colts will imed to be at their very best to brat the Oaks winner. Cherry Lass, who pppears to have w.ri hey ia< e without being <’ailed upon for any great effort. “Augur.” in the “S|x»rHng Life.” xays: - “She wax t v o Queen of the I’addo’k a real beauty to look at. with xplemlhl qpar-

ter* 1n which there Is enormous power Irak.tig. *W»p is a very excitable mare, <mi n;if e-ere than once disposed t<» du 4aa«age with her heels. She ran in a iio'.al. ’ird when it was put ou she was <<(*>drdlj testiv? for aw bile. After she bad been unFred she was allowed »o have a drill!-, of water out of a pail—a p’oceedAug s’ilit’ently unusual to be worthy of note. i notice that Cherry Lass is cnjjnged hi the St. Loper, and it is <<» •’<* p«*l><d nothing will happen to prevent her competing in that great Dom.a st< r rar<. whn It promise:’ -to tie quite r sensatioiia: affair. Among the prospective candidates km* Cicero, .lardy, \al d Or, Idangibb.v. and. as I have said. Cherry Laos. If these alone were to go to the post tlir contest would !e worth < loosing a continent to witness.” The fact That alir reduced the time -record for <he race to •2min Msec, winch was faster than vHceyo s Derby, tells that she must be a clinking filly.'

Th** Chantilly Derby. valued at 7555 sura, and I lie t train! Prix. of HH34 sovs., have gone to M. Michel Ephrnssi. and in lieu of I lie £17,48t> which looked like being placed to the credit of M. -ttdinond Blanc h«» has had to be content with the ’•small nierrh's” represented by the breeders pretulums. amoutiliug to £ItKK) (says a Willet in an English exchange). The owner of Firing Fox has been conservative, so far as' French owners are concerned, with the art vires «»f Flying Fox. but hi* has soul Winkfield’s Pride, notwithstanding the fart that the son of Winkfield gave him Quo Vadis. who might hi turn have won the double-crown had he nut been sacrificed lo his stable companion, Vincius. in the (’hantill y Herby. Quo Vadis was followed by Profane, the winner of Hie Oaks. "Looking ai matters from al! sides. Finasscur has been an exception, for it is the first time that the stable has had a precursor for a run of luck by weeding out the winner of the clasir events of the home tuif. Flying Foxes are to be offered ui the weeding-out sale of the youngsters from .lardy tliis year, and no doubt recent rvrttts will pul a keen eilgc on the appetites of tin* bidders, who will fancy that lurk will enable them in turn to find a big winner among the well bred yearlings adjudged not class enough to carry the col ours uf M. Edward Blanc.

Says “Rapier” In the “Sporting and Dramatic News”:—Nobody connected with racing is listened to with more respect than Mr George Lambtun. He was, as a ride: 1 , unite in the first class, with such wonderful hands that no horse ever pulled with him, and when hi- took ttp training as a serious business, he speedily showed himself a master of the business. His letter to the "Engiisli Sportsman” on the subject of the two steeplechase jockeys who were fined for cruelty to animals came, therefore, with peculiar authority, and it is well that it should have been written, for enumms of the Turf would be likely to -quote the affair as an exfeurpb.- of the perverted instincts of the racing man, find Mr George Lambton’s severe comlemnaih»a will put a different aspect on the affair. As "brutal. cowardly, and senseless.” in* most properly describes the conduct of the two jockeys who struck their horses with their whips when their races were ever (lite of them frankly admitted that he had lost his temper, and did not attempt to defend his action. As Mr Lambtou remarks, if these two had been up before the stewards instead of before a bench of magistrates the penalty exacted would have been considerably stiffer. it was desirable to show that no one defends cruelty in connection with racing, and this Mr Lambton did. A.jockey must often “finish,” and there are times when a horse needs a sharp reminder; but to strike an animal after a race is an offence which tihonld be visited on t hr culprit, m »<■* harshly than by the tine of a few shillings.

To the man who is unfamiliar with tlir ways of tin* turf, here is something startling, a writer in the "Grund Magazine” gays, in the largeness of the sums staked on the speed of horses. Hud Gaper won the Derby of 1843 Lord George Bentiuek would have* been £ISo.(MM» the richer; but though Gaper was not even among the first three the race put £30,000 into Bentinck’s pocket. In a single 12 months, two years later. Lord Georges net winnings by betting reached the enormous sum of £100,(>00. John Gully, in partnership with Robert Ridsdale, brought off many big coups, including £(50.000 on St. Giles for the Derby, and £45.000 won for them by Margrave in the St. I.eger. Mr Mi fry added £70.000 to his bank balance by Thormanby’s Derby win; Sir Joseph Hawley netted £BO,OOO on Beadsman; Mr Chaplin. £lOO,OOO on Hermit: ami Mr Naylor an equal amount on Macaroni. Lord Glasgow hail fe#, if any. rivals in his time as a sensational bettor. On one occasion. it is said, he even took laird George Bentinck’s breath away by offering to lay him £llO,OOO to £30,00b against his horse Gaper: and Sir Joseph Hawley once took £40,000 to £OOO apiece about each of his five fillies in the Derby. Probably the heaviest betting Derby on record was that of 1851, when Teddington was the winner. Davis, the “Leviathan” bookmaker, received a staggering blow; but lu* paid his losses of £lOO,OOO as indifferently as if they were bo many pence. That enormous sums, however. could be won on the turf without betting was proved in the case of Lord Glasgow, who during his career as an owner astually received over £300,000 in stakes.

The periodical protest against bcaringrrins has broken out again in England—-it Is due at this season of the year, and is doubtless amply justified. Ajvay with them us an abomination. Is the usual cry, and It Is equally exasperating to the humane man and lUv man of ordinary common notice t<» Bee horses’ heads borne up to a painful ami unnatural angle, with a thick-headed brute of a coachman sitting stolidly bchhid them. Some sensible remarks on the subject appear in the Inst book iiiat has been published’ in "Riding and Driving” — "Riding’’ by Mr M. L, Anderson, who at one time Contributed frequently to thri»e columns, •‘Driving” by Mr Price Collier, who says.

“The question of bcariug-rvins is not a question of bearing-reins or no bearingreins, but a question of the use ami misuse of bearing-reins. No horse or pony of spirit .should be driven by a woman or a child without a bearing-rein. It prevents flu* animal from rubbing his head against shaft or pole, and catching ami perhaps pulling his bridle off; it prevents him from getting his head down between his legs and becoming unholdable; ami it makes kicking more difficult. . . On the other hand, the bearing-rein may be used for purposes of fashionable distortion.” The writer describes and condemns this -atrocity in befitting terms. “The sides of the horse's mouth are drawn up, ami with a tight crupper to hoot. the horse looks as if he wen* tied together at the teeth and the tail. One sees little of this nowadays.” (lie is speaking of America.l “Only the very newest dollars, daubed with unusual ignorance, permit this tnrkey-coek style of harnessing.”

The English correspondent of Hu* "Australasian,” in commenting on the time test, pens the following:—! could not help thinking when at a leading turf resort on the ♦•veiling of Pretty Folly’s extraordinary tune in the Coronation Cup. what a difference had come over the opinions of English racegoers on the value of the time test. A quarter of a century ago. when in the very same club, I was in the habit of pointing out its merits, and of how important II was judged to lie and relied on in Australia, ami yet ou all sides I met with what was practically ridicule. And even so lately as ten years ago but little was thought of it. nor was Hie time even taken or troubled about, except perhaps fur the classic ami very high-class races. Now even the most conservative of writers admits there may be something in it. I am free to admit that this change of face has been, in a great measure, brought about by the advent of tile American jockeys, with their riding their races from end to.end. Instead of. as in the oM days, doddling along for a mile and a quarter, and only racing the last four furlongs (often less than that) in a mile and a-half race. Under such conditions one must admit the time test could be of little value. Now trials umbr the watch arc of everyday occurrence, and the candidate so tried fancied or not for the fortljcoming event by his performance thereby. The advent of Australian trainers. too. has no doubt tended lo convince onr 4dd-faShioned trainers —many of their fathers and grandfathers have been trainers before them—that there Is “something in it.” Whatever the reason, there is no ridicule now in England when one speaks of time. Says an English writer:—With regard to the story of the loc-.H sportsman who has seen seve’ity-nine races for 1 lu* Deroy without a nilas —he is still as keen as ever, and it is delightful to hear his reminiscences—one might dlscoui’se to the point of exhaustion without doing justice lo that theme. He has certainly established a record. What a number of gioat horses he has seen in uis long time, and what a ’ot he might write about them if tin* game were. 1h his estimation, worth I lie raiid'e. as to what lie 1 believe, an expert’s knowledge. His reticence is. Ihrt”fore. easily explained. Another ancient resident informed me that lie lias srrn so many contests for the Oaks that In* has become almost a misogynist, and enjoys his impressions about ladies most ihuronghly when the ladies are absent. ”Fillies.” lie added, with a chuckle, “are often hussies. and when one puts money on them, perhaps each way. they often stiip us. as in human life, for our absurd confidence.” Yet. seriously. I pointed out to him that Cherry Lass is not a hussy, but a heroine, when lie conceded that she is an exception. or odds on her would not have ie-cn laid till many inetallicians were debilitated. "All the same,” he said, "she ran in blinkers. thus showing that her trainer knew that if she saw too much she might do too Hl He—a common weakness of her si x.” It is not pleasant to converse with those acerbitists on the great twin subjects of sport and love. Views are expressed wh’u h are not illuminating; they may suggest that it is just as difficult to back a winner as to marry money. Each coup Is somewhat similar, and. so far as cash receipts are concerned (the crucial test), results are extremely satisfactory. But, in a sporting sense, we like to enjoy a sei les of more romantic thrills which coin cannot buy. If only they and we lasted a little longer! The acceptances received for the three principal events at the C.J.(’. National Meeting are very satisfactory. None of the fancied candidates in either of the big jumping events have dropped out. With Klatere. Haydn, Nor’-west and Inniskillen engaged, Auckland should hold a strong hand in the settlement of the Steeplechase. Haydn and Inniskillen were shipped South ♦>n Thursday, and Imtli were looking as well as tlieir best .admirers could wish. Klatere and Nor’-west are already at Ricrarton, and the former is stated to lie striding along in great style. Nor’-west js reported to have lightened up a lot, but there is still over a fortnight to go. so there is a chain e for him to regain his condition. Notwilh standing rumours of unsoundness. Slow Tom lias been paid up for. and is evidently satisfying his party. Udmfoi’t i< Mr l/owry’s representative, and not a few good judges favour his chance. I’haetonh is has met wit 11 a lot of support, and is expected to lie fully a stone better horse than when he meed at Wellington, ami if this estimate is anything near correct lie should nearly win. Al present the race aeems decidedly open. In the Hurdle Race Auckland has three representatives—Romeo. Newtown and Inniskillen — the latter two being stableniates. Romeo is util! a warm favourite, and although lie fins not yet performed lu public over the small fences, Ills essays In private sc.liooling work have been such as to inspire his connections with every eonttdeiK P. A line about ills ii bilit tea wtii probably lie got during the next fortnight, ns in* is almost sure to lie treated to some sclioollng work at Ricearton. Newtown has done a solid preparation, and if he stands the final windlug-up will stand In need of a lot of beating. 'Hie Moldean. Cfeusot®

and Trumpery, all fancied candidates, are paid up fur, and are almost certain starters. A good word ♦•♦ Hues from New Plymouth way about Durable, ami his owner, J. George, makes no secret of ihe fart that he experts the little horse to run well. 'l'll para. Iltiku, Rnngarawa and Hydrant are a quartette amongst the light-tvrights that may prove troublesome, and another in Repulse is whispered about as likely lo provide, the winner Tin* next fortnight, may throw some further light on the sub-