THE TURF.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume I, Issue 4, 23 August 1890, Page 4

THE TURF.

[BY old turfite.]

IGNORAMUS, Parnell.—We may satisfy your query from classic lore. Orestes was a son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. When his father was murdered by Clytemnestra and JEgisthus, young Orestes was saved from his mother’s, dagger by means of her sister Electra, arid he was privately conveyed to the house of Strophius, who was King of Phocis, who educated him with his son Pyledes. The two young princes soon became acquainted, and from their familiarity arose the most inviolable attachment and friendship. When Orestes arrived at years of manhood he visited Mycenae, and avenged his father’s death by assassinating his mother Clytemnestra arid her adulterer JEgisthus. As the colt in question is out of the mare Clytemnestra it will be seen that he is most appropriately named. It is not often that a sporting writer has to answer questions in heathen mythology, but I see my confrere “Phaeton” has done it in the above case, and if it is not a got up question he must have had his LempriSre at hand. If such is the case, perhaps he will tell me the meaning of ■ “ Anatis,” who won the Liverpool Steeplechase. Though I owned her I could never make out the meaning of the name. She was named so before I bought her.

I rtATTTv.-R. the following from The Melbourne Sportsman.'. D. Boase who went over to England in charge of Kirkham, Narellan and Plutarch, has just returned on board the steamer Damascus and was immediately interviewed by a reporter. Boase made the following remarks. The colts were not admired by the general racing public, who voted them coarse, ugly looking brutes, that would never . be ablbto race. There is no doubt that they ‘are a' trifle different in appearance to the English thoroughbred, being of stronger frame and built as more likely to stay. The Duke of

Portland, however, liked them, and was anxious to secure Kirkham as a sire, but when Boase left England there did not appear much chance of his being sold, as the news of the death of the Hon. James White had not arrived, but he states that he is certain that the Duke would give £3OOO or £4OOO for him. On their arrival in England they were handed over to Matthew Dawson, who instructed Boase to commence their preparation, which he did by giving them long slow work and afterwards a few rough ups, his watch telling him that they were not slow ones Narellan, while in his charge, proved himself a better horse than Kirkham After they began to move along Dawson took them under his own charge, and Boase says that it was an unlucky day when he did so, as Dawson had continually dinned into his ears that the horses required a lot of work, so he sent them along with a vengance. From the long useful work that he had been giving them, they were hurried on to fast six and seven furlong spurts, which in his opinion settled them. The result so pleased Dawson that he. gave them still more fast work, this being very different from the Australian method of training. He further states that if the. Derby had been run in April, Narellan might have had a show, but after that he began to get stale. In fact, in Boase’s opinion, Mat. Dawson, as he is familiarly called, galloped them to death, being told by the amateur Australian contingent that they were not doing enough work. Under this severe work Narellan broke down, and he considered that he was irretrievably ruined. Kirkham, with Rickaby up, made his first appearance in the Hastings Plate, and though he showed a lot of pace could only finish third. In the Newmarket Stakes with Robinson on his back he made a poor display. “ When the Derby day arrived he was completely done up, and I was rather nettled that I did not have the mount, but as things were going I did not envy Webb his ride. He performed no more than I expected as the race was not run to suit him, as he had to make most of the running and at the finish was clean out of it. After the Derby he did such a splendid gallop that the Ascot Gold Cup was considered at his mercy, but unfortunately he sprung his fetlock and could hardly get back to his box. At the time of my leaving England Dawson was going to put him into slings.” Boase further states his opinion on the difference between English and Australian training and says: —“ Mind you, I am not condemning Mr. Dawson. He is a thorough gentleman, and I believe is as good a trainer as any of his English brethren. It is not his usual custom to give horses so much work, but the Australian contingent hammered into his head that Mr. White’s trainer always gave the Chester horses plenty of graft, that against his better judgment he handled the horses severely.” He then went on to say that horses like Carbine and Abercorn trained on Australian principles would sweep the board of all long distance races. Of the second batch, of young ones sent over, Mons Meg, by Martini Henri—Malacca, shapes the best. Nepean and Wentworth have been turned out, but the yearling brother to Cranbrook is being broken in. Boase holds out that Mr. J. Saville is the best trainer to send an Australian horse to, as he understands their constitution. This answer to the following question is, to say the least of it, a curious one:—“Ringmaster was backed for the Ascot Cup ?” “ Yes, by some people. He started at 33 to 1, and as Mr. Saville did not go on the course, but left the horse in 'charge of a boy, I thought it prudent to stand off.” He remarks that Lady Betty will win a good race some day. From the following, his 1 experiences of England were not pleasant: — “You must have made a nice little pile in England?” “On the contrary, I come back poorer than I went. I had not the best of luck, and am exceedingly glad to get back to Melbourne. There is no place like Australia, and I don’t want to leave it again. Among my misfortunes I may mention the loss of the gold pin and locket presented to me by my friends before leaving for England. I got them at Newmarket, in Victoria, and had them stolen from me at Newmarket, in England. They were taken from my room, and although the police had a strong suspicion who took them, the articles, which I valued more than I can tell you, were never recovered. To make up for this loss, Matthew Dawson, who was very

kind to me, presented me with a silver pocketbook, cigar case, and whisky flask. You see inscription on each article, ‘ From Matthew Dawson to D. Boase.’ ” In his opinion the English horses will beat Australains for speed but not for stamina, and he considers Amphion the best horse at the present time, but Sainfoin is also a great horse. Surefoot is a speedy uncertain brute. He was offered some mounts, but as he had made up his mind to leave he could not accept them. He intends remaining in Melbourne until he hears from Mrs. White* Boase, like all Australians, is decidedly prejudiced against English racing and Newmarket trainers. Dawson is without exception one of the best trainers in the old country. He is particularly clever with unsound horses, and anyone who saw the condition in which he brought dicky-legged ones to the post will never forget it, especially Dundee, who ran. home on three legs a good second for the Derby, having cracked a month previously.