The Turf.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume II, Issue 70, 26 November 1891, Page 6

The Turf.

[by

OLD TURFITE.]

Takapuna Spring Meeting.

The acceptances for the Takapuna Jockey Club Spring meeting, which takes place next Saturday, were declared last Friday. They are not very complementary to the handicapper, as more than a third have dropped out, while in more than one race the same owner has accepted with two or three horses. There are eleven left in the Maiden Hurdle Race, Lonely 11st 41b, being at the head, the next one being Barshot gst i2lb —a difference of 2olb; the remainder being all in a heap. As many of them are unknown to me I should think either Lonely or the Stepper should be returned the winner. There are only four in the Devonport Handicap, furlongs. The race looks like a match between His Worship, Bst ioib, and Adelaide, Bst rolb. I will go straight fon His Worship. Three out of the eleven that are left in the Maiden Plate are in the nomination of “ Mr. B. Thompson.” His representatives Octopus, Bst rolb, and Warrior, Bst, are at the head of the list, while further down comes Resentment, 7St 41b. This is a favourite kind of race with him. Octopus never seems to get past the Maiden Plate stage. Resentment is a nice colt, but has other engagements during the day. Brian Boru, yst i2lb, is not badly in, but I think he will find the distance too far. Bulrush, yst, has been entered for the Dunedin Cup and the other principal races down there. If he has any pretensions to any of them he ought simply to walk in in this company. However, I don’t think his owner used much judgment when nominating him for such classic events. I think they will finish in this order: —Mr. B. Thompson’s selected, Brigade, and First Love. Nine out of the original fourteen entries have declared content for the Handicap Hurdles, which must be considered good, as it was a very bad handicap. Orakei, list 21b, ran in a very suspicious manner on the first day of the late A.R.C. meeting. On the second day he fairly smothered his field in the Hurdle Race, if miles — the same distance as this. He should have had another lolb on his back. Good Day, lost, is not to be overlooked. Try Fluke, gst 121 b, ran well at Ellerslie, but I think when he fell he was a tired horse, as he had been racing at Fishmonger, who had brought them along ata great pace. This race will be run differently/* and he has a great turn of speed. Bit o’ Blue, gst 81b, and Tawhana, 9St 51b, are, I think, too slow for the small sticks. The latter certainly ran into a place on the first day at Ellerslie, but there was so much curious running that one can hardly form a line. The others I do not fancy, but if all is straight, I pick Try Fluke, Good Day or Orakei to furnish the winner. . Nine out of fifteen hcive declared content for the St. Andrew’s Handicap, miles. “Mr. 1 Thompson” appears with' two —Warrior 6st I2lb, and Resentment 6st 71b; neither of them are crushed with weight. Leorina, gst Gib, heads the list, and is asked to give Ingorina 181 b, which is rather tod much at this time of year. Glaucus, 7st 41b, won the Maiden Plate at Ellerslie by a head from Never Miss, who was giving him lolb. Warrior, who was third, is meeting him on 21b, and Resentment oh 61b better terms. Try Fluke, yst 21b, will have had enough if he goes for the Hurdle Race. Bulrush is also in this with the light impost of 6st 71b. Still, with even that, I prefer the chances of Ingorina, Glaucus, and Mr. B. Thompson’s

one, but Leorina may be the best to back after the numbers go up. The Hack Race had better be left alone until the numbers go up, but I hear good accounts of Heiress. The handicap for the Steeplechase was one of the worst that was ever framed, so it is not surprising that only twelve of the twenty-three remain in. These may be called the refuse, so the question comes —Which is the most likely to get over the course ?—as it is a peculiar one, half requiring a lot of jumping, the rest ail galloping. Yardman, lost 51b, is the highest weight accepting, but I hardly think this will be his journey. Bit o’ Blue with Ilb less has been over the country before, but he is an unlucky horse. Relation, gst lolb, ought to get the . course so should Neck or Nothing, gst 81b, but he is as slow as a man. Scaltheen, gst 71b, is not a bad cut of a horse, and from the way he got over the Waikato Hunt Club country.he should this. Taking all things into consideration, I prefer the chances of Scaltheen, Bit o’ Blue, or Relation. The Spring Handicap, 6 furlongs, has sixteen acceptors out of twenty-two entries. This is a sprint race, in which getting the best of the start is the main thing, and will greatly depend on previous running, therefore the reason of so many being left in. “ Mr. Thompson ” has again three —Octopus 7st 21b, Warrior 7st, and Resentment 6st lolb. Leorina, gst 21b, is not fit for sprinting. Lady Belle, Bst 41b, won her two races pretty cleverly at Ellerslie, and should beat Capella at even weights. Master Pat, 7 st lolb, is a fairly smart one over this distance when in the humour. Scot Free, 7St 81b, is not. badly treated. Kupe, 6st lolb, when wanted is a smart one ; he was not fit at Ellerslie. Bulrush, 6st 71b, again crops up, and if worth his entrance fees he should have a show, but I am inclined to think that this race will fall to one of the Devonport stables by the aid of Mr; Thompson’s selected (Resentment for choice) or Lady Belle but Kupe may upset the combination.

The Canterbury Jockey Club held a meeting* on the 6th inst., and passed a resolution that as the programmes for the present season had* been framed on the basis that only ten per cent, had to be deducted, the i£ per cent* required by Government must be added to it,: but that next season it would revert to the oldsystem of charging the public ten per cent.,: making up the deficiency by causing the nominations to go to the funds instead of to the stakes as has usually been the case. This ft will be seen has been done by the conditions for the following races which have just closed : The Welcome Stakes 1892, The C.J.C. Derby 1893, The Oaks 1893, and The Champagne Stakes ißg3. This shows a spirit of meanness of the Club that to be the leading one in the colony, as they could well afford the extra tax themselves. If they follow this system they will make far more money by it, as the nomination fees for all the races will far exceed the Government tax. The Auckland Racing Club, much to its 5 credit, have acted exactly the reverse, charging only the ten per cent., at the same time adding two days’ more racing. As the nomination fees now go to the funds, there will be no way for them to recoup themselves. The country and suburban clubs will, it is supposed, follow the example of the Metropolitan Club. It is rather suspicious that the Hawke’s Bay Jockey Club were the first tej introduce the per cent, commission, as it must be remembered, that the Hon. J. D. Ormond and Captain Russell, both large horse owners and members of the House, are the leading men there. The C.J.C. follow suit in a still more oppressive manner. Does not this mean the first blow at the totalisator, ;to eventually do away with it altogether, as it is well known that horse owners* particularly those that own 1 good horses, are adverse to it. Then there is another party that is against the plethora of racing and the number of races that have sprung up through the. machine. Again there is a third who are against the use of the machine and racing altogether—all are in the House of Representatives. If theses three combine, the fate of the totalisator will soon be known. There is no doubt that if the machine was done away with, that a lot of these little meetings would have to be given up, and that the true lover of racing would see a better

class of horse running at the different meetings, even though the stakes were smaller.

Taking a retrospect of the hdrses and their running at the late A.R.C. Meeting at Ellerslie, I must say that I never remember, or did any one else see, such an inferior lot of horses, nor iStfiere likely to be any good ones in the background, as owners here do not generally let their, horses stand idle. Hilda I have always looked upon as a good mare, especially over the Ellerslie course, though her running at times has been of a very in and out character on several occasions when away from home. All this spring her form has been very bad, giving one the idea that she had lost all pace. Her running in the Prince of Wales’ Handicap, one and a-half miles, was; on a par, with her other races ; but on the second day, with 41bs fess, she made a. great exampfe of her field in the Spring Handicap,- seven furlongs, and later on jri ihe day,, with . 9st 81bs, she cleverly beat her field for'the City Handicap, one arid a quarter miles. If her running is going to continue so erratic, as I tan see no cause for it, the . sooner she is relegated to the stud the better. The Baron is a fine looking horse, yjith a great turn of speed. He looked well, but certainly did not run up to his form. Reprisal, under a light weight, can race a little, but his form in the City Handicap was “ curious,” as with only gibs more on his back than he had in the Prince of Wales’ Handicap, which he ought to have won, was out of it before he had gone half a mile. Leorina is an honest old mare, Lockness who was not fit, Patchwork a rogue, Dolosa a jade, and Lady Belle who can race under light weights, are the only ones of the older division that are likely to win a good handicap ; the others would not ife worth keeping if it was not for the country and totalisator meetings. The three-year-olds are a very poor lot. The Workman has not grown or improved since last year, besides being an infirm horse. Brigand is a nice little horse, but far from first-class, though he will pay his way at small meetings. Morion will improve, and may turn out a good one. The others are only fit for plating. The two-year-olds were not a taking lot.. Brown Alice is, as I suspepted, not as good as people thought she was. £uwerewere is a fine filly, but so backward it is hard to tell what she may be later on. First Nelson is an upstanding colt with a good turn of speedy but his forelegs will, never stand a severe preparation. His Worship is another nice colt that will improve with time, as will Glenlora; but take them all through I do not think, with the exception of Puwerewere, there i? likely to.be a first-class one amongst them. There are, I hear, one or two good two-year-olds in the background. The jumpers for the most part are well known, but some of them were evidently waiting with the hopes of being thrown in for some big event. The new hands are not of much account. It will be seen by this that the Hawke’s Bay and Christchurch horses will carry off the bulk of the money at the Summer Meeting. The question naturally arises : How is it that the Auckland horses have so greatly deteriorated ? In reality they have not. ‘ The totalisator is the cause of them not being here. There are only two or three owners in Auckland that can afford to take their horsey .to Australia. Therefore, those who are lucky enough to get hold of a good one sell it, as owing to the indiscriminate use of the you cannot make them pay. You can win more over a fifty pound race in Australia than you can over any race in New Zealand. I for one hope to live to see the day when the totalisator is done away with and racing restored to its former glory, when such horses as Manuka, Peeress, Templeton, and others carried colours on the Auckland racecourse.

The racing at Christchurch, though of an interesting character, did not bring out any regular flier.. _ The New. Zealand Cup dwindled down to’ eight runners. The race from the commencement was a bad one for backers, as favourite after favourite was scratched, the last being Freedom, who, according to his running in the Canterbury Cup, would have won, as there was not a regular stayer in the field. Flinders, on whom Dan O’Brien relied, started an even money chance, cutting up very badly, Only once flattering his backers, and finished last but one. It seems incredible that his owner could make such a mistake, and I

think from his running in the Derby and Canterbury Cup that he will be seen to more advantage later on. British Lion just got home, but would not have liked to have gone much further. It proves that a light weight on a moderate old horse will sometimes bring them to the end of a long race, but the performance was a very poor one as he was in receipt of 21b — besides sexual allowances — from Rosefeldt, and was only giving gib to Thane. The former is a nice filly, and is evidently a fair stayer. She has done a great amount of work this season, and must be getting stale. The latter will be worth watching for all her engagements, as she was running on at the finish. Crackshot is not the horse he was last year, and it is questionable if he will ever regain his form. Cutts brought Cruchfield to the post in perfect condition, but his day is past. There is a difference of opinion as regards Cynisca, who had been a favourite during the winter. Whether she is a jade or not, she certainly cannot stay. The two year-olds were above the average, especially Stepniak (who as a yearling had none the best of hocks), Wakawatea, Vogangang, Saracen, and Lauceston, but it is rather early in the season to say what they will be. Clanranald, by the way he won his races, proves that he has a great turn of speed. In the Juvenile Stakes he was absolutely last away; making up his ground in a wonderful way he beat Saracen by half a length, Wakawatea, who had two lengths the best of the start, finishing nowhere. Florrie proved herself a real good filly in the Derby, as Derritt brought her with one run, after Lebel had beaten her stable companion Flinders, and won comfortably by two lengths. Not being in the Auckland Derby she will not frighten any away, so the field ought to be a pretty good one as Lebel, Rosefeldt, Hinders and Fraternite are pretty near together Dan O’Brien will, one would think, bring up Flinders and Freedom, as the Cup field will be weak in stayers, and Freedom, who is by Captivator—a much neglected sire, who could stay for a month--and a little weight will not stop him.

Fourteen have accepted for the Otago Cup run for to-day. Crackshot, gst 61b, heads the list. He is, from what I can learn, daily improving, but he is a great big colt and a hard puller, so that the turns in the Forbury Course will hardly suit him. Cynisca, Bst nib, and Whisper, Bst 71b, are not leniently treated, but the latter should prove the best of the pair. British Lion. Bst sib, is by the last report going well, and is none the worse for his previous running, should run into a place. Cruchfield, yst 121 b, as I mentioned before, has, I think, seen his best day, but the mile and a half will suit him better than the two miles. Occident, yst 121 b, is decidedly well in, as is Florrie at the same weight. She ran very well in the C.J.C. Derby and Oaks, but in the latter race it is said that she seemed inclined to show some of the pecularities of her dam Rubina, and that she is not always to be trusted, as she had only one opponent in the race too much attention must not be paid to it. Cajolery, 7st jolb, is reported to have recovered from his accident, and is going very well, but he is of uncertain temper and may play up at the post, so is not one to be trusted. For the others I have no fancy, the places, from what I can learn, should be filled by Florrie, Occident, and British Lion.

The last Melbourne Cup will be remembered by backers, bookmakers, and lovers of racing for a long time. The former will have cause to remember on account of the number of favourites that were scratched or went down, the bookmakers for the good betting race, arid the latter for things connected with the race from the commencement. In the first place it will be remembered how the public madly rushed Carbine with the crusher of lost izlb, then, he gave way and was scratched, then followed Vengeance and Melos. At the last moment, Pigeontoe, a turned loose old horse that had never been heard of until a few weeks before the race, started a hot favourite. Paris was another for whom the race was considered , a certainty, who after the first mile never showed prominently in the race. The winner Malvolio, though not a public fancy, was heavily backed. Then came a thing I never

heard of before during my racing career, an objection to the winner as not being the property of his nominator on peculiar grounds. The trustees of Mr. De Mestre’s estate claimed that the dam of Malvolio (Madcap) was only lent to Mr. Redfern for her racing career, and that she and her progeny were the property of the estate. Whether Mr. De Mestre was a party to the objection does not appear very clear. If he was it shows bad taste, as only a short time ago he had a complimentary race meeting, and a subscription list was got up for. his benefit. Then again, why was no claim made for Madcap and her youngsters until Malvolio had won the Melbourne Cup.? The whole thing looks suspicious. The V.R.C. stewards thoroughly investigated the case, and dismissed the objection on the grounds that Mr. De Mestre had failed to establish any ownership in the dam. It was really a case for the law courts. From what can be gathered, no further proceedings will be taken, so it may be put down as a try on. Froni conversation I had with an old trainer who saw the race, he is of the opinion that the result might have been different if the accident had not occurred.' Megaphone and G’Naroo were both going well and in good places. Strathmore was seriously interfered with two or three times, when he did get clear he came very fast and . strong at the finish. Sir William had evidently been kept for this event, but the good thing did not come off, and he appears to have lost heart from continual pulling ; subsequent running will prove if this is the case or not.