Turf Topics.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume V, Issue 236, 31 January 1895, Page 7

Turf Topics.

[By

REVIEWER.]

I hear 350 guineas was paid by the Indian buyer who secured Fortunatus. Tuesday’s Steeplechase was Ballyhooley’s last race. At least so says J. B. Williamson. The riding of J. Laing at North Shore showed him to be a very clever horseman over jumps. At the sale of the late Alex. Taylor’s horses poor prices ruled, the best figure being 360 guineas.

During last year £478,900 was won in stakes on the English turf. That reads £lB,OOO better than last year. The cable brings news of the death of Fred Barrett, the well-known English jockey, who died suddenly on the 24th inst. Mr Muir, owner of Folly, thinks his mare should have won the Takapuna double. I don’t think he was satisfied with Taylor’s riding. Villiers has been proved a dangerous failure, and will be thrown out of work. His owner is afraid the horse will kill some one when he falls.

•Au Indian buyer has bought Fortunatus, but the horse will not be shipped to his new home until the Newarket Handicap has been decided next month.

According to “ Cas’or,” Bluefire -will probably not start in the Middle Park Plate. The daughter of Sapphire is supposed to be in reserve for the Third Challenge Stakes.

The Takapuna Meeting should result in a good profit to the club, and I hope some move will now be made in the direction of supplying better grandstand accommodation.

Dan O’Brien wishes it known that he is in no way connected with “D. O’Brien, jockey and owner,” who advertises on the Australian side as a professional tipster. Mr Jack Thompson, son of Joe Thompson, the Leviathan of Melbourne, has become a fashionable English vocalist. Joe had a good voice—for yelling “ 2 to 1 the fee-ild.” The starting machine agent has found his way to the land of the Rajahs, but in India the rules make it imperative that horses shall be started from a walk ; consequently the rules will have to be altered before the machine can come into use.

With a generosity that does them infinite credit, the committee of the Takapuna Jockey Club decided not to charge J. B. Williamson nomination or acceptance fees for any horses he did not start at the meeting. Abel, Tngorina, and Eve are all well engaged at forthcoming coastal meetings, and the clubs interes el might well follow the example of the T.J.C.

The Otahuhu Trotting Club are out with their autumn programme, which will be discussed at Potter’s Paddock on February 23rd. The bill is as follows : —Maiden Trot of 30 sovs, mile ; Maiden Pony Handicap of 30 sovs, 5£ furlongs ; Otahuhu Trotting Cup of 50 sovs, miles; Flying Stakes of 25 sovs, 7 furlongs; Harness Trot of 25 sovs, 2| miles ; Handicap Hurdles of 25 sovs, miles; ,and Selling Trot of 25 sovs, 1J miles. Nominations are due on Febrifihy Bth, handicaps appear on the 12th, and acceptances are due on 15th inst.

The necessity of placing some check on bookmakers “ who flashlike meteors on our Indian racecourses, and disappear as quickly and as surely as those meteoric eccentricities ’-’ is being pointed out by the Indian Planter's G-agette, which advises respectable layers to form a club to which only men of repute shall be admitted, and thus guard against the risk of racing clubs taking the suppression of welshing into their own hands. Unless the public get some better protection against the “meteors” complained of, it is pointed out that those in charge of the courses where bookmaking is permitted may adopt the plan of having all speculation done through the lotteries, and expel bookmakers from their grounds. Mr D. O’Brien has apparently tired of persevering with Loyalty, Launceston, and Philson, writes Sydney Referee, for these three, in company with the two-year-old Globe-Trotter, are advertised for sale at Fei nelly’s Bazaar next •woek. Fortune has not been kind to Mr. O’Brien for a long time past, Philson and Bob Ray being the only two of his string to contribute anything towards the cost of their keep. Response ought, with a little luck, to have placed a win to her credit at Warwick Farm, and perhaps she may do so on Saturday next at Randwicki Launcest >n has been an utter failure since he has been over here, and fine-looking horse though Loyalty is, there is little probability of .his realising the big price said to be obtainable a few months back.

Although pony racing is not quite as moral as church raffles, writes the Australasian, you can win more money at it if you know how. At a meeting lately, one jockey came to an amateur punter and said. “ The pony I’m on will open at even money, but they won’t back him, -end then he’ll go back ; and when, he gets at 5 to 1 you watch" Jones, and if he backs him put a tenner’ on for yourself and another for me.” The instructions were carried out and the pony won. Afterwards the backer asked the jockey the reason for all the mystery and detail. “ Well,” he said, “you see I was put up by the owner, who didn’t want to win, so instead of trusting me to pull him as a decent cove would they gives ’im two buckets o’ water. I knowed ’e could win even if he had the Yan Yean inside uv ’im, so I just goes a flutter on me own. It’ll learn ’em to act honest with a cove next time.”

The celebrated mare Marie Stuart, writes the Australasian, was not included in the Duchess of Montrose’s mares sold in December, she having been shot a few days before the race. Although she came in the same year as Doncaster, Boiard, Flageolet, Kaiser, Gang Forward, &c., Marie Stuart was a brilliant performer, and wound up the season by beating her stable companion, Doncaster, by a head in the St. Leger, Mr James Merry having given orders that the pair should run on.their merits in -this race, and settle the question’of which was the best three-year-old of 1873. The late Mr Stirling Crawfurd gave either three or four thousand guineas for Marie Stuart when she finished racing, but at the stud she was a lamentable failure.. Another, great mare which Mr Crawfurd paid about the same figure for was Fraulein (half-sister to Petrarch), and she also failed to produce anything within stones of her own form.

Referring to the sale of None the Wiser, who brought 7,200 guineas in England last December, the London Sportsman has the following graphic description of the bidding : —There was the usual thronging bustling when anything of exceptional interest is being submitted, and the hush of attention was marked enough when Mr Somerville Tattersall commenced to offer the daughter of Wisdom and Corrie Roy. ‘ Will anyone give 4,000 for her ? ’ said he ; but there w r as no response. Presently, however, 2,000 guineas was bid by Captain Machell, sitting at the far side of the ring. Sir J. Blundell Maple, standing behind Mr Tattersall’s box, advanced 100 guineas. ‘ 3,000,’ said the captain in his best old style. ‘ 100,’ again was Sir Blundell’s response, and to this came the rejoinder ‘ 4,000.’ Naturally everyone now was thoroughly alert. ‘ 100,’ persisted Sir Blnndell. ‘ 5,000,’ said the captain. This was in its way a record performance, and for a brief period it seemed that None the Wiser would be sold at this price, but Sir Blundell went on another 100 guineas, and then Captain Machell for the first time took a pull by offering only another 50 guineas, on which Sir Blundell jumped to 5,500 guineas, thinking, no doubt, to get the mare; but the captain came again with ‘6,000,’ and there was a regular gasp of astonishment round the ring. Sir Blundell, however, still stuck manfully to his work, and again it was a case cf ‘ 100,’ ‘ 200,’ ‘ 500,’ and ‘ 7,000.’ The climax, however, capped all, for there was a further bid of 200 guineas, and, lo and behold ! the mare was knocked down to Lord Ellesmere, whom to that moment no one had regarded as a likely purchaser at all. Sir Blundell Maple and Captain Machell were vastly surprised—at least they looked so—and Sir Blundell walked off, consoling himself probably with the recently received news that Memoir is to visit Royal Hampton next Season.”