Sporting Review . . AND . . WEEKLY STANDARD. Thursday, February 14, 1895.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume V, Issue 238, 14 February 1895, Page 4

Sporting Review . . AND . . WEEKLY STANDARD. Thursday, February 14, 1895.

Now that Carbine has been disposed of people are asking themselves whether it was a correct thing on the part of the auctioneers to sell him for £13,000, after they had publicly declared that no private offer would be entertained. We think not, and incline to the belief that had the original intention been adhered to, and “ Old Jack ” placed under the hammer, that he would have brought considerably more than the figures mentioned. Syndicates had been formed at Home for his purchase, and American’and Australian bids would have more than outbid the £13,000 offered by the owner of Welbeck Abbey. We are, however, glad to see that such a prominent supporter of the Turf as the Duke of Portland has secured Mr Wallace’s old champion, for in the Abbey Stud Carbine will be used with mares calculated to bring honour to his name as a sire of thoroughbreds. There the son of Musket and Mersey will be alongside the great English sire, St. Simon, and will no doubt run that stallion very close in popular favour. He will have the most luxurious quarters in all England, and should the climate agree with him we may before long hear of some of his family capturing the big prizes of the English Turf. To hear that a Carbine had won the English Derby would be some consolation for the loss which we in this corner of the world have sustained by the departure of our greatest of equine champions. As remarked above, it is a pity that open bidding was not allowed in Carbine’s case, for he would, we have little doubt, have shaken some of the prices previously given for great horses. Of course for Australia it is the record, for until he was sold Nordenfeldt was top figure at 5,600g5., which was given for him by Mr S. Hordern at auction. Titan and Maxim only got up to 4,600g5. and 4,000g5. respectively, so that at 13,000 gs Carbine stands far above all other Australian purchases. But the 30,000 gs which is said to have been given by Mr McDonough, the American purchaser of the mighty Ormonde, makes Carbine’s price pale into insignificence. Then there was St. Blaze, who realized 20,000 at auction in America, while Kendal changed hands at 18,000 gs. The new owner of Carbine has been a leading light on the

English turf for several years past, and he has won most of the leading races in England —the Two Thousand Guineas with Ayrshire, the One Thousand Guineas with Semolina, the Derby with Ayrshire and Donovan, the Oaks with Memoir and \lrs Butterwick, and the St. Leger with Donovan and Memoir. We will follow with keen interest “Old Jack’s ” career in England.

Che resolution arrived at by the Dunedin Jockey Club throwing racing inquiries open to the public does not find favour in the eyes of the leading turf journal of Australia, the Australasian. Che journal mentioned thinks that when such a proposal is discussed by those men who have practical knowledge of acing inquiries it is invariably pronounced to be full of danger and to possess no compensating advantages likely to atone for the harm which might follow from a full and unexplained disclosure of all that goes on when an investigation is being held. It is pointed out that stewards have no power to swear witnesses. That being so, Stewards wisely pay a good deal of attention to the demeanour of the average witness, and take anything he may say with a large grain of "salt. That is perfectly true, but why the publication of such statements, unsupported by any oath that they are “ the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,” should not take place is not made manifest. Our contemporary urges and certainly with a good deal of truth, that the effect of making inquiries public would be to rob the stewards of the advantage of hearing the few independent men who may give their version of what they see under the existing custom, but would decline to assist at an inquiry if there were any risk of their racing propensities being published broadcast. But as a rule witnesses called before a racing inquiry are experts or “ regulars,” who have no reason to hide their connection with the sport of racing. One suggestion of our concemporary is, however, well worthy of consideration. It is as follows : —“ But there is a simple way of remedying this without making the inquiries public. A synopis of the proceedings, approved of by the chairman, might be supplied to the press by the secretary of the club, which would give it all the information necessary to assist the public in discovering the why and wherefore of the stewards’ decision. And as long as the stewards of the leading clubs are honoured by the confidence of the public, this is all the information which sensible men will demand of them. As to the “ startling revelations ” which might be served up for the benefit of readers, we fancy that in this respect the expectations of some of the advocates of open inquiries would be wofully disappointed. In several cases which might be mentioned there have been all sorts of rumours about the part played in the transaction by men who were not dealt with by the stewards, but had reporters been present, their notes, as far as this phase of the case was concerned, would hardly have been published.” For our part, we are well content that the Southern inquiries will be open to the Press for the public suspicion of injustices perpetrated in camera will be put to flight.