Turf Topics.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume V, Issue 251, 16 May 1895, Page 7

Turf Topics.

[By

Reviewer.]

The Southern racer New Headford is to be put to jumping. The value of the last Sydney Cup to the winner was £2,290. Mutiny and Couranto have been scratched for all A.R.C. engagements. Melinite has changed training hands and is now schooled by J. Maher. Jeweller has been placed in work again at Bandwick by J. Monaghan. Marvel’s brother, Blarneytone, has been bought by an Indian buyer for £5OO. The will of the late Mr J. A. Scarr, the A.J.C. handicapper, has been proved at £9315. La Rue left for the South last Monday to contest in the Sires’ Stakes at Christchurch. Fortunatus will be shipped to Calcutta at the end of the month or the beginning of June. It is considered likely that Mr G-. G. Steady ■will send a team to Australia for the next A.J.C. Bpring Meeting at Randwick. The imported trotting stallion, Boccaccio (record, 2min 39sec) died recently in New South Wales.

George Hope will probably go to Australia with a team including Mutiny after our Grand National Meeting. Australian owners give us long points in turf nomenclature. One N.S.W. owner calls his prad “ Darn’d-if-I-know.”

Creel, the two-year-old daughter of Carbine and Fishwife, has broken down in her training, and will be reserved for stud work. Doris has been sold to a Sydney buyer. The St. Leger —Ophelia mare will be worked with a view to the next Newmarket Handicap.

A record for totalisator investments was made for South Australia when £18,846 went through the machine at the Onkaparinga Meeting. The Cuirassier —Rosarina yearling filly, bred by Mr W, Walters, has been sold to Mr T. Budge, of Invercargill, for something under £lOO.

The application from England for tickets in the St. Alban’s Art Union is on the increase. An order for 1000 arrived by the last mail. The death of Harry Cusdin was quickly followed by that of his younger brother Herbert who was killed through being run over by a Caulfield train.

No public holidays will be declared for racing in South Australia after this year as the Government thinks that racing already receives too much encouragement. Mr J. B. Clark’s retirement from the Australian turf was caused by the A.J.C. declining to favourably notice his protest against Havoc in the Cumberland Plate.

"It was at first thought that Patron had hopelessly broken down, but Mr Purches is now hopeful that the hero of the last Melbourne Cup will stand another preparation. The death of Arihi, the Maribyrnong Plate winner, was brought about by blood poisoning and tetanus, caused through the splinter she picked up while being exercised.

The proprietor of the Review desires to thank Messrs John Maginnity, H. M* Lyon, F. R. Jackson, R. G. Bauchope, J. R. McMillan, A. G. Brett, and Mr H. Gilmer for their courtesy during his recent trip down the coast. The following nominations were omitted from the list of Waihi entrances published last week : —Wildfire for the Maiden, Kimberley for the Hurdles and Publican’s Plate, Ladybird for the Miners Plate and Waihi Cup, and Young Tom and Nellie for the Pony Race. The owners of Camoola (who was killed recently from injuries sustained through running inio a barb-wire fence) sued the lessee for £11)00, the value of the horse, alleging that a barb-wire paddock was not a fit place to place a leased horse in. The case went against the owners.

Commenting on M. Edwards’ disqualification at Christchurch the Weekly Press asks why he was allowed to ride at the Auckland Trotting Club’s Meeting. The Press should know the A.T.C. is not affiliated with the Christchurch Club. Neither was this club asked to endorse. The London Sportsman says that the representative of an Australian gentleman, with a commission to purchase some first-class horses, made an offer approaching five figures for Raconteur, but that J ewitt, the trainer of the colt, acting on behalf of Mr McCahnont, replied that money would not buy him.

Right, through New Zealand a report has been circulated that the unknown pony taken to Sydney by Geo. Wright is a gem of the first water. That comes of apparent secrecy. As a matter of fact the pony is a raw unnamed one belonging to one of the stable boys who accompanied Wright’s string and whose headquarters are in Sydney.

The President of the Auckland Trotting Club, Mr J. D. Connolly, has resigned owing, it is said, to the proceedings last week at Potter’s Paddock.

Havoc who went lame in consequence of his late severe spell of racing was at latest reports recovering rapidly from the injury to the stifle. “ Terlinga ” asserts that he is without doubt the best horse of his day on the Australian side. French breeders are being well looked after by the Steeplechase Society. In all races, barring selling ones, the breeder of the winner, if French, will receive 10 per cent, of nominal value of the prize, and the breeder of the second horse 5 per cent. These premiums cannot come to more than £6OO, and are payable apart. Another premium of £4OO is paid to the owner of the stallion having won most money during the year. It will be seen that a special feature in our illustrations this week is a series of pictures descriptive of the Wellington Steeplechase. Our Special Artist luckily was at the course and was enabled to take rapid sketches of all the features of that eventful cross-country ’chase. The subject is worthy of the supplement which we have added to this issue. Other pictures include Ingar, winner of that wonderful trot last Saturday when four starts had to be made, Austral winner of the Wellington Steeplechase, a picture of the Hutt saddling paddock during the recent races, a snapshot at the W.R.C. Autumn Steeplechase showing Kaikaa's rider who is front endeavouring to rise skyward like a rocket and four prominent members of the Wellington Racing Club, viz, the Pressdent, Mr H. D. Bell, the J.P., Mr E. Pearce, the hon treasurer, Mr J. Maginnity, and the secretary, Mr H. M. Lyon.

The Queensland Turf Club has decided to allow no more bookmaking at its meetings.

When Sylvia Park was allotted 7.13 in the A.J.C. Royal Stakes he was backed eagerly in the Sydney betting rooms at twenties. Betting has already opened respecting the next New Zealand Cup Gipsy Grand, Chaos, Speculator, Mannlicher, and Waiuku having been pencilled by Southern bookmakers. Waiuku has been supported at 500 to 18. The London agent for the St. Albans’ Art Union, is Mr J. Thompson, the erstwhile Australian leviathan. By the way, Mr Thompson proposes visiting Australia for the purpose of seeing the next Melbourne Cup run. Glenmarkie, sire of the Melbourde Cup winner, Glenloth, is dead. It appears the horse had been ailing for some time past and got down in his stall, having become paralysed in the hindquarters. As the case was hopeless the eon of Lord Derby was destroyed. They have not many crack steeplechasers on the Sydney and Victorian side, but Mr H. H. Hayr tells me that the N.S.W. ’chaser, Highborn 11., is a real clinker. Fishmonger will not see the other side jumps until next season, but when he goes I fancy he will hold his own. Extract from the programme of a West Australian race-meeting : —“ Farmers’ Race, one mile. Eleven stone up. Post entries 3s. Prize offered by W. J. George, Esq., five bags oats, value £5. Horses to be owned by farmers only of the Murray electoral district. The fact of entering a horse must be understood to pledge the owner to sow the oats and sell the resulting crop to Messrs Gutheridge and Co. at market price.”

It is very evident the Review Coupons have caught on with our readers, for the number received is steadily on the increase and the inflow now keeps a clerk busy doing the numbering, docketing, and publishing.

My Wellington confrere wires that according to the Evening Post it is the’ intention of the Government to legalise a lottery to dispose of several thousand Bank of N.Z. Estate Co. shares. Should this be agreed to I should say Mr Frank Lawry will find it a great lever in asking the House to sanction turf consultations.

A further trouble has arisen in connection with the Auckland Trotting Club bungle. Mr George Mcßride has written to the Club stating it is his intention to sue the institution for defamation of character and to claim the race won on the opening day of the races by Three Cheers. His ground for this is that the nominator and rider of Three Cheers was disqualified by the Canterbury Trotting Association. His claim would be good if the A.T.C. had endorsed the Canterbury disqualification of Edwards, but that endorsement did not take place. The Press states (and in fact the Canterbury Association has wired the same thing) that the Southern Club did ask the A.T.C. to endorse their sentence. But the A.T.C. authorities affirm that no such notification ever reached them ! Meanwhile the subject of all this dispute, M. Edwards, left here last Monday for Christchurch with La Rue and Yum Yum, Mr C. E. Abbott’s trotters, but as I hear the Christchurch Association will give Edwards a longer sentence for riding in Auckland while disqualified by them there is a probability that Mr Abbott’s horses have been sent South for nothing.

It is said that Paris, who has arrived in England will be immediately put in active work. I think he will do some great racing in the old country for weight will not stop him as witness his 9.2 when he won the Metropolitan Stakes and Grand Master’s little son can gallop over any any distance.

Referring to the attitude of the Australian Scotch Kirk conscience towards betting, Sydney Bulletin sarcastically writes : —“ Minister Clouston has a holy hatred of gambling, but ‘ can trace a very decided difference between a raffle in a church bazaar and a sweepstake on a horse-race.” So can most people, inasmuch as the sweepstake is generally worth winning, and the church raffle isn’t. All of which is analytically interesting as showing how tenderly accomodating the kirk conscience is on deep matters of duty. In short: ‘ Thy raffle is a Satanic abomination and hateful to the Lord ; ma lottery is a trusting enquiry consairning the will of God ! ’ ” Some of the racing stewards in Victoria have a free and easy way of falling in with the rules of the governing Metropolitan body. At a meeting at Elaine two ponies started for a miniature race, Darley at 6 to 3 on, and Freestone at even money. The latter won all the way, but in went a protest by D.irley’s owner on the ground that the race had not been run over the correct distance. The protest was deferred, the races finished, and everyone but three of the stewards left the course. Then the protest was dealt with, and though Darley was the only horse on the ground it was held ihat the race should be run over again. A temporary starter and judge having been found Darley walked over and was awarded the stakes, That’s about the tallest thing I ever heard of.

The racehorse Torpedo, which was recently disqualified for life by the West Australian T.C., has been sold (according to the Western Mail) for 15 guineas to a gentleman representing Mr Barnato, the secretary of the Boers Transvaal Racing Club, and was shipped by the s.s. Aberdeen a few days ago for Cape Colony. As the Transvaal Racing Club is not affiiliated with any of the clubs in Australia, Torpedo will be allowed to run there, and the bargain is a cheap one, inasmuch as the recent owner valued the horse, which was one of the champion sprinters in New Zealand, at £5OO. Mr T. Lees, the husband of Mrs Lees, the owner of the horse, has entered an action against the W.A.T.C. for £lOO for disqualification of himself and the horse.