Turf Topics.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume VI, Issue 263, 8 August 1895, Page 6

Turf Topics.

[By

Reviewer.]

Stepniak will serve at Elderslie this season., North Atlantic is not showing up satisfactorily in his work.-

.First acceptances for the three Cups appear, in another column.

Lottie and Yattenfeldt were due to arrive at Ellerslie yesterday. J. McKewm, the Dunedin trainer of trotters, has taken up Contractor. The St. Albans Lottery will be drawn on Thursday, October 24th. The Adelaide Racing Club has a credit balance of £3,775 17s 2d. The V.R.C. Distressed and Disabled Jockeys’ Fund amounts to £7,465 13s sd.

New Zealand Grand National Steeplechase today. Hurdle Race on Saturday. Three Star has rejoined Geo. Wright’s training stable. The colt has been gelded. The Musket horse, Flintlock, has been purchased by Mr Hayward, of Featherston.

Lottie returns to work at Ellerslie this week in spite of her defection in the N.Z. Cup. Handicaps for the A.J.C. Epsom Mile and. the Metropolitan Stakesappear in another column. The King of Clubs horse, Stonyhurst, ‘will probably stand the season at Amberley, Canterbury. Fabulous, the Leolinus—Atlantis horse, will be auctioned at Hunter and Nolan’s yards tomorrow (Friday). y' T. Buddicombe, the Southern horseman,"returned from Sydney by the Manapourion Sunday en route for Dunedin.

Mr G. G. Stead leaves for Sydney on the 26th inst. Magazine’s owner (Mr Campbell) will probably accompany Mr Stead. The Australian cross-country rider, J. Edge, has had a skull cap constructed for the protection of his head in case of a spill. Mr W. D. Holgate’s fine hunting sire, Paddy’s Land, has been leased to Mr Robert Ross of Maungatoroto for the season. The annual reports of the Auckland, Egmont, and Wanganui Racing Clubs, and the Lower Valley Jockey Club appear elsewhere. Good reports reach me re Roscius, who will run well in the New Zealand Grand National Steeplechase, run at Riccarton to-day.

Mr R. Henwood’s lease of the hurdler Warrior having expired, the Tngomar horse has returned to his breeders, the Messrs. Alison Brothers. The first Auckland foaling happened at Sylvia Park last week, when St Hippo’s sister, Roie, had the bad luck to slip twins to Cuirassier. The Caulfield Grand National Steeplechase will be decided next Saturday. Daimio has 13.3 to carry over the 4 miles ; yet his party are cocksure of success.

Pegasus still moves up the improve grade, and with a fair amount of luck should keep them busy on New Zealand Cup day. My Sydney confrere (an old North Island turf writer) declares his belief in the colt’s ability to win, but I’m not sweet on the chance myself. One thing I am a bit sugary on is a belief that Mahaki, and the two ex-hacks—Waiuku and Irish Twist will make the Cup a sultry journey for the winner. “ Robin Hood,” the London correspondent of the Australasian, has a par. in his last letter re the win of Worcester in the 7 furlong Epsom Plate “ in Imin 12 3-ssec,” time taken by Benson’s chronograph. “ Robin Hood ” remarks—- “ This a record time in England, and I do not know if you have ever beaten it at Flemington, Caulfield, or Randwick. Of course the Epsom seven furlongs is a very easy one, and one at which a race may well be run at a great pace throughout.” There is only one answer to this lmin 12 3-ssec allegation and that ip summed up in the inelegant but expressive word'“ Bunkum.”

Waiter, the horse that; carried Tom Corrigan j to his death, has been sold ih.‘Melbourne, for six guineas. •

Mr John White has been appointed secretary to the Foxton * Rating Club, vice 1 Mr J. R. McMillan, resigned. '* ' • The Messrs Luder’s brood mares Belle and Miss' Stekd have slipped foals co Regel and Cuirassier'respectively.

The Torpedo —Christina gelding Entered for the Hawke’s Bay Stakes of 1897 is to be named after Brennan of Torpedo fame, f • .

Particulars'.-respecting ■ the\ money obtained about Sternchaser for, the N.Z. Cup will be found under the beading, “Betting Market.”

• At the annual meeting of the V.R.C., a .ballot upon the totalisator resulted in .an overwhelming majority in favour of legalising the; use of the machine. ■ .«• -

Kempenfeldt has been purchased by Messrs Hammond Bros., of and the Nordenfeldt horse will be at the service of breeders in that district. . • ,* •

Last season the V.R.C. made a . profit on every meeting bar.- the complimentary, race gathering tendered', to Lord Hopetoun,..the last Victorian Governor.

An enthusiastic New. Zealander, at present in Sydney has offered, to back Mannlicher for the A.J.C. Derby against three of the local candidates at even money. ! '''

My Napier confrere wires that North Atlantic is not doing the best of work at present. One morning he looks and works well and the next looks bad and works ditto.

Mr P. Butler’s “Frenchman” (Au Revoir) had two or three strong gallops put into him last week at Riccarton without any suspicious symptoms resulting. Mr W. Kelso; sold The Hero and Vagrant (three-year old Gipsy King gelding) the same day that Dart passed into the Messrs Miller Bros.’ possession.

Mr Wanklyn, the C.J.C. secretary, forwards hie Club’s book programme for season; 1895-96. As usual, the booklet reflects credit 'upon the compiler and; printer;-' The jockeysVMcllrby and] Connop accompany Mt Stead’s pair, Musketry and Mannlicher, to Sydney. The horses were to have left .for the Australian side last Tuesday. •■ = Nominations for the A.J.C; Welcome and Champion Stakes of next season, the Derby and Oaks of 1897, and the Sixth Challenge Stakes, 1898,-are due on the 30th ins’t.

The recent wins of The Admiral under heavy (almost welter) weights have sent him to the head of the Caulfield Cup betting list. .At latest advices he was first choice at 15 to'l. ,

Owing to Mr J. Tngley’s gelding, by Administrator- —Nina having prior .claim to the name of Outlaw, Mr T. D. Thompson has re named his Forester —Gipsy gelding Bushranger. St. Hippo’s sister, Roie, has had the bad- luck to slip twins to Cuirassier. A representative of that mating will be seen in the two-year-old Ellerslie contests in the shape of Sabretache.

The Victorian owner, Mr R. Howie, had a bit of luck last month.. He sold the racer Lord Hope for £6O on July 17th, but next day the purchaser would not take delivery. In the afternoon Lord Hope won two races (one of 50 sovs and the other 40 sovs) at the Moonee Valley Meeting. How that defaulting purchaser must have cursed his luck.

The victory of The Admiral in the Murrumbena Handicap under 10.9 is probably the only case of an ordinary handicap having been won on a leading Australian course under such a burden. Certainly The Barb won tlie Sydney Cup under 10.8, and Carbine the Melbourne Cup under 10.5, but they were anything but ordinary handicaps. James Kean has taken up the Nelson colt, Commodore. Last season this youngster showed good dash, despite the fact that his condition approached the “ hog fat ” state. The colt’s improvement on his two year old appearance is sufficiently striking to warrant one marking him out as well worth watching during the ensuing season.

Sylvan Prince (by Glorious —Sylvan Queen) earned his first winning bracket when he scored in the Open Hurdles, about two miles, at the V.R.C. Meeting. on the 13th ult. Although Sylvan Prince cost 300 gs as a yearling, and was repeatedly raced he was rising five years old when he scored, and then his owner only had a fiver on at tens.

Mr W. (“ Bill ”) Lyons has been handling the cue with good effect at Sydney Tattersall’s. On July 28th he engaged Mr J. Dobson in a five century game for £5O, handicapped with a 15 break. In the early stage of the game Mr Lyons’ opponent scored so rapidly that odds of 2 to 1 were offered on him, but then W. L. came along with breaks of 77, 48, and 30 twice, and ran out a winner by 145 points. The same night Mr Lyons engaged the leader of the Ring, Mr Oxenham, and after conceding a 20 break beat “ The Leviathan ” by 58 points. It transpires that Timoni, one of the V.R.C. Grand National ’chasers that fell in Daimio’s race, did not come a cropper over one of the fences. Mr Browne’s grey gelding was hanging to Daimio in very game fashion when he crossed his lege and fell on the flat., Romsdal, the Messrs Miller’s representative, threw out after running very well for two and a half miles. This jumper is four years old and is, in “Terlinga’s ” opinion, one of the nicest young chasers seen out for a long time. Romedal is engaged in the V.A.T.C. Grand national Steeplechase to be run next Saturday, and has the cross-country feather of 9.12, but as Dart is also engaged on behalf of the Millets it is difficult to say wjjiqh. will: be the stable pea. ' , ’

A rumdiir was current. down* Napier way last week that Mr S. : H. (-Jollah’had bought Mutihy, but Mr Wi Douglas denies -that any--d6al ■ has taken place, • .. 7 : ; - Last English files to hand show that M. Cannon and T. Loates remain at the head of the list of winning jockeys for the season. Cannon has ridden 59 winners, and his rival is 7 wins behind him.

The Hamilton Pony and Trotting Club having upheld the protest against Maid of Killamey in the Maiden Trot run on May 24th, the owners of the mare will have to appeal to the Auckland Trotting Club.

The Adelaide racing clubs have, introduced Trial Stakes for horses that have not won a stake of £5O during the previous twelve months or so, and the innovation lias been attended with striking success.

Next Monday the well-known Cado’gan brood mares, Charity and Whim (both in foal to Apremont), together with a full brother and sister to the hurdler, Barnardo, will be auctioned in Christchurch.

The brood mare Phantom, located at the Motu-Korea (Brown’s Island) stud, and-Sunrise (a Wellington Park matron) are expected to foal this week. Phantom, is in foal to liegel, and Sunrise to Castor.

The, Sporting Review series of. Pictures is continued in this issue. Miss Thomas forms the subject of -the nccoiApiriying' illustration, and next week’s issue will contain a picture of Mrs. H. Tonks.

“ Spectator ” tips the two Liberators for the C.J.C. Grand .National Hurdlesand Steeplechase. His colleague “ Hotspur ” takes Norton for the Steeple and “all in would prefer nothing to Liberator” for the Hurdles?.

Allan Dale, the American trotting stallion that formed part of the deal respecting the Musket stallion, Foul Shot, recently taken to the U S.A. by Mr Lopez, junr., has been purchased from Messrs Tonksj Nolan, and Go;, of Hawera, by Mr Alex. Wood,of Napier.-' • Our Sydney correspondent records the death of Mi’ Mpylan, breeder of. the Newmarket Handicap winner William Tell, who scoredin 1886. William Tell bore Mr S. Miller’s colours, and with 86 on his hack'he dressed down twentynine opponents in 1.17. ... * ' Three recent fam Melbourne Cup bets are : — £2OOO to' £BO Dreamland, £lOOO to £4O The Harvester, and £lOOO to £35 Atlas; < By the way, Atlas is. suffering‘from bad feet, and always does his work on the Randwick tan.

Mr E. W. Alison had one or .two questions-to put. re the balance sheet of the A.R.C. presented at the annual meeting last Monday, but when he . arrived at 2,4 p.m. his chance was adjourned for twelve ndonths —the report had been carried. A couple of days prior to Daimio’s V.R.C. Grand National win Lord Fingal wired from Colombo and took £7OO to £lOO about the horse. The noble pun'er must hav.e had good information, for the Flemington ton's were anything but partial to the chance. If the Wellington papers are correct seven—and not four—horses failed to meet the first N.Z. Cup acceptance. The lists published in Wellington contain the names of Golden Plover, Osculator, and Bonnie Scotland in addition to the four published locally. With only a quartette of the nominations missing from the New Zealand Cup list, the C.J.C. and their handicapper (Mr J. £. Henry) have reason to be satisfied witn the first, acceptance for the big' November handicap, I should have been glad to have seen Lottie remain in, but the other three —Pounamu, Spindrift, and Brooklet —can well be spared. And a good many others could be included in the same statement. M. Byan, who came from the Sydney side with the trotting mare Rita, is managing “ Rita Lodge,” one of Mr James McKewen’s Dunenin training stables. Ryan’s string consists of ( Rothamstead, Aidershot, Mount Royal, a three-year-old St. Clair —Molly Bawn filly, and the two-year-old Hotchkiss. —Bianca filly, sold ai'. the last Wellington Park sale of yearlings to Mr McKewen for 65 guineas. The New Zealand Cup candidate, Aldershot, is being given slow work by Ryan, and is said to be greatly improved by his spell. Commenting on the recent victories of The Admiral, The Australasian editor gives it as his opinion that Mr S. G. Cook’s horse Was never better in his life. It was lucky for The Admiral’s owner that the horse was handicapped for the Melbourne and Caulfield Cups just after his defeat in the Birthday Handicap instead of after his recent runs. The Caulfield handicapper gave him 10.9 in the V.A.T.C. Murrumbeena Handicap, and the justice of the poundage was backed up by The Admiral winning cleverly by a neck. A trifle under 10.0 instead of 8.12 would probably have been Mr Barnard’s Caulfield Cup award if Mr Cook’s horse had shown earlier improvement. The 31b penalty incurred by The Admiral brings his Caulfield allotment to 9.1, at which it stands, despite his recent wins. The s s Argus, which struck on a reef in Torres Straits on her way to India, had on board 358 horses, including Fortunatos, Malolo, Ito, La Gloria, The Indian, Rink, Muscovite, Rushlight, Bezique, Unity, Thought, Postage, Auster, Goldsmith, Lefamer, yearling filly by Trenton from Elsie, Lord Lynne, the trotters Honour and Robin, and the ponies Fancy, Yanakie, Coquette, Error, Locket, Volley, Kotiro, Tramp, Violet, Elsie, Elfrida, and Devotion. Racing men on the boat include Messrs T. Uphill, J. C. McEvoy, F. Fountain, and Willie Cox. Fortunatus, Muscovite, and Rushlight 11.. sent by Mr J. Gove, are fully insured, and so are Messrs Glasscock’s and Gidney’s consignments, but the horses of Messrs Margetts and Uphill are believed to be only partially insured. A cable message received yesterday states that La Gloria died while the vessel was ashore.

’ , inie ! ia&t > iSBue ; of' the Australasian contains a pliptb-fSr’bceas’blbekof 'Ditimip; the V.R.C. Grand Ntfi&nai bdrd'.’ pictuSe shows Daimio to be a fine upstanding horse of great power. He has tremendous quarter development arid in every limb shows the build, of a model ’chaser. J. Gallagher, the Van Dieman Lodge jockey, has been voted £7 12s by the Hawkes Bay J.C. in connection with the spill he received at the Napier Park Meeting on March 27th,. when Stepfeldt and Pom Pom came a cropped'in the last race of the day, the. Waverley Stakes.

The West Australian Turf Club had to shell out several hundreds of pounds for ejecting a barber from their course, and then Tom Lees, the ex-pugilist, obtained damages for the disqualification of himself and his horse Torpedo, which ran in the name of the ex-slugger’s wife. The staunchest supporter of the totalisator on the V.R 0. committee is Mr W. H. Croker, a member of the legal firm of Gillott, Croker, and Snowdon. Mr’ Croker, who carries a lot of influence in the Victorian capital, has been advocating the introduction of the machine' since 1890.

Mr. S.G. Cook has shaken the Caulfield Cup 'four times and. should repeat the trick with The Admiral, if the .Richmond horse is put by for a while and not .'allowed a chance of becoming stale by October,. Mr. Cook has supplied'three ■Caulfield seconds, viz., Remus, The Charmer, anfl.Yftrran, and;one third, Anglesey. Daimio, the hero of the last V.R.C, Grand National Steeplechase was bred by a Gippsland shepherd named Birthwright, who sold the great chaser for £3O. The breeder didn’t exactly swop his birthright for a mess of pottage, but he made a somewhat similar deal when he took thirty notes for Redleap’s successor.

The compiler of the Australian Stud Book has started on the sixth volume. When is the New Zealand compiler going to start on our next volume ? It’s high time he did, for the present stud book is right away behind the times, and is chiefly noted for the absence of the information usually contained in such works. . Mr A. Buckland evidently holds that “ brevity is the soul of wit?’ At the annual meeting of the A.R.C. on Monday last he opened fire re the meeting at two minutes to 2 p.m., and had the report and balance sheet carried four minutes after the hour named. Mr Buckland’s “ speech” re the report consisted of two sentences. The following par., clipped from Melbourne Sportsman, explains why lalanthus dropped out of the two Victorian Cups : —“ lalanthus went all to pieces on Tuesday after a working gallop, with .Portland. He seemed lame all over, and hobbled away in a i distressing manner. It is something internal that is wrong with him.

The Annual Meeting of the A.R.C. last Monday was a striking contrast to last year’s gathering, when the menders present numbered something under a score. On Monday, about 60 meiribers were present to assist in the election of committeemen, but the expected fight did not pan out as anticipated, all the retiring members of committee being re-elected.

During the past year the two biggest dividends declared on trotting horses were £94 Is, and £93 14s ; the first on Toby, in the Tinwald two mile trot, and the second on Sail Home, in the Tahuna Park President’s Handicap. Minnie’S" £35 15s dividend at Potter’s Paddock stands eleventh on the list, butit was a 10s return, and should therefore rank next Sail Home’s dividend.

Mr D. A. McLeod’s Hotchkiss colt. Oscillator, ' had a lash at the Moorefield Stewards’ Handicap (1£ mile) on' July 27th, and though backed up to the handle (went out favourite at 5 to 2 against), finished third. Last Thursday Oscillator had another “ through passage,” but did not score, and Doris also fought and failed, the latter racer’s ■effort being in a 6 furlong handicap

A West Australian racing man named W. G. Towton had the bad taste to name one of his nags “Carbine,” and judgment overtook him, the horse being destroyed while racing at an Adelaide meeting. A second and heavier stab of retributive justice has since fallen on Mr Towton, two brood mares purchased by him at the Lerderberg stud sale having died through being .turned out in a rather bare sandy paddock. The rains sent up some young grass in the enclosure, and in cropping this closely the mares took a quantity of sand into their intestines, which caused them to scour badly and brought on fatal results. One of the mares was in foal to the great Carbine, and would have foaled this month. When Mr Towton named a third-rate racer after the illustrious “ Old Jack ” turf writers naturally shrieked against such vandalism and invoked tin wrath of the gods, which article appears to have fallen as per order.

The bulk of the Australian racing men hail Daimio as the equal of the great Redleap. ■“ Terlinga ” the Australasian sporting editor does not, however, echo the general cry. Here is his ■opinion :—“ No doubt Daimio is one of the finest horses we have seen race over Flemington, but if his admirers will excuse me for saying so, he has not yet placed himself on a par with Redleap. When the Messrs Miller's crack won he carried 13.3 over a bigger country, in heavier going, in just about the same time, and gave an easy beating to Confidence, who had only 10.10 on his back. Daimio must improve on Saturday’s performance before he can be classed the equal of Redleap. Most people think Saturday’s race was ‘ won in a canter,’&c. I think Daimio won Mith a good deal in hand, and that the further they went the further he would have beaten Dart and Campaspe, but Barbour was distinctly niggling him along up to the distance, and I doubt if he could have gone much faster. I don’t think he beat Dart one whit easier than Redleap beat Confidence with 211 b more on his back; and I take it that Confidence then was a better horse than Dart is row.”

| r.i ■, me;! .Lvhid /hrMvi'feS A ■ '.The. current hunting season , in Australia promises to be. marked by an unusually heayy., death roll. Dp to the end of June three fatalfalls had to be recorded,'and a fourth happened on the 19th of last month when Mr T. P. Manifold, the owner of Apsley (winner of last year’s V.R.C. Grand National Hurdles), was fatally* injured while following the Findon Harriers near Melton (Vic.); The horse Mr. Manifold was riding had been ridden to hounds by him for four years and was never known to make a mistake until last month. Owing to repeated checks Mr Manifold’s horse was cold and would not jump kindly, and eventually, in'trying to stop, he fell with his rider underneath him. Theleft side of Mr Manifold’s chest was crushed in and the lung lacerated. In addition to this he suffered a severe shock from which he never rallied. The Australasian commenting on iheViß.C.reportand balance-sheet writes : —“ Another acceptable innovation made by the committee this year is the issuing of a balance-sheet of the Distressed and Disabled Jockeys’ Fund. It has always been a hard task to get any definite information as to how the fund stood, but the particulars now giyen show that there is a sum of £6,400 at fixed deposit to the credit of the fund in the Bank of New South Wales, £65 13s. sd. at current account, while .£l,OOO is represented by one of the club’s debentures, the fund thus being in credit to the amount of £7,465 13s. sd. ’ During the, year a sum of £479 7s! had been paid out of the fund to distressed jockeys and for funeral expenses.” The difficulty in getting the information alluded to has been experienced in connection with clubs nearer home than, the V.R.C., but the resolutions passed at our last Conference should clear up matters. . '

Conservative John Bull is becoming more approachable every year. He has commenced to take records, tests his racers against the clock, has consented to try the starting gate at Sandown, and is considering the advisability of applying the time limit as practised in Australian long distance races. Our conservative parent is gradually losing his stiff-neckedness, but he still snorts when you mention the totalisator. But the snort will get weaker every year. At Manchester on June 10th a mare named Lady Combermere was matched against Time to trot twenty mites within the hour, and after a great struggle the Gentleman with the Scythe was beaten, the mare covering the journey in 59min 59 3-ssec. The bet in connection with the match was £lOO, and the mare is the property of E. H. Seddon, patentee of the Seddon pneumatic tyre. Needless to say, the sulky in which the trotter was driven was specially tyred for the occasion. In order to accomplish her task the mare had to cover every mile inside three minutes, and at the thirteenth had the assistance of pacemakers. The Press accounts of the match show that at the eighteenth mile the mare tired palpably. At every half-mile cold water was thrown over the mare by means of a syringe, her driver being half drowned in the operation. The driver nursed her carefully, and when the twentieth mile was entered upon the clock showed she • had 3min ssec in which to get home. In the last half-mile she broke and hung, but once turned for the winning post straightened in- answer to her driver’s demand, and reached the;goal two-’ fifths of a second to the good. ' The miles were left behind as follows :—2:55, 5.55£, 14.49|, 17.50|, 20.49, 23.50 G4rs, 26;51|, 29.46, 32.47, 35.471, 38.46 J, 41.501, 44.48, 47.53, 50.501, 53.491, 56.55, 59.59 3-5.

; 'ilpputs'e of.. j^urdept' beat.in.tliie New (Zealand Cpp. provided hestancls ( ibia. preparation. tq’-pipw .he has. given qis: owner every cause for satisfaction.,, and should no inishap befall him Mr Bradley’s “ pony ” will be there or thereabouts on Novenlber 4th. He has gone up lOlbs on last year’s , weighting, but he promises to show all ten pounds’ improvement by November compared ■ with .last years ability. And he was no slouch then.

St. Patrick, the big raking St. Legi?r—Steel All horse in Frank McManemin’s stable, always gave racing men an idea that.the. jumping game would suit him down to the ground. McManemin has Evidently arrived at the same opinion, St. Leger’s somewhat disappointing son having been , introduced to the small fences with fair success. Since St. Patrick romped home in the last A.R.C. Winter welter of season 1893-94 he has. tripped , his party up pretty considerably, but it’s on the, cards they will get their money back now.that he is at the jumping game. The .office-bearers of the newly-formed Hawera Trotting Club are as follows: —President, Mr C. E. Major;. vice-president, Dr. Reed ; 'secretary, Mr W. J. Tristram:;. Treasurer,'Mr A..G. Brett • committee, Messrs Nolan, Major, Nairn, ■ Bartlett, O’Connell, Dr. Reed, Faher, Spratt,Hicks, Brett, 'Baird, E. Lucena; stewards, Messrs Nolan, O’Connell, Spratt, Nairn, E. Lucena, Hicks, Davidson, Pease, Dabinet; judge, ■ Mr T. Riddiford; starter, Mr M. F. Baird; clerk of the course, Mr J. T. Stone, clerk of the--scales, Mr A. 8;- Tonks ; timekeeper, Mr C. R. Bayley; ■ auditor, ,Mr W. G. White. Messrs Nolan, Major, and Dr Reed have been appointed ’to represent ..the ’ club as delegates to the conference af trotting clubs.

The English papers have been gushing over the great family lines of Carbine to the intense disgust of “An old Breeder” who plumps down his disapprobation in the following letter sent to an English paper : —“ Much rubbish has been written in the Sportsman re Carbine and his wonderful breeding and grand family. Now Mersey, his dam, was an undersized and common-looking, short mare, with a low back, and very upright on her fore-joints, and so bad that she was not worth entering for a £5O plate (easy to win in those days), much less for a selling plate, and therefore, though sound, was never entered for a race. Mr Thomas Stephenson, who trained her at Newmarket, can corroborate this. She was by Knowsley—a fine but moderate horse—by Stockwell, whose stock, the Sportsman says, ‘ are becoming soft and ever softer.’ And her dam was by Newminster, whose stock the Sportsman allows are ‘ delicate,’ and as the last four sires on Musket’s side were roarers, one fails to see all the Sportsman sees in the family, and it is a question if the noble owner himself likes or desires such laudatory notices. Good wine needs no bush, and the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and I hope for his sake it may be satisfactory.” On the theory of scientific breeding the writer can claim solid ground, but if you leave theory for bald-headed facts his ground becomes a trifle less solid than a quicksand. Musket’s sire and dam may be touchy in pedigree but howmany-failures ,did they produce ? The horse with a kink in his pedigree is often much more of a clinker than the pradof high-toned, blue-blooded descent. Talking of kinky pedigree’d horses reminds me that Curzon, “ a half-bred gelding,” was within an eye brow or two of landing the last English. Derby. How does the scientific breeding fad pan out in such a case ?

■’ f&iL to train. < . A, .■; ■ ; “ Mannlicher is' ” reported sailing orders for Sydney. The ’ object',"! believe, is to just bring him along to this section. arid, win our. Derby. He may win, but I fancy his head will ache after he is done with Bob Ray, Vivian, Toreador, and Leonidas.”—Sydney Correspondent of Melbourne Sportsman. . . r - A batch of trottjrig statistics supplied in the last number of Weekly, Press show's that M. and B. Edwards are at the head of tbp list of successful riders and drivers of trotting horses for the past season. M. Edwards tops thd list' with 18 firsts,'7 seconds, and 3 thirds, and his ’ brother has 15 firsts,’3 seconds, and 7 thirds. J. McEwen of Otago has a dozen firsts, and the t . same number of seconds and'thirds as M. Edwards, and the remaining “ double firsts” are W. G. Mo'uat (Otago) and W. Kerr (Canterbury),.’ 11 wins each; A. J. Keith (Canterbury), J,, Wright (Canterbury), and J. 'Taggart (Welling- , ton) 10 wins each. E. 'G. Sandall, J the local' horseman, is tenth on the list with 9 wins, and H. CJiatteris, the Kohimarama trainer and driverj is on the twenty-first peg with 7 scores. Taking ( the wins of the different hor'semen during the past three years, M. Edwards, J. McKewen, and .’ E. ’G. Sandall show the greatest improvement. In ’92-93 Edwards had 6 wins, 9 the year following, and 18 in the past season. McKewen’s figures for the same seasons were 8, 9,' 12, and 1 Sandall’s were 3,9, 9. W. Kerr has been the niost consistent, his total being 11 ‘ for. each of' the three seasons. Kelpie heads ‘winding horses with £3lB ss. Three Cheers, conies next '■ with £254 3s, and thep‘Tom Hicks,' land Trotting Cup winner, with £l9O. '’ Four other locally ( owned trotters are. in the three figure contingent, vig., Schoolgirl £142 10s, Charlie and Duke C. £llB 15s each, and The. Frog £ll4. J. McKewen is head winning owner. with £546 ss, M. Edwards being second with' £482 3s, and W. Kerr third with £444 2s 6d.