Turf Topics.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume VI, Issue 289, 6 February 1896, Page 8

Turf Topics.

[By

Reviewer.]

Georgie Sharp has been served by Lakeshell

It is now stated that Au Revoir is unlrainable. The St. Leger mare, St. Laura, is said to have gone wrong.

Mr Gollan is jading Ebor occasionally in his work in the Old Country.

The programme of the Papakura Racing Club apperrs in our advertising columns.

It is rumoured in Melbourne that Hova is likely to be bought for India shortly. The Wellington Park bi’ed colt, True Blue, has been given a spell on the Sydney-side. The Nordenfeldt gelding Repeater broke down in the Takapuna Cup last Wednesday. The Possible is rapidly recovering from the spill he received in the Auckland Cup. Lady Zetland’s recent win brings her Egmont Cup weight up to 9.5, including penalty. Mr T. Tobias informs us that he will be present at both the Egmont and Taranaki meetings. Mr J. E. Henry’s handicaps for the Egmont meeting appear elsewhere. Acceptances are due to-day. Mr J. Davidson, the well-known local bookmaker, will attend the Egmont and Taranaki meetings. Since the Cast >r mare Leda was bought for 55 guineas last autumn she has won £4OO in stakes alone. It is rumoured that the Martini-Henry horse, Mahee, will shortly find a new home either in India or Africa. The South Auckland R.C. annual meeting which has been fixed for March 6th and 7th, promises to be a successful fixture. Nominations for all events close to-morrow, when there will doubtless be a satisfactory list of entries. On the opening day the S.A.R. Cup Handicap of 45 sovs, ond mile and a quarter, will be the principal event, and the other items will be the Final Handicap of 15 sovs, one mile ; First Hurdles of 25 sovs, one mile and a half ; First Pony Handicap of 20 sovs, seven furlongs; Handicap Steeplechase of 25 sovs, about two miles and a half; Handicap Trot of 10 sovs, two miles ; and Flying Handicap of 20 sovs, six furlongs. On the second day the leading item will be the McNicol Memorial Stakes of 30 sovs, one mile and a quarter, besides which there will be the Clnudelands Handicap of 20 sovs, one mile ; Second Hurdles of 25 sovs, one mile and three-quarters ; Second Pony Race of 15 sovs, six furlongs ; Handicap Steeplechase of 40 sovs, about three miles ; Second Trot of 15 sovs, two miles and a half ; and Railway Plate of 20 sovs, six furlongs.

Musket’s fame rests solely on Carbine and his sons ami daughters whose dams descended f om Yattendon or Fisherman, or Yattcndon’s sire, Sir H-icules, and hardy old Traducer. The latter has done far more good for the New Zealand thoroughbred than mer Musket did. He laid the foundation of a hardy, soun I breed, but unfortunately Musket came along and poisoned it. Manton was once thou-fit to be better than Carbine. He is out of a Tra lucer mare, named Gitana, who was by Sir Hercules. Raupo, a grand-daughter of Sir Hercules, could throw a horse like Mata to De idshot, but 1 never heard o l ' her producing a winner to Musket in the three seasons she visit e I him. A’alanta t tew winners to all sorts of sires,except Musket; and Atalantis threw King Ban, Happy-Go-Lucky, Pri 'e of the Ocean, Henry 11., Bower of Bliss, and St. Leger to diffeient sires, but her three visits to Musket only produced Happy Land, who would never have been heard of had she not been mated with stout Ingomar, and produced Hova.—Sydney Truth.

The connections of the ’chaser Roscius are hopeful of again racing their horse, but it will not be for some time.

Mr W. Douglas present d Geo. Hope with a furnished bouse on the 0.-cision of his marriage with Miss Chisholm.

The Otahuhu Trotting Club’s privileges for their for'heoming meeting will be sold to-morrow at the Brunswick Mart.

Inspiration, Coolalta, and Vanitas hive been scratched for the Newmarket Handicap, and Patron for the Australian Cup. . The Melbourne Leader says that Fabulist once ran in hack races. I would like to know where the Leader writer got his information from.

Brooklet and The ißrook have been nominated both by Mr W. Douglas and Mr T. Q.uinlivan, senr., for the Hawke’s Bay Jo-key Club’s Autumn Meeting.

The last Sydney mail brings news of the of Mr W. B. AValford, hon. treasurer of the Australian Jockey Club. Mr Walford died at the ripe age of 74 years. Carnage’s stud fee in England has been fixed at 50gs, and he is limited to twenty-five mires. His list is full, and only one of his owner’s mares will be put to him. It is reported that in the Hack Hurdles at the Ohimetai races thirty-two spills took place. As only seven horses were running they must have had five spills apiece! Front ignac, winner of the Takapuna Maiden Plate, gets his name from a sweet Muscat wine made at Frontignan in ’ France. Frontignac’s dam is Golden Grape. Nominations for the Wanganui J.C. Autumn Meeting will be found in another column. Also the weights for the Hurdles and Stewards’ Welter, to be run at the D.J.C. Autumn Meeting.

The owner of Leda has received an offer of 300 guineas for the little Castor mare from a well-known Auckland racing man. This offer has been accepted, subject to certain conditions.

The Northern Steamship Company announce their intention of running a special race boat for the benefit of excursionists to the Egmont meeting. For further information see advertisement.

The civil case of T. Quinlivan v. W. Douglas has been set down for hearing in the Supreme Court in February. The claim is £2,679, the plaintiff alleging that defendant illegally took possession of the Wellington Cup winner, Brooklet, in the face of an agreement giving plaintiff the use of the mare as long as she could race, i

After the payment of forfeit there are some 50 left in the D.J.C. First Eclipse Stakes of 500 sovs, to be run at the Autumn Meeting of 1897. For the Second Eclipse Stakes of 1000 sovs, to be run in 1898, the club received on Saturday an entry of 51 foals, which, with 74 two-year-olds and yearlings already entered, make a total of 115.

The Indian Planters' Gazette comments as follows on the performances of Sprightly and Fortunatus in the Viceroy’s Cup : —“ Fortunatus, we consider, ran a very great little horse indeed in Robinson’s careful hands, and it was worth watching to see the way in which the horse was nursed till the time came for his dart to be made. That it fell short of its object was the horse’s, the jockey’s, and trainer’s misfortune, not their fault. Perrett is certainly deserving of praise for the condition in which he brought the horse out, considering the comparatively short time which he has had to do with him, and we give it him unreservedly. Fortunatus ran a thorougly game, consistent race, and under Robinson’s excellent pilotage he came to the very last ounce. Of the winner’s performance, too, it is hard to speak too highly, for on a slow course he has put up an Indian record, his 3min 4 2-ssec being the best that has ever been done in this race, the previous best on record being Myall King’s, of 1888, when he covered the distance in 3min 7£sec, carrying the same weight as Sprightly.”

Referring to Carbine’s defeat by Ensign in the V.R.C. Derby, the Melbourne writer “ Nunquam Dormio” has the following interesting paragraph : —“ As to what a good gelding Ensign really was, the best authority on that point is Mr W. Allen, the celebrated Victorian ‘ vet.* who showed Ensign’s fractured leg in the Press-room a few days after the son of Grandmaster and Formosa (Huret’s dam) was destroyed ; from which it was open and palpable that when Ensign defeated Carbine in the Derby the fracture existed in the bone, and during the contest for the Melbourne Cup the sound portion gave way. There was the black corroded part of the old fracture right enough, together with the newer mark where the other portion had parted. At the time, Mr Allen was of opinion that the original fracture must have been sustained fully five or six months previously, so that when Ensign won the Derby he won it with a fractured leg, and I fancy that was a little above even Carbine’s height!”

“ Delaware,” of the Sydney Truth, is evidently not a gusher over Musket. He alludes in the last issue of hie journal to “ the hundreds of rotten legged Muskets that are manuring New Zealand through. Brutes with big ungainly bodies too big for their weak soft pasterns to support. Musket got a few good horses, but he got them out of the grandest lot of mares it was possible to get together. With the exception of Carbine, all his good horses came from proved good Australian stock. It is noticed that his sons who have so far been successful at the stud came from hardy old stock whose ancestors made the Australian horse famous for the stamina. Instead of improving I hold that Musket has weakened them by introducing bad feet, weak soft pasterns, and a general softness all round. Who ever heard of a good (bar Carbine) Musket after he was three years old. Trenton raced on a bit, but he was all to pieces at four years. The time will come when the Muskets will be dubbed rotten instead of incomparable.”

‘ Censor,” of Sydney Truth, remarks that some of the ponies now figuring around Sydney would be properly placed if slaughtered and distributed round for the nourishment of indigent eats.

The Taranaki Jockey Club stewards not only disqualified Commodore for crossing Merry Maid in the Borough Hack Handicap at the Shore last Saturday, but disqualified the rider (Farrell) for a month.

Many people think that D. Morrigan abandoned riding Bombardier because he is afraid of the horse. That is not the case. It was the owners who advised him to engage riders, for, as they put it, “ The horse will kill you some day, Denny.”

Acceptances for the first day in connection with the Otahuhu Trotting Club’s meeting to be held on Saturday, 15th, and Saturday, 22nd inst., close to-morrow (Friday) at 10 p.m. with the secretary, Otahuhu, or care Metropolitan Hotel, Auckland.

The Hobbs’ stable had a winning turn at the C.J.C. Summer Meeting, carrying off three races in succession. Lady Zetland won the Midsummer Handicap, then Bizarre got home in the Selling Race, and Saracen followed on by taking the Craven Plate.

One of the Auckland visitors to the Egmont and Taranaki meetings will be the well-known penciller, Mr D. McLeod. As intimated in our advertising columns, Messrs Cleland and Doig are authorised to transact business on Mr McLeod’s behalf during his absence. The material condition of the Turf in France (says the Field) is very satisfactory. In the course of the past season the value of the races run on the flat was about £4600 in excess of 1894, the total being £281,858, and it is worth noting that a much larger proportion of this was genuine added money (£223,858) than would be the case in England, where so many of the most valuable races are made up entirely of the nominators’ stakes and forfeits.

The stallions Carnage and Trenton arrived at Plymouth in excellent condition.

Mr S. H. Gollan’s Medallion—Florence McCarthy gelding, Tire, had a score at the Sydney Turf Club Meeting. He ran a dead heat with Aroha in the Nursery Handicap, and in the runoff won easily. The dead heat was run in lmin ssec and the run-off in lmin Bsec.

The barbarous barbed wire was again in evidence at Takapuna last Wednesday and Saturday, and a correspondent has written to the daily Press stating that many people were muttering big D’s in consequence. Also, the Herald thinks that now attention has been drawn to the matter the wire will be removed. But I doubt it. Twelve months ago while watching a steeplechase there I was caught in the wire and hung suspended like Mahomet’s coffin until an onlooker unhooked me. I used more than big D's when I found that a new coat had beed ruined and talked in vigorous language to the club officials, but the wire still remains. If the club would remove the wire and pay me for a new coat I should feel more satisfied than I do at present.

At a meeting of the Auckland Racing Club committee, held on Monday, C. Coleman was granted 3gs. Programmes were passed as follows : —March 16th, Tologa Bay J.C.; March 17th, Ohinemuri J.C., Papakura R.C., and Whakatane R.C.; February 12th, Rotorua J.C.; February 24th, Aoteara-Waotu R.C. ; April Ist, Waipawa R.C. Trainers’ licenses were granted to Wm. Braybrook, W. H. Frewin, T. Warr, and J. Homan. Jockeys were licensed as follows : — W. Quarterman, J. W. Brady, A. Haydon, A. Somers, A. Blaine, Speakman, and Sharp. Apprentices licenses were granted to E. Baker, A. McMillan, and Hugh Boyd. Disqualifications were removed frSm the Kimihia Club and the horse Chestnut Joe. Licenses to train their own horses were granted to W. E. McCutcheon, J. Gallagher, and W. H. Mehaffey.

Acceptances for the Newmarket Handicap and Australian Cup appear in this issue. Pegasus and Yattenfeldt were shipped to New Plymouth on Monday ti fulfil West Coast engagements.

The Messrs. Alison Bros. Motu-Korea stud was brought into prominence at the recent meeting of the Takapuna Jockey Club. Nestor, winner of the two-year-old, Miss Nelson, winner of the Anniversary Handicap, and Carbuncle, who won the Maiden Steeple and Hurdle double were all bred by the Alison Bros. At their first sale of yearlings the Alison Bros, disposed of five youngster, and I notice they are all winners, viz., St. Regel, Miss Nelson, Rex, Commodore, and the Brigadier —-Mystery filly Huna, who won a double at the last Gisborne meeting.

The Indian Planter's Gazette gives the following description of the Viceroy’s Cup, one mile and three-quarters, won by Sprightly, who defeated the erst-Australian horse, Fortunatus, by two lengths:—“ At the six furlong post Blarney Stone improved his position, and led for a short distance, but almost immediately after that Smith was niggling at him to keep him in liis place. The pace now began to tell on Colleen Juna and Virago, who with Blarney Stone were beginning to feel the severe strain, and Sprightly and Fortunatus were the only two who still looked to be going freely. At the five-furlong post Coleen Juna was hopelessly beaten, and at the half-mile Sprightly assumed command, Blarney Stone lying second, Fortunatus coming up third alongside Virago. At the quarter-mile post Sprightly had everything in the field beaten, and Fortunatus came up and challenged Virago, who was then second, Blarney Stone having compounded. Sprightly then sailed home the easiest of winners by two lengths, four lengths dividing Fortunatus and Virago, and three Virago and Blarneystone ; Colleen Juna fifth, Primrose Way sixth, Kite High seventh, Norbert eighth, and Granada last. Time, 3min 4 2-ssec.