After the Races.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume VIII, Issue 380, 4 November 1897, Page 12

After the Races.

VICTORIA RACING CLUB’S SPRING MEETING. Derby Day, Saturday, Oct. 30. Defeat of Aurum. The great Spring meeting of 1897 was inaugurated in fine weather on Saturday last, but a strong wind stirred up the dust and rendered things disagreeable to visitors, making their way to the convincing ground. It was the occasion of the 39th Derby, and once more did the leading racing institute of Australia achieve a triumph all the more pronounced when the dull times th rough which Victoria has passed is remembered. The receipts were £2OO more than last year, and rivalled the takings during the boom times. Proceedings were initiated with the Maiden Stakes, for which a field of eight saddled up. The quality of the field all round was not.first class, and it was not surprising that the Carbine colt Clarion was made a 6 to 4 on favourite, and that, too, in the face of the fact that he did not move in a pleasing manner in his preliminary, but his running proved that he was head and shoulders above everything else in the race. He was slow in getting away, but when it came to galloping at the finish he f ;^no wed everything else down and won in hollow fashion from Koha and another Carbine colt, Pinfire.- Alva was fourth, Amnesty fifth, Erl Queen sixth, Snapshot seventh, and Etheridge last. The -Melbourne Stakes evoked a lot of interest, the majority of. |hp horses engaged in it being prominent candidates for the Melbourne Cup, and the public pinned their, fancy tb Coil and Delaware. Backers had opened wAll in the Maiden Stakes, but they were; ribw doomed to disappointment. When the

thing got well away but the evil-tempered Positano, who could not be induced to leave the mark until the others were twenty lengths away, but he then rapidly made up lost ground. The front division for the greater part of the journey was composed of Delaware, Wait-a-Bit, and Key. At the distance Coil joined issue with the leaders, and for a moment seemed to have the race at his mercy. Some seemed to think that Delaney was too confident, and eased Abercorn’s son a little, thus enabling Battalion to come up with a brilliant ran and gain a victory on the post by a head, while Key was only a neck away third ; then came Wait-a-Bit, Toreador, Delaware, The Merry Boy, Fucile, Bloodshot, True Blue, Positano, and Auraria. The mile and a quarter was cut out in the excellent time of 2min 9£sec. Battalion’s performance was a.highly creditable one, but in the opinion of many Coil would have won had not Delaney; who seldom makes mis_takes, been a litile too confident.

The Hotham Handicap brought eleven to the post, and punters this time were successful in picking the winner, the Carbine colt Metfqrd. He held a good position during the early part of the race, and, taking command at the distance, won easily by two lengths from Surge, with Canoona and Gaulus a dead-heat for third place. Half-a-dozen were left in the Derby, and although most people thought it was a good thing for Aurum, the form shown by Amberite in the Caulfield Cup caused many to anticipate a good race between the pair. As the horses saddled up the interest in the event seemed to increase, but the St. Albans xepresentative remained a firm favorite to the finish, and started at 2 to 1 on, while 3to 1 against was Amberite’s price. Manfred, on his pace-making mission for Aurum, was the first to break the line, Eiridisdale being his nearest attendant, while the two cracks laid side by side, the riders being intent on watching one

anuther. Along the river side Aurum was third just clear of the brilliant Carbine colt (Amberite) who was going as kindly as ever his mighty sire did, Fleet Admiral being almost on terms. Passing the abbatoirs and approaching the scraping sheds Manfred and Eiridisdale were still in front, with Fleet Admiral, who was surprising everyone by the gallant show he was making, creeping up, while the cracks were fourth and fifth. Into the straight they swept in the same order, and soon After Morrison moved on the favorite, who sprang forward, and thousands of voices shouted his name, but Mat. Harris bad watched his opponent, and as Aurum commenced his effort so also did the son of Carbine. Like a flash he was on terms with Trenton’s son, and almost before people could realise the fact the defeat of the great favorite was certain. Amberite’s brilliant dash at the supreme moment had apparently paralysed both Aurum and his rider, and the Carbine colt won the thirty-ninth V.R C. Derby by four lengths. Fleet Admiral was a good third, being only a length behind Aurum. Manfred was fourth, Eiridisdale fifth, and The Hypnotist last. ' The time was 2min 39|sec, exactly the same time occupied by Ne whaven last, year over the journey.' ' Twice has that time been beaten in the Derby— Martini-Henri being credited with 2min 39sec in 1883, and Carnage with 2min 39sec in 1892. i A urum’s defeat was aiheavy blow to backers all . over Australia, but the stable.had been forestalled in the betting, and, although confident of winning/ > (he stable connections had not risked so much in i. the race as they would otherwise have done. Two Victorian backers were heavily hit, and, although they had forestalled the stable, they refused to , lay any of the money off. Another backer is now regretting the fact that he laid £7500 to £5OOO on -Aurum. When the horses returned to the paddock it was seen that Aurum’s hind leg was i bleeding, as if he had been galloped upon, but the consensus of opinion among the , Flemington ! trainers was that that did not affect the result, and that the best horse on the day of the race won. : ■' < - ’ . ' The luck of the St. Albans stable was decidedly

out. The bitterness of the- defeat of Aurum was intensified by the absence of the filly Symmetry from the rich Maribyrnong Stakes, upon which, judging from her running at Caulfield, she seemed to have a mortgage. Her absence was the result of an unfortunate accident in the morning when being brought to the course. A passing train caused her to rear and, falling, she injured herself so severely that she had to be scratched. The race was a complete boil over, as the winner was scarcely-mentioned in the betting. Standish was favourite, but he was never dangerous. Lady Mostyn led the field at the distance, and won easily by three lengths in Imin 4jsec. The best records for the Maribyrnong Plate are those of lolanthe in 1883 and Arihi in 1894, their time being Imin 2isec. The first day was brought to a close with the Coburg Stakes, for which twenty-two started. Notwithstanding the big field, The Grafter was backed down to 2 to 1, and he justified the confidence reposed in him by winning with the greatest of ease by three or four lengths. The following are the details of the running :

The Maiden Plate, a sweepstake of 5 sovs each, with 200 sovs added; second horse 50 bovs from the stake. For two-year-olds and upwards. Weight for age. One mile. Mr H. C. White’s b c Clarion, by Carbine — Clare, 3yrs, 7.13, H. Cook ... ... ... 1 Mr J. McSweeney’s b g Koha, 4yrs, 8.9,

Holmes ... ... ••• ••• Mr C. Fairbairn’s ch c Pinfire, 3yrs, 7.13, Murphy ... ... ••• ••• ® • Other starters — Alva, Amnesty, Erl Queen, Snapshot, Etheridge. Betting — 6 to 4on Clarion, 3to 1 against Amnesty, 10 to to 1 Koha. Won easily by six lengths, a head separating the second and third horses. Alva was fourth, and then followed Amnesty, Erl Queen, Snapshot, and Etheridge. Time, Imin 46sec. The Melbourne Stakes, a sweepstakes of 5 sovs each, with 250 sovs added; second horse 50 sovs from the stake. For three-year-olds and upwards. Whight for age. One mile and a quarter. Mr J. G. Clark’s ch g Battalion, by Battalions —Nancy Till, aged, 8.13, R. Lewis .. 1 Mr W. Bailey’s ch h Coil, by Abercorn — Copra, 4yrs, 9.0, A. Delaney ... ... 2 Mr J. Wilson’s, jun., br f Key, by Padlock — Governess, 3yrs, 7.6, P. Dowling 3 Other starters —Delaware, 9.4 ; Bloodshot, 9.4; Positano, 9.4; True .Blue, 9.4; VVait-a-Bit, 9.0; Fucile, 9.0; Toreador, 8.13; The Merry Boy, 8.13 ; Auraria, 8.13. Betting—2 to 1 against Coil, sto 2 Delaware, 20 to 1 Battalion. Won by a head, with Key a neck away third; Wait-a-Bit, Toreador, Delaware, The Merry Boy, Fucile, Bloodshot, True Blue, Positano, and Auraria finishing in the order named. Time, 2min 9fsec. The Hotham Handicap, a sweepstake of 5 sovs each, Ift., with 200 sovs added ; second horse .59 sovs from the stake. For three-year-olds and upwards. One mile and a half. Mr W. Bailey’s ch c Metford, by Carbine— Marchesa, 3yrs, 7.5, Sixsmith ... ... 1 Mr E. H. Knight’s br g Surge, 6yrs, 7.0, Smith „. ..; ... ... ... ••• 2 Mr j. N. McArthur’s b m Canoona, aged, Brown ... ... ... ••• + Mr W. Forrester’s eh h Gaulus, 6yrs, 8.5, Cal- . linan ... .... ... ... ••• ••• t ’ Seven others started.. ■. Betting—2 to 1 against Metford, 4to 1 Surge, 8 to 1 Gaulus. • Won easily by two lengths from Surge, who was half a length in advance of Canoona and Gaulus, who ran a dead-heat for third place; Bacchus was fifth, and Mischief sixth. Time, 2min 38£sec. The Victoria Derby, a sweepstake of 25 sovs. each, sft, with 1000 sovs added ; second horse to receivs 200 sovs and the third 100 sovs out of the stake. For three-year olds. Colts, Bst 101 b; fillies, Bst 51b. One mile and a half. (87 nominations, 80 of which paid 5 sovs forfeit; value of stake, £1,575). Mr W. Duggan’s b c Amberite, by Carbine — Duenna (M. Harris),.. ... ... ... 1 Mr W. B. Wilson’s b c Aurum, by Trenton—- , Aura (H. J. Morrison) ... ... ... 2 Mr J. Bowen’s b c Fleet Admiral, by Richmond —Footstep (Lewis) .J. ... ... 3 Mr W. R. Wilson’s br c Manfred, by Trenton —Nellie (Gardiner)... ... .... ... 4 . Other starters—The Hypnotist and Eiridsdale. Betting—2 to 1 on Aurum, 3 to 1 against Amberite, 20 to 1 others. .Won by four lengths. Fleet Admiral was third, only a length away from Aurum, Manfred fourth, Eiridsdale fifth, and The Hypnotist last. Time, 2 min 39ssec. The Maribyrnong Plate, a sweepstakes of 25 sovs each, with 1000 sovs added. Second horse 300 sovs, and third horse 150 sovs out of the stake. For two years old. Fixed weights with penalties. Five furlongs. Mr J. East’s b f Lady Mostyn, by Neckersgat —Miss Mostyn, Bst 51b (H. Morrin) ... 1 Mr W. Kelso’s br c Essex, by Sweet William —Myall Queen, Bst 101 b (H. Cook) ... f Mr F. Fielder’s ch c Vigorous, by Abercorn— Lady Vivian, Bst 101 b (Fielder) ... ... f Mr W. T. J ones’s b or br c Cardamon, by Gossoon —Cinnamon, Bst 101 b ... ... - 4 Other starters —The Pirate King, Ormuz, Moonshee, Cordite, Ranfurly, Standish, Rosscommon, and Hainault. Betting —5 to 2 against Standish, 6to 1 Ormuz and Vigorous, 7 to 1 Essex, 20 to 1 Lady Mostyn. Vigorous, Ormuz, and Essex, who were next the rails, were quickest away. Lady Mostyn came away from her opponents, winning with the greatest of ease by three lengths. Essex and Vigorous, who ran a dead heat for second honours, were four lengths in advance of Cardamon, Standish fifth, Ormuz sixth, Moonshee last. Time, Imin 4|sec.

The Coburg Stakes, a handicap sweepstakes of 5 sovs each, with 200 added; second horse 50 sovs out of the stakes. For two-year Olds and

upwards. One mile. Mr W. Forester,s br g The Grafter, 4yrs, by Gozo—lndustry, Bst 21b, Callinan... ... 1 Mr J. C. Smith’s b h Fitzroy, 4yrs, by Russley—Young Mona. 7st 91b, Houseman 2 Mr C. M. Lloyd’s b g Interlude, 4yrs, by Abercorn —Prelude, 7st 21b, Lewis ... 3 Nineteen others ran. Betting—2 to 1 v. The Grafter, who led from start to finish, winning with the greatest ease by four lengths ; three lengths between the second and third horses. Elusive was fourth. Time, Imin 42J sec. Second Day—Tuesday, November 2. It rained during Monday night and showers fell on Tuesday morning, but this did not prevent the attendance at Flemington being large and thoroughly representative. A big Government House party was present, and the English cricketers also put in an appearance. The course, although perhaps not quite so fast as usual, was in good order. Proceedings opened with the Hurdle Race, for which ten was the main, and the ex New Zealand mare Response was made favourite, but she was never in the hunt, and the race fell to the Ballarat contingent with Lucid, whilst Insurance and Goldfinder filled the places. During the race Response, Murdoch and Sammy Brass fell, while Bendigo lost his rider. This is rather a big per centage of accidents for a hurdle race, but no one was injured. The Railway Handicap brought out a field of fifteen, the Sydney mare Loch Marie having the call in the betting, with Fortunio second in demand. The latter, who belongs to the wellknown Gippsland owner, Mr J. H. Davis, and is a son of Fryingpan, won. The victory was gained by half a length, while the South Australian Staff a was a good fourth. Nineteen youngsters went out for the Nursery Handicap, for which Auriferous was favourite, Essex and Cicero being next in demand. The running made it apparent that the racing in the Maribyrnong Plate had done the Sydney colt Essex no end of good. He dashed away when the barrier- was relieved, and never gave anything else a hope, leading from start to finish, and winning by about four lengths from Cordite and Hainault. who were in the places. This made way for the great race of the year, the Melbourne Cup, for which there was only one late scratching, namely, Delaware, who did not seem himself at all after the Melbourne Stakes, and Mr. Hall therefore determined to withdraw the son of Trenton. There was a great run on Positano, and the result was that when the splendid field streamed out of the saddling paddock: the English horse was a firm first favourite at 6 to 1, the next in demand then being Coil at 7 to 1, Wait-a-Bit at 10 to 1, the Derby winner and Gaulus coming next at 12 to 1. When the field moved off Positano and Wait-a-Bit were the first away, but before the end of straight had been reached Koha had become Pilot, closely followed by Bundook, Fleet Admiral and Mischief, while the last three were Coil, Battalion and Fucile. Very much the same order was maintained along the river bend, but at the Bridge Mischief took command, while it was observed that Coil was making a run from the rear. At the Abbatoirs Bundook ran to the front and led past the scraping sheds, where the stable companions, The Grafter and Gaulus, were seen to be making a forward run with Coil in company. Bundook was first into the straight, but The Grafter cut him down and looked to be winning, but Gaulus -went after him, and a splendid finish between the pair resulted in favour of Gaulus by half a head. Aurum was four lengths away third, Bundook fourth, Coil fifth, Positano sixth, (Clarion seventh, Dreamland eighth, Amnesty ninth, and Wait-a-Bit tenth. The last three were The Merry Boy, True Blue, and Fucile. The time was 3min 31eec, or 2|secs slower than Newhaven’s time last year. The record for the distance is that of Carbine in 1890, when he carried lOst 51b to victory in 3min

28£sec. The Grafter and Gaulus are trained at Warwick Farm, New South Wales, by Noah Beal, W. Forrester’s trainer, but the Squire of Warwick Farm takes about as active a part in the preparation of his horses as his trainer. Noah Beal, it may be mentioned, is a veteran who has seen something like eighty summers. The stable are understood to have won a good stake by Gaulus’ victory. The Steeplechase was won easily by the favourite, Whernside. The New Zealander, Ditto, finished fifth in this event. The. day’s racing was brought to a close with the Yan Yean Stakes, and at last the St. Albans’ stable had a little luck, Eleusive winning easily from Paul Pry and Pinfire. The following are the details : — The Hurdle Race, a handicap sweepstakes of 5 sovs each, with 250 sovs added ; second horse 50 sovs, and third horse 25 sovs from the stake. Three miles. Mr W. Jones’ b h Lucid, by Off Colour— Lucinda, aged, 9.12, W. C. Knight ... 1 Mr S. Miller’s b m Insurance, syrs, 12.3, Mooney ... ' ... ... ... ... 2 Mr J. Patterson’s b g Goldfinder, 6yrs, 10.5, Powell ... ... ... ... ... 3 Seven others ran. Betting—4 to 1 against Response, 6 to 1 Lucid, 7 to 1 Goldfinder. Won by a long half-length. Time, 6min 15Jsec. The Railway Handicap, a sweepstakes, of 5 sovs each, with 200 sovs added ; second horse 50 sovs from the stake. For three-year-olds and olds and upwards. Six furlongs. Mr J. H. Davis’s br h Fortunio, by Fryingpan —Gretchen, syrs, 7.10, W. Redfearn ... 1 Mr C. M. Lloyd’s b g Interlude, 4yrs, 7.9, Lewis ... ... ... ... ... . 2 Mr H. Garratt’s blk m Loch Marie, syrs, 8.6, D. Cook ... ... ... ... ... 3 Fifteen ran. Betting —7 to 2 against Loch Marie, 5 to 1 Fortunio, 7 to 1 Interlude. Won by half a length, the same distance between second and third ; Staffa was fourth, Valorous fifth. Time, Imin 15fsec. The Nursery Handicap, a sweepstakes of 5 sovs each, with 200 sovs added ; second horse 50 sovs from the stake. For two-year-olds. Five furlongs. Mr W. Kelso’s br c Essex, by Sweet William —Myall Queen, 9.2, H. Cook ... ... 1 Mr R. Chirnside’s b g Cordite, by Zalinski — Busy Bee, 7.9, Finlay ... ... ... 2 Mr W. Clark’s ch c Hainault, by Pilgrims Progress (imp.) — Kate Dalrymple, 8 9, Quinn... ... ... ... ... ... 3 Nineteen ran. Betting—s to 1 against Auriferous, 6 to 1 Essex and Cicero, 8 to 1 Cordite, 10 to 1 The Pirate King and Hainault . Won by four lengths, Hainault a length away third; then came Novus, Egypt, Sweet Alice, with Westward-Ho and Dawdler the last two. The Pirate King walked in, having been left at the post, never taking part in the race. Time, Imin ssec. The Melbourne Cup, a handicap sweepstake of 25 sovs each, with 3000 sovs added ; second horse 500 sovs, and the third horse 250 sovs from the stake. Two miles. Mr W. Forrester’s ch h Gaulus, by Gozo — Industry, 6yrs. 7.8, S. Callinan ... ... 1 Mr W. Forrester’s b g The Grafter, by Gozo — Industry, 4yrs, 7.7 (inc. 71b penalty), W. Redfearn ... ... ... ... ... 2 Mr W. R. Wilson’s br c Aurum, by Trenton —Aura, 3yrs, 8.6, H. J. Morrison... ... 3 Mr S. Miller’s b h Bundook, by Carbine— Moonga, 4yrs, 6.11 ... ... ... ... 4 Other starters —Battalion, 9.4 ; Coil, 9.3 ; True Blue, 9.1; Tbe Chevalier, 8.6; Ayrshire, 8.5; The Merry Boy, 8.4 ; Amberite, 8.4; Mora, 8.2 ; Toreador, 8.0; Wait-a-Bit, 8.0; Devon, 7.13; Mischief, 7.13; Fucile, 7.13; Parthenopseus,.

7.12; Fleet Admiral, 7.10; Trent, 7.9 ■ Dreamland, 7.9 ; Sortie, 7.8 ; Positano, 7.7; The Hypnotist, 7.5; Koha, 7.4; Manfred, 7.0; Amnesty, 6.12; Clarion, 6.8; Rosella, 6.7. Betting —6 to 1 Positano 7 to 1 Coil, 10 to 1. Wait-a-Bit, 12 to 1 Amberite and Gaulus, 14 to 1 Ayrshire, Fucile, and Parthenopieus, 16 to 1 Trent, 20 to 1 Aurum, 25 to 1 The Merry Boy, Toreador, Battalion, and Clarion, 33 to 1 The Grafter, Bundook, and Rosella, 50 to 100 to 1 the others.

Won by half a head, Aurum third, four lengths away, and Bundook fourth; then in order came Coil, Positano, Clarion, Dreamland, Amnesty, and Wait-a-Bit, the last three being The Merry Boy, True Blue, and Fucile, the Derby winner, never being prominent in any portion of the race. Time, 3min 31sec. The Steeplechase, a sweepstake of 5 sovs each, with 200 sovs added ; second horse 35 sovs, and third horse 15 sovs from the stake. About two miles. Mr S. Miller’s b g Whernside, by Glorious -—Mildura, 6yrs, 10.3, Mooney ... ... 1 Mr G. Russell’s br g Walter, aged, 11.9, Williams ... ... ... ... ... ... 2 Mr R. G. Row’s ch g Zanonia, aged, 10.3, Laverty ... ... ... ... ... 3 Other starters—Vigil, Ditto, Peveril, Albany, The Vicar, and Songster. Betting—3 to 1 against Whernside, 4 to 1 Walter, 5 to 1 Ditto and The Vicar. Won easily by five lengths, eight lengths separating the second and third horses ; The Vicar was fourth and Ditto fifth. The others fell. Time, 4min 14fsec. The Yan Yean Stakes, a handicap sweepstakes of 5 sovs each, with 200 added; second horse 50 sovs from the stake. For three-years-olds and upwards. One mile. Mr W. R. Wilson’s b f Eleusive, 3yrs, by Trenton —Eleasis, Bst 31b, Morrison ... 1 Mr E. G. S. Hare’s b g Paul Pry, syrs, by Lochiel —Busybody, 9st 51b, Powell ... 2 Mr C. Fairbairn’s ch c Pinfire, 3yrs, by Carbine —Needle, 6st7lb, Hearne ... ... f Mr J. Scobie’s br h Kallara, syrs, by Dunlop

—Frou Frou, Bst 31b, Holmes ... ... + Twelve others ran. Betting—2 to 1 against Surge. 6 to 1 against Loch Marie and Eleusive.

Won by three lengths. From three-quarters of a length to half a length separated the second horse and the “ dead-heaters.” Time, Imin 42sec.