AS OTHERS SEE US.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume VIII, Issue 407, 12 May 1898, Page 6

AS OTHERS SEE US.

Walter Bagsby, well-known here as a horseman, is back from Auckland, N.Z., where he has been for. several months handling a stable of trotters. Bagsby went down to the colony for a trip, without any idea of getting into business. He had done some clipping here, but found there would be very little in it in New Zealand. After a time he made the acquaintance of a number of horse trainers and owners, and being given a trial, secured a good position. There is only about a month more of racing down there. Mr Bagsby intends to return in time for the campaign of next season. He says it is a great place for sporting of all kidds, and that contrary to general report, the liveliest" interest is taken in trotting stock. All the saddle horses are trotters, and many of them are gaited wonderfully easy. The runners are of course the favourites, but the trotters always attract crowds, and there are large sums of money invested in the standard-bred horses. '

All the trotters there are under saddle. Bagsby says i he had a good laugh at himself the first time he went aboard of a trotter after getting into top boots and tights. The contestants are not so particular about breaking, and say nothing if a horse breaks and runs a hundred yards or so, provided it is apparent that the rider is trying to get his mount down. Bagsby says after all he prefers the sulky. The racing in New Zealand that most interested the Honolulu man was the steeplechase. He says it is the most exciting sport that horses can be used in, but at times seems cruel. He tells of one event of three miles and a half of a course with thirty-three jumps. Six of the best horses in the country started, but only two of them were able to finish. Two.of the others were hurt by falls and two became

so exhausted that they were unable to even ■> attempt the last mile. The jumps are of all 5 sorts. There are stone fences, hedges, open 3 ditches, and ditches with water. Sometimes it 3 is a fence and then water and again the water 3 first. The colonials are very partial to this sport.—Honolulu Colonial Advertiser. 3 [We are afraid that Mr Bagsby’s imagination L has been “jumping.”—Ed. S.R.] i I I NOTES. ) Adbel, 2.23, the champion yearling trotter of j the world, brought the highest price at the Palo > Alto Stock Farm sale in New York City in ; March. The Suburban Stock Farm of Glenn ! Falls, New York, secured him for 3,000d01. The entries received for the autumn meeting of the Canterbury Trotting Club must be. exceedingly gratifying (states the Canterbury Times') to all concerned, more especially when the short limits imposed all round are taken into consideration. The result shows conclusively that the number of fast horses is decidedly on the increase. Three hundred and eighteen is the total number of entries, and this does not include I those for the Juvenile Stakes. The entries, too, are splendidly representative, for there is scarcely a performer of note in Canterbuay but has been been nominated for one or more of the races on the programme, in addition to which there is, of course, the speedy contingent brought by Mr Buckland from Sydney. Given fine weather, the club should reap the reward of its energetic

policy by achieving a record success in point of attendance, and providing the best sport yet witnessed in New Zealand. In Russia laying up of heats in haruess races is not practised, for each horse is timed separately and in a dash race tho horse making the fastest time gets first money, while in a race of heats the horse making the fastest average time is declared the winner. American racing managers (states the Breeder and Svortsman) could evidently take a lesson from the Russians in more ways than one. For instance, a Russian racing association taxes the betting man 10 per cent, of the money handled, and charges an entrance fee of 2 per cent, of the purse from members of the association, and 4 per cent, from non-members. This is exactly opposite to the way business is done in this country. Trotting appears to be booming again in the South Island. Splendid entries have been received, and the New Zealanders appear to be genuinely intent in preventing Mr Buckland’s Acstralian horses having all their own way. An analysis of the nominations received by the Canterbury and the Tahuna Park Clubs (writes “ Director”), respectively for tbeir meetings to be held this month, affords an approximate estimate of the number of trotting horses at present in Canterbury and Otago. By trotting horses, of course, is .meant horses which are considered by their owners to be fast enough to compete in races. For the southern meeting 113 horses have been.nominated, and for the Canterbury Club’s meeting 171, bringing up the very respectable total of 284. '