Sporting and Dramatic REVIEW . AND . LICENSED VICTUALLERS' GAZETTE. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE WEEKLY STANDARD. Thursday, April 5, 1900 Sporting Topics.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume X, Issue 506, 5 April 1900, Page 10

Sporting and Dramatic REVIEW . AND . LICENSED VICTUALLERS' GAZETTE. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE WEEKLY STANDARD. Thursday, April 5, 1900 Sporting Topics.

[By

Petronel.]

Messrs Barnett and Grant report the following business on the Great Easter and Great Autumn Handicap : —2OO to 12 Jabber and Skobeloff, 200 to 10 Jabber and Ben Farley, 200 to 10 Glenogle and Skobeloff, 100 to 5 Benzoin and Malatua, 100 to 5 Jabber and Benzoin, 100 to 4 Dundas and Skobeloff, 100 to 3 Ben Farley and Benzoin, 100 to 5 Ben Farley and Skobeloff, 100 to 4 Skobeloff and Ben Farley, 100 to 4 Skobeloff and Dundas, 100 to 4 Skobeloff and Malatua, 100 to 5 Malatua and Skobeloff, 100 to 5 Glenogle and Malatua, 100 to 3 St. Denis and Bon Farley.

Owing to the publication of Mr Villiers’ letter from the Transvaal, I am compelled to hold over correspondence from “ I ooking On” and “Outside the Lawn” until next week. Both writers deal with subjects of moment, and I am sorry to delay publication of their communications. Major George returned to Auckland on Friday, arriving by the Te Anau.

J |The Australian-bred Survivor started favorite for the Lincolnshire Handicap at 4 to 1. Mr “ Theobald’s ” horse finished sixth. Messrs Barnett and Grant, the Christchurch and Dunedin bookmakers, have a £5OO volume open on the C.J.C. Great Easter and Great Autumn Handicaps. . The Dunedin Jockey Club made a profit over the recent meeting. The amount is estimated at between two and three hundred pounds, but the exact figure will not be known until the accounts are all in.

Entries for the North New Zealand Grand National Hurdles and Great Northern Steeple chase close on Friday, April 27, with the secretary of the Auckland Racing Club, Mr William Percival.

At the Lincoln and Liverpool meetings, held last week, the starting-gate was used in the two-year-old races. Notwithstanding the prejudice of the jockeys, the gate in all cases worked very satisfactorily, and pleased the public as well as the club officials.

On Wednesday next Mr William Percival will receive acceptances for the following races, to be run on the first day of A.R.C. Autumn Meeting .—Tradesman’s Plate, Eden Handicap, ■Onslow Stakes, Pony Handicap, and Railway Handicap. The acceptance fee in each ease is £l.

Amidst the stir that the Autumn Meeting of the A.R.C. will occasion, owners and trainers should not forgot to give attention to the autumn programme of the Avondale Jockey Club. Nominations for all events close with the secretary, Mr H. H. Hayr, on Friday, April 20, at the club’s office, High Street, Auckland.

Mr A. F. Scott thought Bluejacket had too much weight in the A.R.C. Easter Handicap, so the St. Leger—Antelope colt was withdrawn. As a prolonged rest may be of benefit to the Auckland Cup winner, his owner did not nominate him for any other race to be decided at the Ellerslie Easter Meeting. It is, therefore, practically certain that Bluejacket will not be seen racing anymore this season.

The Hon. Hugh Mosman, who has been on a visit to the South, returned to Auckland by the Te Anau last Friday. The blue and orange livery may be seen in a conspicuous position during the A R.O. Easter Meeting, for both Formula and Hengist are in excelleut form just now. Had not Wellstock broken down when going really well, the prospects of s uccess would have been even better.

Mr G. G. Stead will be represented at the A.R.O. Easter Meeting by the handsome Sant Ilario. The St. Leger—Cissy colt arrived from the South on Sunday, and will be put through ‘his final preparation for the Century Stakes by Harry Franke, who, as a former pupil of Dick Mason, should know exactly hosv to treat the colt. It would be very pleasing to Mr Thomas Morrin should Sant llano prove equal to winning the big race at Easter, and none would •grudge the victory, for Mr Stead has not had the -best of luck this season

On Friday (to morrow), April 6, Messrs John Churton and Co. will dispose of the privileges in connection with the Easter Meeting of the Auckland Racing Club The Easter Carnival is one of the most enjoyable meetings of the Auckland racing season, and always attracts a very large attendance. With the valuable Century Stakes as a greater incentive to public patronage, the result of the sale should be very satisfactory to the cltib. The competition for the booths, -cards, and other privileges should be very keen, -and with the auctioneer in his usual good form, excellent prices should be forthcoming.

The conditions of the Century Stakes have been very freely discussed of late. On Monday the committee of the A.R.C received a letter on the subject from Major George, the owner of Seahorse. The conditions read as follow: — “The winner of the C.J.C. Derby, Canterbury Cup, or Great Northern Derby to carry 71b ; of two or three, 141 b penalty. Winner of any other race, or races, collectively of 500 sovs, to carry 51b; of 1000 sovs, 101 b •extra.” The Major states that he has reason for believing that it was not the intention of the committee, when framing the conditions, that there should be a 241 b penalty, which he regards as “ prohibitive.” Major George asks for a prompt answer from the club, so that doubt may be set at rest, and trouble after the race may be prevented. The committee deferred making a reply to the Major’s letter on Monday, but I believe that an answer will be quickly forthcoming. In my mind there is only one interpretation of the above conditions, and that is, that the horse who has earned the 141 b penalty has to carry another 101 b extra if he has won other races of the collective value of 1000 sovs. I cannot see why there should be any uncertainty in understanding plain English, and I fail to see where there' is any ambiguity in the language used in the conditions. The conditions of the race were framed some time ago. There was no question of interpretation until Seahorse had earned all the penalties, and, therefore, 1 do not quite see how the Major arrives at his belief that it was not the intention of the committee to make.the penalties cumulative. I supposed the conditions were so framed tu make the race an open one, and that if an animal of exceptional merit appeared upon the scene, he would be we ghted so that other horses might' have a chance in competing against him.

On Monday the A.R.C. Committee voted Sam Lindsay sgs, D. Morrigan sgs, and F. McLennan 4gs, from the Distressed Jockeys’ Fund.

Calceolaria, who won a race at the Manawatu meeting on Tuesday, has won more than the amount of money dividing hacks from racehorses, and in future must compete in open events. I hear that the Turakina people have established a racing club, and that a programme for the initial meeting will be formulated at an early date.

At the meeting of the committee of the Auckland Racing Club, held on Monday last, Alec Williams was granted a trainer’s license, and jockeys’ licenses were issued to J. Kelly, M. KcKinnon, and R. Teddy.

Sant Ilario is looking really well. His weight in the Century Stakes is 7st 131 b, as he has the maiden allowance of 51b. For a fine colt like the son [of St. Leger and Cissy the weight is a light one, and he should run a good race. The secretary of the Wanganui Jockey Club wishes to bring before the notice of owners, trainers, and breeders that nominations for the Wanganui Guineas, 1901, for three-year-olds, close on Monday, April 23. The nomination fee for now yearlings is 1 sov only.

Bob Hall left for Sydney on Tuesday by the Mararoa, in order to ride Nor’-West in his engagements during the forthcoming meeting of the Australian Jockey Club. Latest advices from Peter Chaafe state that the Auckland jumper is in the best of health and condition.

Advance left Wellington for Auckland yesterday (Wednesday). The presence of the Vanguard —Laurel colt during the Autumn Meeting at headquarters should prove a great attraction, and if there is a meeting between Seahorse and Mr “ Douglas Gordon’s ” colt the attendance at Ellerslie must be very large.

Mr Vercoe, the owner of Repetiton, has appealed against the decision of the Ohinemuri Jockey Club in regard to the Yarra- Trooper affair at the recent meeting. At Monday’s meeting of the A.R.C. Committee Mr Vercoe’s statement was read. Consideration of the appeal was postponed until a future occasion.

The Egmont Racing Club will hold its Winter Meeting on Wednesday and Thursday, May 9 add 10. The full programme of events to be decided appears in this issne of the Review. Nominations for all events close on Monday, April 23. Next week I shall have more to say about the programme.

The nominations for the minor races to be decided at the Autumn Meeting of the A.R.C. are excellent. Altogether the entries for the meeting total over ihree hundred and fifty, about thirty more than were received for the corresponding meeting last year. With fine weather, the meeting must be a most successful one.

There is not a great deal of betting on the A.R 0. Easter Handicap. The presence of Advance seems to cause punters to hold off, and that they are likely to do while Mr “Douglas Gordon’s ” colt keeps well After his arrival — he is due to-morrow (Friday)—Advance will mo.-t likely shorten in price rather than retire.

A visitor to the Napier Park races informs me that the Handicap Hurdle event on the second day was considered little short of a certainty for the Yattacy horse, The Guard. He had Coin’s measure when there were but two jumps to go, but he fell. Coin followed suit at the last obstacle, and the Konini mare, Tui, sauntered home.

Our Taranaki corespondent writes : —Mr F. Neylon, of the totalieator firm of Messrs Neylon and Spriggens, writes me in connection with my report of the robbery of £lOO from the totalisator house at the recent Wanganui Cup Meeting. He asks me to make a connection as my report might lead people to think that the firm conducted their business in a loose manner. Mr Neylon forwards me the following notes from a local paper, which he says are the facts : —“ It appears that one portion of the totalisator house is a cash office tor the tally-clerk, and there the cash was balanced, the notes, as counted from the receiving clerks, being tied in bundles, and placed on a shelf by the window. This window opens from the top for the purpose of ventilation, the bottom portion being seldom, if ever, used. The tally-clerk was under the impression that it could not be opened from the bottom and therefore took no precautions in that particular. The clerk’s temporary absence from the cash house must have been duly noticed by the thieves, and evidently the sash of the window was prized with a knife while paying-out was in fend, the money skilfully extracted. Three young men, waiting to receive their dividends on the last race, observed an individual take a bundle of notes through the window above-mentioned, and put the money under his coat, but believing he was collecting a dividend on the previous race (which, was a large one) took no particular notice, until another person mentioned that he thought something was wrong. In the meanti ■ e the thief had been joined by a confederate, and one of the pair, when approached by the young fellows, remarked —“ Say nothing ; you shall have your cut.” In the meantime the thief had decamped, and the person who saw the money taken, instead of giving the alarm to the police or to the totalisator proprietors, let the confederates get away. Mr Neylon also states m his letter that at the meeting they machined £20,366, which constitutes a record, I may state th»t I got my particulars from what I considered a reliable source, I am sorry if I have caused the members of the firm any annoyance. I, therefore, hasten to give the true version of the robbery, which only differs in the matter of detail from that which I gave.

Percy Martin has not had to wait very long before getting some of Kissmary’s purchase money back. The hestnut filly won the Two- Year-Old Handicap on the second day of the Napier Park meeting in excellent style. After waiting on the field for more than half the journey, the ex-Aucklander came away, and won easily, running the six furlongs in Imin 17 l-ssec.

To-morrow (Friday) the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co. will offer by auction, at the Durham Yards, the well-known bay gelding, Red Lancer. Mr Joel’s old favorite is seven years old. and is not by any means done with, as his Takapuna running showed. Red Lancer is accepted for in the A.R.C. Easter Handicap, and he has other valuable engagements.

Following on his Hawke’s Bay record, the Hon. J. D. Ormond had a good innings at the Napier Park meeting. On the first day he won the Flying Handicap with Jabber, and by the aid of Spinner shared the stake of the Esk Handicap. On the second day Spinner won the Second Hack, Ideal annexed the City Stakes, running the mile and a quarter in very good time, and Jabber scored in the Waverley Stakes very easily. (

The foilswing are the winning owners at the Napier Park Meeting : —Hon. J. D. Ormond, £432 ss; Mr S. H. Gollan, £266; Mr E. J. Watt, £lO4 10s : Mr A. Ellingham, £95 ; Mr D. Green, £47 10s ; Mr J. T. Blake, £47 10s; Messrs J. R. McDonald, A. Hood, B. O’loughlin, H. Morrison, £3B each ; Mr E. S. Evans, £2B ; Mr G. Collello, £23 15s: Messrs T. Connop, J. H. Prosser, A. Parsons, and R. Te Hianga, £9 10s each.

Record Reign, Labourer, Hohoro, Dayntree, Minerva 11, Rex, and Rosella, who are all well fancied for the A.R.C. Easter Handicap, are doing excellently in their preparations. Advance still holds the position of favorite for the race, and 4 to 1 is the best local price obtainable about the Vanguard colt. Record Reign and Hohoro are nearly level second favorites, and the others mentioned above are not separated very widely.

The Pahiatua Club stewards have decided to pay off their debentures at once, with interest added. It is intended to procure a new course, and a sub-committee — consisting of Messrs Beattie, Bottomley, A. Stewart, Taylor, and Quirk—was appointed at the last meeting to inspect three properties owned by Messrs J. Hall, Toswill, and Avery. In view of the improvements, etc., proposed to be proceeded with, an overdraft of £3OO is to be arranged for with the bank.

Miss Delaval is doing very good work on the Mangere tracks. With the 71b penalty for winning the Great Northern Derby, her weight in the Century Stakes will be Bst 91b. Notwithstanding the good form Advance has shown, I think Dan McLeod’s game little filly will make a good race with the black colt. Five pounds is not a big difference, but this month Miss Delaval ought to be in better form than at any other period of her three-year-old career. She should be in much better trim than when the Derby.

The Liverpool Grand National Steeplechase, run last Friday, resulted in the victory of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales’ Ambush IL, a six-year-old by Ben Battle out of Miss Plant, who carried list 131 b. Barsac, 9st 121 b, was the runner up, and Manifesto, who carried 12st 131 b over the four miles and a half, finished third. Last year Manifesto won the cross-country Blue Riband. The Prince of Wales’ horse was well fancied last year, but he fell when running well forward. The Prince has better luck this time, and has accomplished a feat that I don’t think has been done before. I do not think the owner of a Derby winner has ever before won the Liverpool Grand National. There is no mention in the ca led result of the race of the position occupied by the New Zealand-bred Levanter,

The majority of horse owners are recognised as being pretty cute, and generally know how to get out of an awkward corner when pressed. Since racing club secretaries have become so beastly particular about nomination and acceptance fees being paid down on the. nail (unless special arrangement is made), some turfites have used pen and cheque book rather freely. Some of these documents have proved worthless on presentation, but before being sent to the bank the owner has achieved his desire, and had a cut for the stake, or stakes, offered. This has been the experience of the Masterton Racing Club among others, and the stewards have decided to place a number of facile pen-wielders on the forfeit list.

I heard a good simile the other day brought forward in connection with a patent that is now being pretty freely discussed by the people of this city, which certainly appears to carry common sense with it. Presuming, say, a five-year-old horse, with a pedigree inferior to no racehorse in the world—an animal pronounced by all judges as being as nearly perfect in conformation as any horse could be; an animal when on the course evincing, from his appearance and condition, to warrant any man staking his life on him. But as no one has ever seen the horse in question extended the machine indicates that he is starting with odds of 100 to 1 against him. What sane man would allow such a horse, and at such odds, to start, without hiving his little something on him ? The same can by said with regard to the Pneumatic -Boot Heel that has been tested and commented upon so favorably by all sections ofthe community, and the man who does not invest his little bit now when the opportunity offers is as void of foresight as would be the man who allowed the chance of 100 to 1, suggested In the foregoing simile, to pass by without investing. For undoubtedly if this patent takes on at Home (and why should it not?) [it must be a great thing. .

Mr S. B. Hunter, the representative of th® Kickapoo Medicine Company for New Zealand, whose portrait appears on another page, was bora at Newcastle-on-Tyne, England, but at an early age migrated to America, where he was brought up, and is what might be termed a typical Yankee. He earned the degrees of M.D., and LL.D, in his own country, and has since had wide and varied experience. Some years ago h® became connected with the Kickapoo Indian Medicine Company. He has figured considerably in American politics, and has held several positions of trust. He is a strong advocate of an Anglo-American alliance.