Sporting Topics

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume IX, Issue 694, 25 June 1903, Page 12

Sporting Topics

(By

“ The Judge.”)

, .Mr Broadribb, once a prominent horse owner in, Australia, died recently in England.

Mr H. Havr leaves for Western Australia, via Sydney and Melbourne, on business during the coming week. r .

The Hotchkiss—-Formo colt in F. 'Macmanemin’s hands is amongst the tions for the V.R.Cj Derby and St. Stakes. - ' M >

Mark Thompson,, who was disqualified by the A.R.C. stewards for the alleged inconsistent running of the mare Australia, has intimated his intention of appealing against their decision.

A few owners were 'much displeased the work of Mr Menzies, the new handicapper to the V.R.C., but sporting writers who witnessed the racing at the June meeting of the club speak fat ourably the work, as judged by results.

Cannongate’s lameness was more deep-, seated than at first expected, and Mr Marshall will be deprived of the services of. the son of Cannon for a considerable time.

Owners are again reminded that nominations are due on Tuesday, June 30, for the Wellesley, Wellington, North Island Challenge, and New. Zealand bt. Leger Stakes, with the Wellington Racing Club, no money being required at time of nomination, * * * • An Adelaide cable states that the Aldei’ - , man Cup, one mile and three-quarters, re-.. suited thus :—Adjustor 1, Tinfoil 2 Bird 3. Twelve started. Won by a neck; a head between second and third, lime, 3min Usee. Dividend, £” as. « «• • *■' The Rotorua Jockey Club intend to go iH for a two days’ programme at their next/meeting, and by giving an increase of prize money to try and induce more/ owners to visit them, and make the meet-: ing one more Worthy of the district; 11 he last meeting suffered from a,want of horses more than from any. other cause. i .) A cable from Adelaide states that’ the stewards of the South Australian Jockey Club, after hearing Mr John Tennant at evidence, decided that he was in no way concerned in the action of l. A. lennanit respecting the horses Maori Chief . Evening Wonder. They therefore considered it unnecessary to take further actioil regarding Evening Wonder. The Auckland representatives in the New Zealand Cup—Wairiki, Golden Rose, Roseshield. Sans Peur, Mars, and Strathavon —axe each winter ng well. The last-named is just now quartered at Otahuhu, at his Owner’s place. . Wairiki has received sup- “ pdi*t for the N ew 1 Zealand Cup at the short.price of 100 to 7 in some quarters, and Mars at too to 3, but the rest of the Aucklanders have no*t come into the maiket yet for' the big Southern race. •* A saddle horse,” says Dr. Wm. Kitchiner, in his “Horse and Carriage Keepers 1 ’ Oracle,” written 182< , beingbut of little. Service during November, December, January, and February, during these four months economical equestrians send their nags to a strawyard. ... . Ihe price at strawyards varies from 3s 6d to 5s a week, depending upon the straw, which is contingent on the corn crops some horses sleep in at night, and have hav given them, in which case 7s a week is charged. Sportsmen say that nothing does a horse more good than a winter s run (in a strawyard) once in two or three vears ; it far exceeds turning out to grass in summer, when the flies are troublesome” . •

Some of our contemporaries made very severe comment on the break down of Advance in Canterbury, holding that the lessees were, wrong in attempting to race the “ black demon ” in the condition his leg was in. It is pleasing to note that some of the writers have done the amende honorable on being advised of the tact that it was on the best veterinary advice that the Porirua syndicate and their trainer decided to race the son of Vanguard- ' Tn this connection the writer once knew of an owner being on the point of scratching his horse for an Important stake, because he. feared the horse might break down. He was, however, persuaded to start, with the result that the hors© won handsomely, an.d what is further, nulled up none the worse for his race over country. The same thing has frequently occurred. Important races have been, won over and over again in this colony by horses sadly under suspicion, who, nevertheless, managed to pu‘l through, though they proved untrainable afterwards. It js not an easy matter to tell when a horse s leg mav go in. a race the worst break dowfip are sometimes experienced when least expected.

wager of 500 to 25 wiis accepted about Shrapnel from a local penciller for tbe New Zealand Cup on Saturday. The Taranaki Cup candidate, Heroism, is doing steady work after a short run at grass. The Multiform colt foal will always have a blemish as the result of getting into a wire fence, but it will not interfere with him for racing. .Social Pest and Black Dust are amongst the entrants for the Wellington Meeting which hcp'e n,ot been racing for a long time. * # * j Horses trained by the well-known Victorian trainer, Walter Hickenbotham, have won about £175,000 in stakes, and included in that amount are the prizes attached to three Melbourne Cups. The Colonial Secretary has refused a totalisator permit tQ the North Canterbury Steeplechase Club, who intended altering their annual meeting to July 12, at Amberley. * * > i i. LiU.r The following stallions were nominated for the A.J.C. Sires’ Produce Stalkes of 1905 : —Definition, Haut Brion, Gossoon, Gaulua, Amberite, Fortuna tus, Orzil, Shimmel, Lochiel, Grafton, Havoc, Louis the Thirteenth, Skopos, Impetus, Clarion, Potitano, Voyou, Trussing Cup, Sir FoOte, Medallion, and Wallace. • • • • / Mr T. W. Cotton has taken over the 'livery and bait stables, formerly Mr Evitt’s, in Durham-street. Racing men and others will find every convenience for putting up their horses and traps when in town. It will be seen by advertisement in another column that Mr Cotton is also prepared to hire out horses and traps to his clients. Jt * * *

* * * * ’ < <? The Australasian,/’ commenting on ' the fact that 169 horses have been entered for the Melbourne Cup, says probably three-fourths of them have no chance, and very truthfully adds : —“ It is quite im- , possible to give the duffers a chance m , such a race, and the public who support : it in such a lavish way want to see title Carbines and Wakefuls of the day running in it. Were a handicapper to absolutely crush the good ones —some of them have been given prohibitive weights in the last , few years—he would soon become uhpopu- ! lar with his committee, as well as the public, and, judging by their defeats this season, Wakeful, The Victory, and Abundance do not require much crushing. It is all Very well to_ say every horse should be given a chance. That theory may apply in second-class races. If owners of good horses enter them for third-class races, let them be crushed, but if owners of secondrate suburban horses choose to'soar after Melbourne Cups, the race should not be spoilt in their interests. They are in their wrong class, and cannot be considered when the handicapper has to work with a 6st 71b minimum, and cannot divide the field into two lots., as is done, with the Oakleigh Plate and other races. As usual, New South Wales owners have nominated freely, but New Zealand sportsmen hold aloof. They have their own Cup meeting in November. Mr Stead and other leading New Zealand sportsmen would like to get Wakeful and Abundance to Christchurch in November, to take part in a £5OO sweepstakes, with Achilles, Treadmill, and Machine Gun. Such an event would recall the days when New Zealand had a Champions Pace, which attracted Mormon and other cracks from Australia, but it is not likely Mr Macdonald and Mr Phillips will send their horses so far. There is enough for them to do at Randwick and Flemington.”

The following are the drawers of placed Horses in Tattersall’s Consultation on the Prince of Wales’ Stakes, run at Randwick, N.S.W., June Bfh, 1903, 50,0q0 Subscribers! at ss. each, fully subscribed . —First : Nothos, W. L. Andrew, 261, George Street, Sydney, N.S.W., £4OOO ; Second : Tatterdemalion, Jas. Simpson, care of P. 0., Hartley Vale, £1250 ; Third, Mechlin, George Jones, Druids’ Hotel, Park Street, S. Melbourne, Vic., £750. These amounts are net.

- An odd discovery about horse feeding has been made in Argentina, in the recent campaign of the Government against the revolutionists. So many horses fell ill in consequence of the bad roads and heavy transportation that the veterinarians didn’t know what to do about it. To supply food which would give greater endurance, one of them made the. experiment of adding a little sugar to the horse rations. It has been so successful that two ounces of sugar dany are given to every horse. The horses last longer and do more work, and some which had become useless have even gained strength and capacity for work.

Mr Geo. Bright has purchased the wellknown racing mare Idas, by Seaton Delaval—lda. •9? * * The “ Breeder and Sportsman,” gives the following interesting paragraph “ Hermis, the champion three-year-old of 1902, has changed hands and is now the property of the most recent newcomer on the American turf, Edward R. Thomas. Hermis was practically sold on Saturday, when Louis V. Bell and Thomas sat watching the races. Mr and Mrs Thomas congratulated Bell on owning the' best horse in America in Hermis. Bell acknowledged the compliment. Thomas then said, “ I suppose lie is not for sale ? ” “Oh, yes, he’s for sale, but the price is high.” ‘.What might be the price you ask for him ? ■ asked Thomas. “ Well,” said Bell, I value him at $60,000, as he is sound as the day he was foaled, and I love him more than I can tell you. Moreover, he is so quiet, and with such a loving disposition, a grand feeder and always willing and eager to do his best, either in company or by himself.” Thomas grasped Bell by the hand and said, ‘ It s a bargain. Hermis is mine.” Hermis has engagements amounting to more than $5100,000. Thomas is a multimillionaire. Mrs Thomas, his wife, was Linda Lee, of Kentucky. She is a most enthusiastic lover of racing and is a constant visitor to the paddock at Morris Park, accompanied by her husband. It is said that the late Marcus Daly paid

?60,000 for Hamburg. Afterward it was declared that the actual price was $5->, 000. This would make the price paid by Thomas the largest in the history of the American turf. L. V. Bell purchased Her mis last August at Saratoga for about 520,000, and on the same day won the Travis stakes with him. The cols won ten consecutive races for Bell and at the close of the season was regarded as the best horse in training, an opinion afterward confirmed by the official handicapper, who allotted the horse top weight (127 pounds) in the Brooklyn and Suburban handicaps.” * * * * A Caulfield sport had a friend staying with him on a visit (says “ Javelin ’), and having occasion to be' away at Ballarat for a night he said to his visitor : “ Look after the missus and her sister while I’m away, old man ! ” Returning to the house by a late train the guest found the two ladies in a dreadful state of fright. “ Oh,” said his hostess, who was trembling from head to foot, “we have been - dreadfully alarmed ! Burglars have been trying the back door and kitchen window ; we heard them quite distinctly, and thought you would never come. I am so thankful to feel that we have a protector at last. Come, Maud, dear ; we can go to bed now in safety ! ” The visitor went to the sideboard, had a stiff nip of whisky, retired to his bedroom, took his revolver out of the dressing table drawer, loaded it carefully, and then —locked his door and got into bed ! * * * «, ■ The fields that contest the jumping races at Randwick for a long time past have been of such a miserable character 1 that the A.J.C. authorities are stated I to be seriously thinking of cutting down ■ the prize money for such races, and in some cases leaving them out of the programme altogether. If the Australian Jockey Club were to inaugurate a Grand National Meeting in the winter season such a move would encourage owners to have their horses schooled. * * * * Mr T. H. Davey, M.H.R., late sporting editor of the Canterbury Times, was : recently the recipient of a presentation from all departments of the . Lyttelton Times Company. Mr J. C. Wilkin, the manager of the company, who made the presentation, spoke of the sterling worth and high character of Mr Davey during his 15 years’ connection with the paper. Mr Davey was givens a gold albert chain, while Mrs Davey was presented with a silver-backed hairbrush and silvermounted tortoiseshell comb. Mr Davey replied in feeling terms to all the nice things said of him by Mr Wilkin. The Premier, in regretting his inability to jbe present, sent his good wishes to Mr ! Davey .

I The Wellington Racing Club are adi vertisirtg their future events for the j Summer Meeting, 1905. The Wellesley j Stakes of 400sovs, four furlongs ; Wellington Stakes of toosovs, five furlongs. . For the Autumn Meeting, 1905. The North Island Challenge Stakes of 400 ; sovs, seven- furlongs, and Autumn Meeting, 1906, New Zealand St. Leger Stakes of 400sovs, one mile and threequarters. The entries for the four events will close at 10 o’clock p.m. on Tuesday next, June so, with Mr J. E. .Clark, Secretary, at Wellington.

At the Derby dinner, given by the late Lord Wilton in 1866, a big het took place over the repast, Sir Joseph Hawley laying' Mr Chaplin a level £20,000 on The Palmer against Hermit for the Derby of 1867. When the two horses went to the post the bet looked a very bad one for Mr Chaplin, as The Palmer stood at 6 to 1 and Hermit at 66 to 1. After the horses had passed the post, however, it was Sir Joseph that made, the wry face.

Perhaps in the whole history of the turf there could not be cited an instance of an animal whose merits were more highly tested as a youngster than those of the celebrated Derby hero of 1866. It was very early in the autumn of his yearling davs that Lord Lyon ran his first trial, and was asked to put his best foot foremost on those beautiful Ilsley downs. It was a few days before the St. Leger of 1864, and he was tried with a two-year-old named Jezebel at 71b over a distance of half-a-mile. Jezebel was in good form then, as she had beaten a field of fourteen' or fifteen runners in the Bath Biennial; and with Thomas—Dover's stable lad—up, she had come in first for the Coventry Stakes at Worcester, beating Lord Coventry’s own fiUy Prosperity, amongst others. In this trial with Jezebel, Lord' Lyon, in receipt of 71b, was only beaten bv a head—a truly great performance for a vearling to accomplish against a smart two-year-old. According to the late MrDover’s trial books Lord Lyon was galloped again the following April, when the gallop finished as follows : —Rustic 2yrs, Bst, first ; Grisette, 4yrs, 9st 71b, second ; Lord Lyon, 2yrs:, Bst, third ; Tender, 2yrs, 6st 71b, fourth; and Ironclad, 2yrs, 6st 71b, fiftih. Rustic won by a neck, there being a length and a-half between second and third. There is, therefore, every reason to suppose that at that time Mr — afterwards Sir Richard—Sutton, who was in partnership with. General Pearson, thought that Rustic was the better of the two/ On the Wednesday of the Ascot Meeting the Duke of Beaufort purchased Rustic for 5000 guineas, and there was a lot of chaff at the time that his Grace had purchased the Ilsley second string.

That summer Lord Lyon went on capitally. Early in August he was stripped at Ilsley, and as a two-year-old, carrying Bst, he beat Gardevisure. 3yrs, 9st 41b, by seven lengths over six furlongs. This did not content General Pearson, and he would have his horse galloped again. A* fortnight later Lord Lyon was put with Gardevisure at tolb, when the young one won in a canter by about three lengths. That same Newmarket) Houghton Meeting Gardevisure won. the Cambridgeshire, and the Ilsley people would have preferred to have run the two-vear-old at the same weight, Lord Lyon being considered a better stayer than the older horse. How good the colt was at this period of his career can, therefore, be imagined. How the son of Stockwell, with Custance in the saddle, romped home in a field of twenty-six will eVer be remembered by those who were present.

The House of Lords, as all level-headed people thought they would, threw out the Betting Bill by forty-eight votes to thirtynine. The defenders of the measure, Lord Davey and the Bishop of Hereford, descanted on the evils of gambling in general, and more particularly on the mischief done by the touts of the pavement and the bookmakers of the public-house and the street corner —a farrago of nonsense. If (says an English sporting writer) the promoters of the Bill mean that betting- isi in all cases an offence, why do they not’ bring in a Bill to prohibit the practice altogether'? If b|et)ting is in principle immoral and opposed to public policy it ought to be penalised in Tattersails’ enclosure or in the Pall Mall club, as well as in less select and exclusive “ resorts/’ There is a spice of hypocrisy and unfairness about the whole scheme. The poor man has as much right to his indulgences, even if they are bad for health or pocket, as the rich.

Lord Durham, in moving “ That the Bill be read a- second time that day six months,” expressed the utmost surprise at the measure as introduced by Lord Davey. ’That there was a craze amongst the working classes he knew, and was sorry for ; but he also recognised that in, what was vulgarly called tbe “Smart Set ’ in societv there was a craze for bridge. The noble' Earl said he could quote from the evidence of the Betting Commiss'on, over which he (Lord Durham) presided, that the proposals of this Bill were utterly impracticable : and he went on to say. that he knew of no demand from the public for this very drastic, very offensive, and needless Bill. “It was the offspring of a body of faddists.” and its sponsors were Lord. Davey and the fiishop of Hereford. “ A faddist he could only describe as a cross between a fanatical Pharisee and a lunatic.” It was .an attempt at sumptuary legislation, and such legislation could not stop there. We ventured to prophesy some time back 1 that the measure would never be placed on the Statute Book, and all credit is due to their lordships ? for throwing the Bill out.

fiMlkLi 1 , *u n An Adelaide writer says that at the A.tt.v. meeting there was a good deal of talk about the riding, and one of the visiting horsemen spoke strongly about it, but no one will take much notice of his opinion. That there was soms poor riding admits of no doubt, but it was not so wicked as people have tried to make out. Several boys who rode rode badly, but it was due to lack of skill that their horses got all over the course, not to any desire to interfere with other horsemen.

It appears that Tod Sloan was warned off the French Turf for abetting reprehensible conduct on the part of the trainer of Bose de Mai, who won the French Oaks. Sloan assisted in the circulation of rumours that the filly was in a bad way, and as a consequence her price lengthened considerably. Sloan must have been unlucky enough to tell the tale to somebody he should not have put wrong on any account. The trainer was merely fined £BO for his share in the transaction.

Quite a number of horses will be under way to South Africa directly from this State and Victoria (says the “S. Referee ”). The lot got together by Mr Sol. Green is a big lot, and a valuable collection, including many useful racehorses and high-class ponies. This is a speculative enterprise, which ought to turn out well if the horses can be landed safely, for the animals are a well selected lot. Itlooks t as though Mr Bichard Wootton intends to transfer his entire string to the land of the Boers, for he intends to> take about five and twenty early next month. They will, presumably, be raced and sold afterwards. Anoher well-known racing man has determined to visit South Africa. Th 4» is Mr E. H. Knight, who intends to pay a lengthy visit. Several bookmakers have recently left to see what business is like there, and doubtless a fair number of Australians will be found sampling the outlook for racing and trading in the horse line in the immediate future in South Africa.

Instances of handicappers differing are common enough, but a rather remarkable illustration is afforded in connection with the Mentone and Sandown Park weightr. Under Mr Maitland at Sandown Park there is a difference of 121 b between Godwin and War Chief in the Sandown Handicap, on i mile, while between the same horses in the Mentone Handicap, run over the same distance, the difference under Mr Vowles is 251 b.

The IS ordenfeldt horse Sternchaser, who used to carry Mr S. H. Gollan’s colours in Australia, and was taken to England by that gentleman, is doing stud duty at The Paddocks, in Surrey (England). Among the mares mated with him last season were Meta M’Oarthy, Bessie M’Oarthy and Clack Nacuddin, all of whom were bred in. New Zealand by Mr Gollan.

His Majesty the Sultan of Johore with his Sultana and aide-de-camp, Captain Daud, have been on a visit to Sydney, and left for Singapore on the 25th inst. During his stay in Australia the Sultan has purchased several racehorses in - training and five yearlings, which he leavea behind in charge of the well-known Sydney trainer, Harry Roberts, who has taken up his quarters at Mordialloc, near Melbourne. The Sultan’s recent purchases will be "raced and trained by Roberts. Three of the yearlings purchased have been nominated in the two and. three-year-old Australian classic races.

Mr E. G. Brodribb, who gave 4,600 guineas for Titan as a two-year-old, and made himself famous for his plunging on the turf in Australia some years ago, has died in England.

One would think that jockey s that ride winners would have little difficulty in collecting their fees, but it would seem that this was not so in New South Wales. Some of the boys riding among the ponies often have to endure unnecessarily long waits. In order that there shall be no future trouble in this respect, the Kensington Club has passed a rule to come into force at the end of the month, giving the Club’s officials authority to retain the fee of a winningrider (£3) out of the prize, for payment to the jockey. It is probable that some similiar step will be taken with regard to payment of losing mounts. The Club has also passed a rule granting weight allowances to jockeys who have not ridden winners within stated periods, the idea being to eucourage trainers to give the less successful boya more opportuities of riding in races.

Australian Colours, who was taken to England by J. Allsop, has arrived at his destination, and will be trained by W. Walters, sen.

His Majesty the King received a very enthusi astic welcome on Saturday, May 2, when be attended a race meeting in Paris, which hbd been specially arranged in bis honour by the French / Jockey Club The principal race was the Prix Persimmon, and to'the owner of the winner his Majesty presented a massive gold cup. By a happy coincidence the Prix Perdita was won by M. Edmond Blanc’s Chrysothemis, a daughter of Persimmon, who won the Derby in the royal colors in 1896, and it was quite in keeping with the .'■// harmony of the proceedings that John Bull should subsequently win the Prix Diamond Jubilee.-'.