OTAGO.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XIV, Issue 812, 28 September 1905, Page 9

OTAGO.

Dunedin, September 27. ihe Waimate Racing Club held a hack meeting last week, but its prospects of financial success were reduced to a minimum by the extremely inclement weather on hand, and the result of the gathering will probably be responsible for the club abandoning hack meetings in the future. The details of the racing do not call for any comment beyond the fact that in one race the form exhibited was so antagonistic to what might have been expected, that the fielders voiced in no weak terms they would not pay out over the race, but eventually they met their liabilities. The club, however, showed considerable weakness in not holding an inquiry into the running of the race. The nominations received for the D.J.C. Spring Meeting are satisfactory, and show an increase of 29 over last year’s total. A. Robertson returned from Australia last week, and brought back Thurlow with him. Robertson speaks in high terms of the four mares imported from America by the Allendale Stock Fann Company, which is going in for the breeding of high-class trotting stock on a lavish scale. The four mares alluded to cost over £3OOO to land in Melbourne.

Cerise and Blue, a son of Lakeshell and the Apremont mare Bloomer, was on offer at £3O after the Waimate ha ’k meeting. The death is reported of Benzoin, the sire of Ingleneuk. Benzoin was a son of Friar’s Balsam out o’ a Bendigo--Lady Paramount mare, and shared with Obligado the honour of being one of the only two horses the writer remembers Mr. Stead importing from England. The success of the New Zealanders in Australia should send some of the longpursed Australian owners over this way in search of bloodstock. In the past they have chiefly confined their attention to the Auckland sales, probably on account of the Melbourne Cup being held in November, which no doubt accounts for the absence of Australian buyers at the Elderslie Stud sales. It wonid be worth their while to have a reprase’ tative at this sale in future, as proved bargains, such as Menschikoff (210 guineas), Bula-

wayo (30 guineas), Orloff (145 guineas), Grand Rapids (300 guineas), King Log (620 guineas), Munjeet (160 guineas), and many others were first introduced to the public whilst under the hammer. The Elderslie Stud prices (as compared with those of Australia) re extremely cheap considering the number of winners picked up at them, and . s a r>roof that buyers have neber been guilty of turning their purses inside out when patronising these sales, it need only be mentioned that 750 guineas is the highest price ever paid for an Elderslie-bred youngster, which was realised for the Coronal colt last year. Prior to that, 620 guineas was the top figure. The gelding Radius, who cost 34 guineas as a two-year-old at Mr. H. Friedlander’s sale of 1903, was among the winners at Waimate last week. He is a well-bred horse, as his dam was got by Medallion out of Iris, the dam of Blocdshot, and his sire was a son of Boz and the Calina mare Countess of Kolmar, the dam of General Symons. Dermour, the Morpheus—Creeper gelding who is well known in these parts, was amongst the starters at Waimate, and although he looked big in condition, managed to gain second honours behind Guitar in the jumping race an the card. A good-looking filly by Obligado— Primrose named Rose Bloom, made her debut at Waimate las' vtk, but <ot a bad passage in both her ia:es. The well-bred Hotchkiss—Sybil gelding Great Gun, for whom Mr. G. G. Stead paid 260 guineas as a yearling in 1901, was amongst the hacks runnin at Waimate last week. lie s a big, upstanding gelding, who showed promise as a youngster, but is supposed to have been injured when being celled af er he left the Yaldhurst stable.

The Norman, who won the Final Handicap at the Waimate hack meeting last week, is a leggy chestnut with a white face, and can muster up a fair amount of pace. He was got by Conquer r out of Lunaire, daughter of Ravenscraig, and the Traducer mare Luna, who once carried Mr P. Butler’s green and white hoops. The Norman did not have to achieve anything brilliant to win, and an idea of the state of the going can be gleaned from the fact that it took Imin Isec to run the four furlongs of the race.

Several of the sportsmen in the Lake County have evidently decided not to allow racing to die out in that part of the world, and have collected close on £2OO towards the financing .of the next annual meeting of the Lake County Jockey Club. In the past those connected with the club have had to dip their hands into their pockets to meet expenses, and it is to be hoped that owners will respond and help to make the next meeting a financial success.

The Alexandra Racing Club have objected to the Lake County Jockey Club racing on December 15 and .6, but as those dates preceded the date cl tie Alexandra gathering, the objection is not a very reasonable one, particularly when it is remembered that the Queenstown body are badly in need of a bit of sportsmanlike sympathy and encouragement. Mr. A. J. Pope, who for some years took a prominent part in race meetings held at Gore, is now one of the “ mine hosts” at Queenstown, and has become one of the officials of the Lake County Jockey Club, which will hold a two-day meeting on the Arrow racecourse, when £390 in stakes will be rriveii away. The meeting will taJ-p pmee during the middle of December.