NOTES.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XV, Issue 886, 28 February 1907, Page 5

NOTES.

(By

“The Judge.”)

The recent meeting at Pahiatua resulted in a profit of £3ll.

The Hierarch appeal case will be heard by the Racing Conference at Wanganui on March 8.

The big events to be run at the A.R.C. meeting have filled splendidly, there being an advance in four events bn last year’s figures.

Achilles has been scratched for the Wanganui Cup, a step which was generally expected when it was seen that he had been allotted lOst 7lb.by Mr. Morse.

Signalman continues to misbehave himself at the post. In the Dunedin Cup he once again played up, and was as usual, left behind when the barrier rose. Some of the many backers he has let down so often will wish him no more harm than a friendly bullet.

Master Delaval is to be given a run in the Wanganui Cup. He is very well just now, and will have to be reckoned with in the Southern race.

Acceptances for the Wanganui Cup and first day’s events of the autumn meeting are due to-morrow at nine p.m.

The ex-Aucklander Up-to-Date has been nominated for the big jumping event to be run at Onkaparinga on Easter Monday.

Among the Southern entries for the A.R.C. Easter Handicap are Pink-’un, Marguerite, Aeolus, Cross Battery, Ballarat, Zimmerman, Sir Tristram, Intelligence, King Billy, and others of less note. The local brigade will have to be on its best behaviour to prevent the rich stake going South.

The Otahuhu Trotting Club’s recent meeting was the most successful in the annals of the club. The sum of £8761 10s went through the totalisator, which is very nearly double last year’s figures.

First payment for the Maiden Stakes and All-aged Stakes, which will be run under the auspices of the North New Zealand Coursing Club in April, close with the secretary, Mr. C. R. Tapper, on Monday next at nine p.m. at the Pitt-street Baths.

The Auckland Cup winner Putty ran last in the St. George’s Stakes at Caulfield. On that form his Australian Cup prospects are far from rosy.

How long will it be before Australia sia sends its list of new 2min lOsec trotters to be included in the list published by the trotting authorities in the United States ? asks a writer in the Sydney “ Mail.” Time was in America when nearly all the fast ones came from two States, Kentucky and California, but now the fast ones are spread all over the United States. We have blood in Australia equal to anything in America, and as the best of our horses do not leave for other shores, as is the case with gallopers, and given the opportunities for developing speed, the time should not be far distant when Australia produces a ■two-minute harness horse. Certain it is the product of the imported article, be it the animal or vegetable, thrives apace in our salubrious climate. The pioneers who settled on the Hawkesbury produced a race of giants. The racehorses imported here thrived apace until the best of them, Sir Modred, Trenton, Carbine, and others left our shores, and now again the imported horses sire most of our winners. The fox, the rabbit, the sparrow, the starling, the briarbush, and pr.'ckly pear run such riot in growth that it costs thousands per annum in a hopeless attempt to eradicate. The trotter in Australia now has the blood and the power to go, but we do not appear to have the appliances or the skill to develop extreme speed. Take the careers of two horses alone, Sal Tasker and Lord Elmo. As two-year-olds they raced first and second in the same race, the former in 2min 20sec, the latter in 2min 24sec. And what have these two promising youngsters done since ? Sal Tasker has won one race in comparatively slow time, and, it is stated, is now in the shafts of her owner’s buggy. Surely there was the material in that mare for a 2min lOsec pacer ?

Nominations for the Feilding meeting close with Mr. Goodbehere next Monday.

Handicaps for the opening day of the Ohinemuri meeting are due to appear next Tuesday. The entries are first-class.

The fine bay more La Rosier, who has been missed from the trotting tracks lately, is undergoing a six months’ spell.

The Gold Reef gelding Kuhu was made a warm favourite for the Stewards’ Handicap at the Taranaki meeting, and the good thing duly came oft.

The annual general meeting of the Pakuranga Hunt Club will take place on March 8.

Scotty went South on Sunday, his mission being the Taranaki meeting. He failed to get a place in the Cup.

Strathavon, the hero of many a good race, is now following the humble berth of buggy horse.

Glenullin, who yesterday won the Taranaki Cup, is a four-year-old brown son of Lochiel and Consistence. He had not many supporters in Auckland, the local punters sticking to Scotty.

Fretwork, the five-year-old Workman gelding, continues to pay his way. He won the Hack Hurdles at Tarannk’ yesterday and returned a nice dividend.

The veteran Haydn is jumping the big fences in good style at Ellerslie. The old fellow is hardly a back number yet.

Noctuiform is entered for the City and Suburban Handicap, the Kempton Park Jubilee Handicap, and for the Ascot Gold Cup.

I had a look at the Rotorua course a few days ago, and must admit to being disappointed with it. No doubt the club is a bit weak financially, but nothing, appears to have been done since last year, and the place seemed very neglected, while the grass badly wanted cutting.

£5O in prizes makes the largest prize list offered in Australia for photographic competition. Such is the amount to be presented by “ The Weekly Press’ as prizes in its photographic competition, which is open to amateur and professional photographers. Full details of the competition are given in our popular contemporary, “ The Weekly Press.”

The success of Mr. A. A. Apear’s horses in India so far this season has been something remarkable. FitzGrafton having won him two good races, Ballark three, and Dea, Airloch, Martinique, Mallard, and Seclusion one each, the last-named accounting for the Indian Grand National Steeplechase. It is improbable that Mr. Apear will make any Australian purchases of account this year, as most of the horses named above should be good for at least another season’s racing, and he will have an addition to his team in the English ear-old Auber, who showed really good form in the Old Country last year.

Ellis comes into prominence by his success in the St. George’s Stakes (writes “Umpire” in the “Referee”), not only in the fact that he beat a good field, but he won in most decisive style at weight-for-age over nine furlongs, a distance sufficient to be a fair test of his current abilities. In the Melbourne Cup Ellis ran well whilst he lasted, and is evidently developing considerable improvement. He is one of the New Zealand-bred colts bought in the colony by Mr. J. Wren, but he is now the property of F. Musgrave, who trains him at Caulfield. Ellis is a son of Hotchkiss from Edith Cureton, by Castor from Frailty, by Goldsbrough, and . was bred by the Wellington Park Stud Company. Seeing that he beat May King, who put up such a good performance in winning the Perth Cup, and won easily by four lengths, after having the race in hand over the last half-mile, whilst behind horn were Antonious, Booran Dividend, lolaire, Pompous, Putty, Proceedor, and Simoda, and allowing that these horses are not screwed up yet, there seems no reason to discount the performance of Ellis, and -he is an Australian Cup candidate well entitled to be seriously counted, seeing that his weight isonly 7st 31b, and he was getting no allowance from the standard scale.

St’epdancer has now won the Dunedin Cup two years in succession.

The Thames meeting takes place on March 23, and Mr. Potts will take entries for it up to Friday next.

N.Z. Tattersail’s Club is to be discontinued, the crusade against the bookmakers making this step necessary. It has been in existence nearly twenty-seven years.

The Waihi Jockey Club’s meeting on March 9- promises to be a big success. Capital nominations have been received for it.

The Harmonist horse Corroboree easily won the Tenth Caulfield Futurity Stakes on Saturday. The favourite, Newbury, was unplaced, while Collarit could get no nearer than third.

Fearing a breakdown, Solution has been scratched for all autumn engagements, and the daughter of Soult will be treated to a spell. She was asked too much in the spring.

The most successful cross-country horseman in England last year was F. Mason, who won 58 of the 254 races in which he had a mount. G. Goswell came second with 51 wins out of 100 attempts—-a remarkably good average—whilst I. Anthony was third with 44 victories out of 154 mounts.

The Dunedin Jockey Club put £22,921 through the totalisator at the recent summer meeting as against £21,181 last year. The figures are slowly creeping up. and the Southern club should soon be in a position to launch out a bit in the matter of stakes.

A lady, Mrs. C. A. C. Kershaw, is responsible for a novelty in nomenclature. At Lingfield (England), a few weeks ago she ran a horse rejoicing in the name of Undecided Isaac in the Winter Hurdle Race, and he proved the aptness of his name by hesitating at the stand hurdles, becoming undecided whether to go or not, and then stopping at the next flight. The same lady also possesses a mare called Undecided Dolly.

A totalisator clerk was caught napping at the rcent big meeting at Hobart After the running of the Final Handicap at Elwick a backer hurriedly presented 13 tickets at the totalisator pay-window, stating they were on the winner, Cambridge, who paid a dividend of £3 15s. No sooner had the supposed backer of the winner left the pay-window than the payingoat official found that the 13 tickets were on the second horse, who only returned a dividend of Bs. The matter was promptly placed in the hands of the police, but very little hope is entertained of finding either the man or the money.

In England a subscription has been raised for the prominent cross-country jockey, A. Birch, who was so badly injured by a fall some time back that he will never be able to ride again. Up to January 6, the amount of £1024 had been collected. It was Birch who rode Moifaa when that horse won the Liverpool Grand National of 1904 for Mr. Spencer Gollan.

Such a demand is there in England for St. Simon sires that Desmond’s list for the season is full at a fee of £145. Other sires that stand at a fee of £9B are Bill of Portland, Bachelor’s Button, Robert le Diable, and John o’ Gaunt, the latter’s services for 1907 and 1908 having already been booked. Parthian is standing at Newmarket for 18 guineas a mare, and The Victory is advertised to receive mares in Kildare at £9.

The Auckland bred Ellis (HotchkissEdith Cureton) won the St. George’s Stakes at the V.A.T.C. Autumn Meeting at Caulfield on the i6th inst. He started at the nice price of 7 to i against and won by four lengths from a high-class field. Another Aucklander in Putty ran last. Ellis may have to be reckoned with in the Newmarket Handicap and Australian Cup, in which he has 7.12 and 7.3 respectively.

There is a strong probability that, on the grounds of economy, there will be a considerable reduction in the value of the fhammoth prizes in England. It is estimated that during the current season there will be a loss of /J 2021 on the Princess of Wales Stakes at Newmarket, on the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park, and on the Jockey Club Stakes at Newmarket

D. Moraghan will take Master Delaval South to-day, his mission being the Wanganui Cup.

A number of ponies were shipped to Australia on Monday by the Wimmera, having been purchased by Mr. Allardice, of Melbourne. The list included Mataura, Inatore, Orella, and Waipipi.

The London Press Association learns that Mons. Gaston Dreyfus, the celebrated French bloodstock breeder, in consequence of the lack of Herod blood in England, has decided to send his well-known horse Arizona to stand at one of the leading south country studs. Arizona, who will be well remembered by those who saw him win the Alexandra Plate at Ascot three years ago, was also a great winner in France, caputring over 200,000 francs in stakes. He represents the Flying Dutchman line of Herod, being a son of Omnium 11., one of the most famous of that horse’s descendants. At a committee meeting of the Waihi Jockey Club on Monday, the chairman (Mr. Brown), on behalf of the club, presented Mr. Rabbidge, the retiring chairman, with a spirit case, at the same time referring to the club’s regret at losing Mr. Rabbidge’s services, and wishing him success and prosperity in the future. After Mr. Rabbidge’s health had been drunk, he replied, thanking the club, and expressing regret at parting with many friends whom he had made in Waihi.

The New Zealand mare Lady Avon, who was such a success in India a year ago, is not as good now as then. At Calcutta on the 12th of last month she was sent out at 2 to 1 on in a field of twelve for the New Plate, five furlongs, in which she had Bst 91b. She did not even get a place.

If the London “ Sporting Times” is correct, another blow is to be dealt at turf speculation in England. It states that this year a new measure will be introduced under the name of the Gambling Advertisements Bill, 1907, with the sub-title, “An Act for the suppression of gambling advertisein newspapers and circulars, and the public incitements to betting and gambling.” It is aimed at persons who advertise any betting business or agency, or any tipster’s business, or any lottery, or any “ stockbroking” business not under Stock Exchange rules, and it will prohibit any newspaper proprietor, editor, or publisher from publishing any such advert’sement or any list of betting odds.

When a horse is brought in from grass it is a great mistake to treat him forthwith as though he had been in his stable and at work all the time his holiday had lasted. A dose or two of cooling medicine should be given to him, he should not be put to hard work at once, and his return to the conventional diet of grain, hay and chop should be effected gradually. The equine nature resents all violent and sudden changes of diet, and therefore no greater mistake can be made than to take a horse up from grass one day and put him on dry food the next one. Either Epsom salts or aloes are useful medicines at such a time; the former, being the pleasanter to use, as four ounces for a fullgrown horse once a day in his food is easy to give, while aloes have to be administered as a medicine in doses of about six drachms, more or less, according to the size and strength of the animal.

It does not often fall to the lot of a brood mare to throw five winners of the same race, but this is the case with Lassuk, whose produce have carried off the Russian Derby on five occasions. Two of them, Galtee Boy and Galilei, are sons of Galtee More, who is by a long way the most successful sire in Russia. Lassuk, it goes almost without the saying, comes of English stock, her sire, Vederemo, being a son of Buccaneer, while her dam, Rape of the Lock, was begotten by Victorious. Lassuk is in foal by Flying Fox, and her next alliance will be with Mr. Leopold de Rothschild’s horse, St. Frusquin, who, good enough to have won five Derby’s out of six, had the misfortune to be foaled in the same year as Persimmon.