NOTES.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XVI, Issue 951, 28 May 1908, Page 7

NOTES.

(By

The Judge.)

Entries for the New Zealand Cup close on Tuesday next. The race will be run on Saturday, November 7.

The Dunedin J.C. Winter Meeting takes place on June 3 and 4, on which dates the Otaki Meeting also evenuates.

Marguerite is to be nominated for the next Viceroy’s Cup in India. ♦ * • •

Ranana pulled up very lame after a gallop on Thursday, and the hollowbacked gelding will not be a starter on Saturday.

Leolantis had four winners to represent him at the Takapuna Meeting.

The cable brings word that the Newmarket Stakes has fallen to St. Wolf, a son of St. Frusquin and Wolf’s Craig.

The veteran Cavaliero carried silk again at Takapuna, after a long absence from the turf. He jumped with all his old proficiency, but failed to show anything of his famous finishing run. The gallop will, no doubt, have done him good, but I doubt if we shall ever again see the Cavaliero of old.

Mr. Geo. Sturt a well-known sportsman at Fiji, arrived from Suva on Tuesday to assist at the Great Northern Meeting.

Stratagem, who won the North Otago Cup last week, is a daughtei- of the triple Auckland Cup winner Nelson and Dudu. Both were great stayers, so Stratagem should not be out of place in the N.Z. Cup.

It was rather generally expected that Leonator would prove a little too good for Uranium in the Empire Handicap, as it was thought that a mile and a quarter, with 9st 51b in the saddle, would just about find out the mare good as she is. Whittaker, who had the mount on Leonator, made the fatal blunder of letting Uranium make the pace to suit herself, and, as a result, after a six furlong canter she was easily able to stall off Leonator’s finishing run. Maheno was galloping very short and was no use to either of them, but if Tui Cakobau had been left in to make the pace solid for the first mile, it is quite possible Leonator would have won.

Fleetfoot comes out at the top of the list of winning two-year-olds this season with £2325 to her credit. Armlet is a close second with £2125, and then follows Aborigine £1290, and Golden Slipper £lOOO. The best of the Auckland contingent is Master Soult, with £405.

The victory gained by Wa’pu in the Century Hurdles at Wanganui has brought him into prominence for the G.N. Hurdle Race on Saturday, in which he has 9st. 101 b., including a 71b. penalty. The Century winner of former years has had bad luck at Ellerslie, and it will be interesting to note whether this year the spell will be broken.

Last month W. Saxby refused an offer of £2OOO a year for two years from Baron Oppenheim to ride in Germany. At the time the offer was made Saxby was unattached, but the patrons of W. T. Robinson’s’ Foxhill stable, for whom he has been riding, decided to pay Saxby a retainer sufficiently liberal to ensure his remaining in England.

Apparently no time was taken for the Wanganui Steeplechase. The winner, Tilson, is a somewhat ancient son of Lethe and a Danebury mare.

W. Fahey, who had the mount on Arahura in the Wanganui Steeplechase, was terribly crushed when this horse came down with him. It was immediately recognised that the case was quite hopeless, and he died on arrival at the hospital. The fatality cast quite a gloom over the meeting, Fahey being a well-liked young fellow.

Does it pay to lay odds on? After a long experience of the turf, I should say not. For the six weeks prior to the last mail leaving England 25 odds on chances were beaten, while 13 won.

Mr James Orr headed the list of winning owners at the Wanganui meeting, his cheque amounting to £370.

Norman 111. has supplanted Perrier as favourite for the English Derby.

The totalisator figures at Takapuna showed a tremendous drop as compared with the winter meeting last year, being no less than £10,702 below that figure. At that meeting there were no bookmakers, and the very popular double machine was doing a splendid business. Of cou *se the heavy decrease on Monday was due in a large measure to the bad weather which kept people away. Furthermore during the later races the rain was so heavy and the enclosure in front of the tote such a quagmire that would-be backers preferred to remain in the shelter of the stands.

Sol furnished something of a surprise in the Takapuna Steeplechase on Monday. A fall on Saturday, coupled with the fact that he had not done anything for a long time, put punters off the Soult gelding, yet despite the heavy going and that he was giving from 191bs to 331 b to anything in the race, he won with the utmost ease, and I doubt if he ran a better race. Sol was walking very lame as he left the course.

Omati had a very easy win in the Hauturu Hurdles and the issue was not in doubt half a mile from home.

Uranium was asked too severe a question when attempting to carry 9st 131 b to victory in the mud in the Britannia Handicap. She was in front for six furlongs, but when Lochbuie threw out a challenge, Mr Bank’s chestnut was unable to respond and she came within an ace of finishing last instead of first.

Tauriki was in fine form at the Takapuna meeting where she annexed the Maiden Plate, the Pupuki Handicap, and the Welter Handicap. In the last mentioned event the St. Crespin mare carried 9st 91b, and, as the going was fearfully heavy, the performance was full of merit.

For the view of a race to be obscured by clouds of seagulls is certainly a novelty, yet this is what happened during the running of one or two of the events at Takapuna. The bad weather had brought the feathered visitors inland, and the centre of the course was white with them. The galloping of the horses occasionally disturbed the gulls, when they rose from the ground in such numbers as to make it impossible to discern the horses running down the back stretch.

Le Beau’s debut as a ’chaser was very satisfactory as he gave weight away to everything in the Maiden Steeplechase on Saturday and virtually won it from end to end. Those who have backed the son of Leolantis for the big steeplechase next week must have been pleased at the way he shaped over country. At the same time the Ellerslie country is stiffer than that at Takapuna and there will be another mile to go. It did not seem to me that Le Beau fenced too well for in the early stages Matakokiri was certainly out jumping him. If he can get the Ellerslie course he will take some beating.

Mr Deeble seems to believe in the theory of waiting behind, which is very well so long as you don’t wait too far behind or too long. In the Hauraki Hurdles he had the mount on Pierre, who was tailed right off in the early stages. In the last half mile the Muskapeai’ gelding made up a tremendous lot of ground, but it would have wanted a carbine to have caught the leader. All things considered Pierre did wonders to get fourth. If he had been kept with his field he might have troubled the winner.

The Maiden Hurdles at Takapuna on Saturday gave rise to a very pretty race while the jumping was excellent, none of the candidates making a mistake. Paritutu should have won, but Johnson left the effort too late and the son of Castor failed to reach Noteorini by half a length. Paritutu was quite five lengths behind the leader at the home bend, and it was asking too much to wipe this off over the last furlong.

Black and Gold has evidently tired of racing, and will be turned out. He has been in strong work for some years now without a break, and seems to have quite lost form.

The Finland gelding Bobrikoff arrived from the South on Sunday to play his part at the coming A.R.C. Meeting.

Brady rode four winners at the Takapuna Meeting, Phillips and Whittaker scoring twice.

On each day the programme will be commenced at noon at the A.R.C. Meeting.

St. Cyren changed hands on Friday for the low figure of 28 guineas.

Waihou was served up piping hot in the First Pony Handicap on Saturday, but the good thing did not come off. The Soult mare got away badly and although she put in a fine run up the straight, failed to reach Ngakupa who won by a length.

The Wellington team infl.'cted a defeat on the Anglo-Welsh footballers yesterday at Wellington. At halftime the locals had scored 11 to nil, but in the second half the visitors showed to more advantage. When the whistle went the board showed 19 to 13 against them.