NOTES.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XVII, Issue 985, 21 January 1909, Page 7

NOTES.

Wellcast, who won the Otamatea Cup on Friday, is an aged chestnut gelding by Castor from Lady Wellington, and formerly raced in Auckland in the coours of “ Mr. J. Nelson.” * * * The Ngaruawahia Club’s Annual meeting will take place on the 29th inst. a fact which will prevent many Auckland sportsmen from attending as they will be engaged at Takapuna. ♦ * ♦ * A great riding performance was accomplished by George Stewart at the Merriwan (N.S.W.) races the other day. There were six races and he won five and dead heated in the sixth for first place. * * • • I am pleased to see that the Manawatu Club is joining the Wanganui Club in the movement in favour of stipendary stewards, as also is the Taranaki Club. It looks as if the Racing Conference will be compelled to act in the matter this year instead of adopting the usual policy of postponement. * * * * Flingot, the peculiarly named brown gelding by Musketry from Lady Isabel, managed to pull off the Trentham Welter yesterday. It was only after a desperate battle with Osiris. (San Fran-Ismene) who suffered defeat by a short head. * * * * The Foxton Racing Club’s Annual meeting will take place on Friday and Saturday . * * ♦ * It is understood that with his victory on Bobrikoff, in the Auckland Plate. F. Davis closed his career as a jockey, and that he will in future devote his energies entirely to training. • * ♦ ♦ Evidently there is not a great deal of money in racing in Ireland. During the past year horses owned by Mr. J. C. Lyons won 30 races, but though that gentleman topped the list of winning owners, he only had £1974 to his credit, or an average of slightly over ,<65 for each success.

Present indications point to New Zealand being strongly in evidence at the autumn meetings in Australia this year. Mr. G. F. Moore’s pair, Signor and Carissima, were shipped last veek, and others that may make the trip include Bobrikoff. Downfall, Penates, Ikon and Artillerie.

Among the horses which were to go up for sale at Newmarket last month were Bill of Portland, Merman, Scarpia (Lite F.J.A.) and Nightfall.

Mr. P. A. Connolly has now won the Perth Cup five years in succession, with Blue Spec (1904), Czarovitch (1905), May King (1906). Post Town (1907), and Scorcher (1908).

Hastings, by Spendthrift, out of imported Cinderella, a mare bred by Sir William Trockmorton, by Blue Ruin or Tomahawk) foaled to Tomahawk’s time), is now at the head of the list of winning stallions in the United States, his stock having won this season 69 races of the total value of nearly £26 000. The dam of Hastings was sold by auction at Tattersail’s in England for about 21 guineas.

G. Stern tops the winning jockeys’ list for the past season in France with 142 wins on 556 mounts; C. Hobbs and C. Childs tied for second place, each having ridden 84 winners. Perth is at the head of winning sires with £43,030, and North East heads the list of winning horses with £15,060.

The well-known ex-jockey Walter Kempton Cannon, of Newmarket (England). was recently fined £7 for driving a motor car at, so the police alleged, 30 miles an hour. In answer to the charge, defendant asserted, however. that the highest rate of speed at which he was travelling was 18 miles, and that he slowed down to 10 miles an hour when encountering traffic. He further argued that, having ridden winners of most of the longd;stance races, his judgment of pace should at least be equal to that of the prosecuting constable. The magistrate, however, evidently thought otherwise.

Mr. Bidwill’s crack colt Expansion was defeated in the Nursery Handicap at Trentham yesterday, the winner turning up in Theodore, with Xylophone in second place and Expansion third. As Theodore ran the four furlongs in 49 l-ssec. without being pressed at the finish, he must be smart.

Merrie Zealand, a six-year-old brown gelding by Merrie England from Zealandia, won the Anniversary Handicap at Trentham yesterday. He carried Bst 61b, and cut the mile out in the slow time of lm. 445. Kurawaka (San Fran—Maude) and Prism (Stepniak—Rainbow) filling the places.

That smart bay filly Gipsy Belle won the Electric Handicap yesterday at the W.R.C. meeting. The three-year-old daughter of Stepniak and Belle Clair carried 9st 51b and romped home ahead of Flitaway and Serenade. Gipsy Belle is in the Stakes, to be run to-morrow.

The death is reported from Perth of Dr. Cortis, a very prominent sportsman in Australia a decade or more ago.

Messrs. Von Wermberg head the list of winning owners in Germany this season, with £36,320, the Royal Graditz Stud comes second with £29,786. and Freiherr E. Von Oppenheim is third with £12,949.

Tte Stepniak—Leda horse Landwern broke one of his legs when exercising at Trentham last week, and had to be destroyed.

It is reported from Wanganui that Maniapoto will be put into work again as his legs look sound enough to stand another preparation. * * * *

Handicaps for the Gisborne Racing Club’s meeting have been declared by Mr. Chadwick, and will be found in another column.

During last season the Australian jockey, F. Bullock, rode for the German Imperial Stud, the property of the Kaiser. He received a salary of £lOOO a year, with a percentage of the stakes. Horses ridden by Bullock won considerably over £20,000 in prize-money. Bullock is now in Perth on his way back to Victoria. He expects to win the German Derby this year. Galtee More and Ard Patrick are at the Kaiser’s stud, and the progeny of the latter are showing excellent form. In the course of an interview at Perth, Bullock stated that Australian jockeys are highly thought of in Germany.

Mr. Casey, the contractor for the new stand at Ellerslie, is pushing ahead with the work, and it should be quite ready by the time me Easter meeting rolls round.

It is reported that Mr. W. E. Bidwill intends taking Provocation, Tribulation and Expansion to Sydney in the spring. If so the team should be a strong one.

The famous American pacer Dan Patch has now paced 71 single miles, and has the extraordinary average of lm. 59%sec. per mile. He must be a wonder.

Matters have been very quiet in local turf circles lately, but the coming meeting at Takapuna will have the effect of livening matters up, and it is being looked forward to by racing men with interest.

Mr. George Currie, of Wanganui, is sending four of his yearlings by Field Battery to the Sydney bloodstock sales h;:d at Easter. The youngsters are very highly spoken of.

Grafton is at the head of the list of winning sires in Australia, 53 of his progeny having won 89 races of the value of £15,920. Positano is in second place with £12,665.

The Wellington R.C. Meeting will be continued to-morrow and concluded on Saturday.

Poesidon and Mountain King have resumed work at Randwick. These two will be hard nuts to crack for Bobrikoff and Signor.

Mr. C. OConnor is to do the starting at Wanganui Seemingly all the clubs have caught on to the fact that as a despatch expert Charlie has no superior.

In his recent publication, “ Horses of the British Empire,’ Mr. Humphrey de Trafford says, among other things eulogistic of Persimmon: “ A Royal Emperor fed a favourite with gilded oats out of a golden manger, but in all ancient or modern history no such sum has ever been offered for a horse as 100.000 sovs., yet that is the price King Edward VII. of England refused fo’r Persimmon.”

The Australian-bred Merman has been sold privately to Count Lehndorff, of Germany, whither he will be taken to mate with half-bred mares.

The pony meetings at Miramar are distinctly on the up grade (says a Wellington paper), and in the opinion of most people have come to stay, provided always there is no relaxation of vigilance.

The holiday meetings field at Randwick. Flemington and Caulfield were noted for strange results, says the “Australasian.” Sporting journalists who have to try and select winners have never had a worse time. In Melbourne especially it was next door to impossible to pick winners, but at Randwick, although both Cups went to long price chances, some of the minor events fell to favourites. Fortunately, there is no reason to suppose that any of the in and out running in Melbourne was the result of chicanery, or anything of that sort. We did not hear it suggested that the running of any horse called for inquiry, and not a single inquiry was held. It was just a case of a number of indifferent horses beating and being beaten in turn. These things will happen in racing. It is part of the game, and, when all is said and done, racing is not nearly so uncertain as cricket. Victoria was beaten in Adelaide by South Australia; New South Wales defeated South Australia by an innings and several hundreds of runs, and then Victoria beat New South Wales by an innings! There is no doubt about all cricketers being triers, and we must not growl if at times horses fail to do just what is expected of them. It is galling to have one’s anticipations upset, but catastrophes of this kind will happen. We remember the late Dicker Hamilton “ruthlessly eliminating” The Assyrian, Stockwell and Gudarz from his calculations on the afternoon before the Melbourne Cup of 1882. Next day they ran first, second, and third.

The illustration of the little machine horse clipper on page 4 of this issue is worthy of the closest attention of all those who intend to clip their horses this season. It is absolutely the finest clipper on the market, all its gears being cut out of wearing part is hardened tool steel. It

is handy, compact, and simple, and takes up no room, and the smallest boy can turn the handle during clipping operations. The clipper head is made of the best materials, and a large number of horses can be clipped without renewals. Messrs. Cooper and Nephew, Swanson street, have a large stock of these machines, with al) duplicate parts, and have the price fixed at the lowest possible figure, which is well worth the inquiry of all ... i erested.