TURF GOSSIP.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1542, 13 November 1919, Page 18

TURF GOSSIP.

It is reported from Lumsden, Southland, that Summertime has foaled a colt foal to Soldiers’ Chorus. The ex-Auckland trotting mare, St. Ursula, has foaled a colt foal to Our Thorpe. The youngster is a natural pacer.

Cross Battery has produced a colt to All Black. Aphaea his produced a filly to Sunny Lake and visits him again.

At the Poverty Bay A. and P. Association’s show imported Polydamon took first and champion prize in the thoroughbred class. As a result of his win on Artilleryman in the Melbourne Cup, R. Lewis has equalled W. H. McLachlan’s record of piloting three winners of the big two-mile race at Flemington. McLachlan was successful in the Melbourne Cup on Prince Foote, Comedy King and Westcourt, in addition to which he has twice ridden the run-ner-up. and once the third horse. Pontoon, who won the Plate at Werribee, Victoria, last month, is a half brother to Mr. W. Richmond’s mare Dribble, winner of the Wainui Handicap at the Wellington Racing Club’s recent meeting. Pontoon is trained by W. Burke for Mr. E. Hickey, who scored his first racing success as a result of the victory recorded by the son of Wolawa and Float.

Kennaquhair, the six-year-old son of Kenilworth — Calluna, who acted as runner-up to Nightwatch in last year’s Melbourne Cup but failed to gain a place in last week’s race, has won £9489 in stakes. Kennaquhair carried 9.0 when he finished second to Nightwatch (6,9) in the Melbourne Cup, while he was top weight with 9.5 in last week’s event, so that considerable interest is attached to how Mr. F. J. Macmanemin will assess his qualifications for the Auckland Cup when declaring the weights on Monday, November 24, for the big two-mile event at Ellerslie on Boxing Day.

Locanda Dillon, the brilliant son of Brent Locanda and Ivy Dillon, has been recommissioned by N. C. Price, who has a useful team in work at Canterbury Park. When Stan. Reid rode the exAucklander, Tararu Jack to victory in the Wyuna Steeplechase at the Caulfield Cup meeting on October 18, it marked the fourth success registered by the New Zealand horseman this season. There were only five starters in the event, Tararu Jack being second favourite. Tararu Jack joined Lumut at the last jump, and, going away in the straight, won by five lengths from Zenalban, with Lumut half a length away third. R. Bradfield, trainer of Lucknow. Nightwatch and Chrome, who filled first, second and third places in the Caulfield Cup, has been training at Flemington for nearly 30 years. He is not now the believer in long-dis-tance gallops he used to be. Especially is this so with his charges imported from England. His gallops now rarely extend beyond 11 furlongs, and mostly they are confined to even shorter distances. He does not believe in the New Zealand custom of shoeing his horses lightly, so that they will make record times in training, and he does not believe in too much artificial treatment, and his charges are frequently allowed to run in small paddocks, where they can enjoy their freedom. Bradfield has also trained hurdlers, Regret being his best. C. Emerson, who, as a result of an accident he met with at the Wanganui Jockey Club’s spring meeting towards the end of September, was unable to do any riding for a number of weeks, made his reappearance in the saddle at the Carterton meeting, when he rode Vitella, Arch Lassie and Sweet Memory to victory in their respective engagements.

The funeral of the late Cecil Norman, the Sydney pony jockey, who was accidentally killed at Kedron Park, Queensland, on October 27, took place at the Waverley Cemetery, Sydney, on October 31. A number of jockeys, wearing black and white, the colours in which Norman rode his last race, walked to the graveside. There were many wreaths, including some from Queensland racing clubs.

About 25 horses are in regular work at Forbury Park. Track conditions, owing to bad weather, have not been in favour of the trainers’ efforts to get horses ready, and a spell unbroken by rain would be appreciated.

Sunart has not recovered from the kick he received some time ago, and in consequence was not included in Mr. J. B. Reid’s team which G. Matthews took to Riccarton for the Cup meeting.

The prospects of Nightwatch, capturing the Melbourne Cup looked decidedly promising, and as a result of his brilliant form in his spring engagements the son of St. Alwyne —Wakeful was heavily supported in last week’s big event at Flemington. The race, however, resulted in the rout of the topweight division, who failed to show up prominently, the three-year-old Artilleryman scoring a runaway victory from his A.J.C. Derby and V.R.C. Derby rival,. Richmond Main. Had Nightwatch succeeded in his task he would have been the first horse to capture the Melbourne Cup twice in succession since Archer was successful in the big two-mile event at Flemington for the first two years of its existence, viz., 1861 and 1862.

Twenty-five years in the riding game and still at the head' of the profession is the splendid record claimed by the well-known/ jockey;- R-. Lewis, who rode Artilleryman to victory in the Melbourne Cup, making his third success in that event. Born at Clunes, on November 30, 1878,' Lewis rode his first winner on the Clunes Oval, on Boxing Day, 1892, on a horse named Pretty Boy. His first Metropolitan success was on the mare, Rizpah, in a selling race at Caulfield, on October 20, 1894, the day that Paris won his second Caulfield Cup. Artilleryman marked his twenty-third ride in the big two-mile race. Lewis won the Melbourne Cup on The Victory and Patrobus, and he rode three runners-up in the race in Shepherd King, Malster and Alawa, which has earned for him the distinction of being the most successful rider in the history of the big Flemington race.

The well-known English trainer, Batho, and Cooper, the jockey, had their licenses withdrawn over the running of Mr. H. Cunliffe Owen’s horse, King Sol, in the Nonsuch Handicap at a recent meeting at Hurst Park, England. The investigation by the stewards of the Jockey Club showed that the horse had been eased in his work after he won the Stewards’ Cup at Goodwood, and Batho and Cooper are blamed for this and the running in__the Hurst Park race. The owner was absolved. Batho started as a trainer of jumpers' for Mr. Bottomley many years ago, and was highly successful in training jumpers and flat racers. He won the Cesarewitch and a small fortune for Mr. Bottomley with Wargrave in 1904, and the'Stewards’ Cup with Northern Farmer, while Cooper rode The Panther when he won the Two Thousand Guineas this year.

The following foalings are reported from Waikanae Stud: Lovesick (sister to Nones and Menelaus), bay colt to Kilbroney; Thames, bay colt to Kilbroney; Peace, bay colt to Boniform; Peronilla (Welcome Stakes), bay-filly to Clarenceux; Bebe, bay fillv to Boniform; Margarethe, bay colt to Boniform; Mistime (sister to Miscount), bay filly to Boniform; Lady Jean 11. (imp.), bay filly to Boniform; Desrina (imp.), bay filly to. Boniform; Glen Helen, bay filly to Boniform; Snowlike (half sister to Rebecca), bay colt to Bezonian;

Aloha, dead twins to Boniform; Lady 1 Stewart, chestnut filly to Solferino; Paphia, bay colt to Martian; Vicer--eine, brown colt to Boniform; Peirene (Wellesley Stakes), bay filly to Boniform;' Killena, bay filly to Sunny Lake; Rosyth, bay colt to Kilbroney; Secret Link, bay filly to Boniform; Snow Waif, bay filly to Martian; Ribble (half sister to Emperador), bay filly to Boniform; Philomel, bay colt to Boniform; Sunbird (sister to Ardenvhor and Mascot), bay filly to Boniform; Satisfaire (dam of Weary Willie), bay filly to Boniform; Snowstell (dam of Rebecca), bay filly to Bonifornu Khamsin (half sister to Vladimir), chestnut filly to Boniform; Bonny Helen (Wanganui Guineas and Oaks), chestnut colt to Bezonian; Somniform (sister to Bon Reve and dam of Sleepy Head and Wake), brown filly to Bezonian.

• The cost of starting a horse in last week’s Melbourne Cup was £5O, as against £3O last season. Only a few lady owners had horses engaged at the Melbourne Cup meeting. Mrs. R. M. Hawker was ; represented by Arasene and Bon Vue, Mrs. R. E. H. Hope, by Lisnavane, and Mrs. E. McArthur by Sir Mnemon. It is interesting to recall the fact that two ladies, in Mrs. E. A. Widdis and the woman who races as “M. Gordon” have had their colours carried to victory in the V.R.C. Derby, and Mrs. Widdis also claims a success in the Melbourne Cup. The Cambridgeshire has come and gone, and has to be credited to the Lemberg flve-year-old horse Brigand, who won the Royal Stakes at Epsom last June from King Sol and C.P., each of his own age, with Day Comet’s three-year-old half-brother Violincello fourth. During the season Brigand was placed several times, and, as related last week, was beaten in the Peveril of the Peak Handicap by Violincello, whose most important win it was this season, and there was only 51b. in favour of the three-year-old in the weights. The Cambridgeshire is the last of the important flat handicaps in England for the season, and unless he won a handicap race of the

value of 45050v5.. or over after September 4 Brigand’s impost would remain the light one of 6.10, and could not exceed 7.6. As those good ones Diadem and My Dear, who followed him home, had 8.12 and 9.2 respectively, Mr J. A. de Rothschild’s horse was well favoured in the weights. The value of the stake was lOOOsovs., with a sweepstake of 25sovs. for all left in after September 9. Irish Elegance was weighted at 9.13 for this race, which goes to show what a good one the four-year-old son of Sir Archibald is. Thirteen pounds above w.f.a. in a race like the Cambridgeshire is a tidy impost As a matter of history the highest weight won with was 9.1, carried by Florence in 1884, and 9.0 by the wonderful American three-year-old Foxhall in 1881, who won the ■ Csarewitch the same year and carried the extreme penalty of 141 b., feats only accomplished by Rosebery and Plaisanterie. The Dewhurst Plate, for two-year olds, was run last Thurs-i day, and fell to Mr. Lionel Robinson’s’ Prince Galahad, by Prince Palatine from Decagone, who beat an odds-on favourite in the Orby —Electra colt Orpheus, who had been a good winner during the season, and had run second to the crack Tetratema earlier in the season.

To date 59 Melbourne Cups have been' decided. .Of these, 29 have been . won, by Victoriap representatives, 25 by New South Wales horses, two by New Zealand (Apologue and Sasanof), and two by South. Australia (Auraria and The Assyrian).

Seldom other than a good stayer captures the Melbourne Cup, and the big race claims among its winners nearly ail the best horses that have graced the Australian turf. Such equine aristocrats as Carbine, Poseidon; Comedy King, Prince Foote, Sasanof and Nightwatch, al! won the Melbourne Cup and won it well. Two notable horses to fail were Trafalgar and Wakeful, but each ran a meritorious second. Last year’s winner, Nightwatch, in running the two miles in 3min. 25j|sec., set a Cup record, which was easily lowered last week at Flemington by Artilleryman, whose time was 3min. 24|sec. Archer, the first Melbourne Cup winner, occupied 3min. ; 52sec. Judged by the time test, Artilleryman would beat Archer (if it were possible to put them together) by oyer a quarter of a mile. The • Australasian record for two miles is held by Warstep, who registered 3min. 24sec. when she won. the Trentham Gold Cup with 8.12 in the saddle at the Wellington Racing Club’s autumn meeting in April, 1915.