THE CUP CARNIVAL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 44, 15 November 1907, Page 9

THE CUP CARNIVAL.

■MELBOURNE'S GREAT WEEK, ' HOW THE RACE WAS WON, ;.(fbom ode srncuti cobkespondent.) Sydney, Novembor 9. ' Tuesday was, in a certain important particular,;. a Now Zealand day at Flemington, since, for tho first timo in tho history of the racb, the Melbourne Cup wits won by a horso owned in tho Dominion. Right handsomely did -Apologue win, after fighting out tho Metropolitan; Stakes, battlo over again with Moolta'n'iii the straight. -Tliero Mooltan was ' the victor, but Apologue, with the advantage of the; weights; avenged this defeat at Flemington in the great raco by threoquartofs'of a length. , Melbourne has been a gay city this week, with tho big racing carnical going on, and , the exhibition of women's work to attract tho thousands 1 -of feminine visitors in tho intervals of the great dress competition at i Flemington. From all points of tho compass, the pilgrimage begins toward Melbourne in' the last days of October, every other city of

the Commonwealth sending forth its quota •to fornrpart of the vast concourse of human' units congregated about thirty or forty horses at Flemington on Cup Day. Half a dozen people, who had just arrived from Vancouver, anxious to join in this great spectacle; of the year, rushed off the steamer Moana at Brisbane on Sunday morning, and chartered a special train in which thoy raced from the quay sido at Pinkenba to the -city to catch the -Sydney mail leaving Brisbane at 7.10 a.m.', and arriving at Sydney'at 11.10 a.m. on Monday.' They were thus onabled tq stay for. over eight hours in Sydney, and then caught -the - night express, which leaves Sydney every evening oxcept Saturday, at ten minutes _to , eight, and, arrives in Melbourne a few minutes after'one o'clock on the following day. So they saw the Cup. Melbourne ; ,has. not been for. years so.full of.:visitors, it";is'stated; Indeed,, it is estimated that 'about 100,000" people were-at at Apologue's Cup victory, The railway trains carried no fewer than 33,420 passengers from Spencer Street to the course, an increase i/6f 6513 upon the number who thus'travelled^to the Cup last year. As only, one-third of-those who go to Flemington on Cup Day' get . there by rail, tho total of about -100,000 peoplo is thus reasoned out. For days the hotels, coffee palaces, and boarding-houses have been so, full thai latecomers .hiyo had to be content with'"shakedowns" in billiard-rooms and elsewhere. Indeed, some visitors spent tho night beforo the Cup dozing in easy chairs in smokingrooms.

The-lawnrttt-Flemington .on, Cup Day- represents all the wealth and social distinction of the Commonwoalth. So orowded was it this year that in tho afternoon, before tho big race, it'.yas difficult to move about tho place. Thenv; were' five Governors there, two . of tho worlds "great singers—Madame Melba and Madame Clara Butt —judges and legislators,'- members of the- professions, wealthy ■flockpyvners,''aiid, in-a bewildering mass "of ■ colour, society's smartest women, setting the i fashions for tho Commonwealth. There were plain, unobtrusive gowns by -tlio hundreds, but .there ;.was not a preponderance of them, as- there was'last 1 year arid the year' preceding, when wintry conditions prevailed. Apologuo's jockey was much moro distressed ithan.the-horse at the ,finish .'of tho Cup journey—indeod; thd : .boy,' W. Evans, was swaying in his saddle as ho came back with the..clerk of the course, apd, as he dismounted;,- slipped', to the ground a limp heap. The horse s"trainer,-.Eariishaw, lifted the boy up, and he, >ras carried, to thp scales, where he sat,' half - propped *'up, 'until tho weight, was, Then ,he, sank, in a dead" faiht' v to ;,: the '' floor.''' The' explanation was . that -, Evans had exhausted himself in

bringing " 'his weight down by wasting. He actually spent three hours in a Turkish bath onthe .morning of .the race, and reducer! bis weight by 41b. On the previous day also, it is stated, he took-41b. off by the same means. In a week he:.hadi,hadr.to'reduce himself by 141b., and-.jt)%is^|aiil.j)royed: v too exhausting. Telling hjsPstq^ST.,the when he had ■ recoveredf':.-»Ey.ans-,.said - that '-Apologue was' bumped gSijffiiout.of the■■straight, near tho "lnit""aft'eir"-that' • he~bad a pretty ■' all C the -way. to -• . tho three;-or'; four horse.s- crowdingJih'.' front 'of Apologue, ijind Evans -had, '.to. l pull round -them.. This*;arid' thebump ■ '-tiiov horsogot - earlier, were:;, tho , only things -him; but.-they'did-, not make -miioh'difference/ and at the turn into the straight for home Apologue had a clear run. Mountain King arid Mooltan were.then.in,.front, and, said Evans, "I can tellyou-.tney wferen!t : easy to..'shake off.' : I though^'just'.'ait first they, w;ouid. stick; to.us.! But. I -'-punfched'' Applogue-'.along. Ho isn't the gamest ; hoi-s'e in one way. You mustn't hit; him;.; with -a, ! whip. I just punched , him along with hands ana heels. If you ride him that - way he'll go for a week. Ho .won all rigjft. But we were all-out—pretty well." The owner of Apologue, Mr. R. L. Cleland; who came over from New Zealand to see his / horse run, did not back the winner to any extent., -course," said he, "I-am pleased at having won : the "race, though I navo'.ntda'jnado much out 'of'it, except the stake. :.l_did._not put much money, on him myself.'""But rani 'pleased for New Zealand's sake. He is tho first horse bred- and owned iu New Zealand that has won . the big race. They-.will be much pleased over- thero.. . lam not.gpiiig .to:take him back again. I'm going to sell'liim by auctiftn.next week, and it's very doubtful, if he'will'start again before then. He is not entered for any of the weight-for-agc-'-raqes. at - the meeting, and; I crusli liim out of tho >, handi,Aflyliow, .I'm hot going to tisk-;break-mg the horse down if they do. The race tov day -jus^guited';him. It. couldn't have been made too fast ; as I said,' ho always- has a finish." Mr. Cleland was confirmed' by ApolqgupV,victory in His impression that-his horse., should havo won the Caulfield Cup. ' There was,it popular hero iii'the' top weight? Tho Melbourne Cup public has > much regard for ; an? great horse -who, after a brilliant ' record, finds himself asked to carry a huge-.weight .like lOst. 31b.- in a hard racejand the throng —even that great section of it which backcd Apologue—would frankly have liked to see Poseidon emulate ;■ tho .great performance of Carbine..tyhen he ran home a winner,in 1890 with'. two" pounds more' on his Back. 1 Had last year's winnor got home again on Tuesday, , there would" have'been a great scene at Flemington, But it was asking him too much-to give away lumps of .woight to horses like Apologue, Mooltan, and Mountain King, who, were all in. tho 7st. division, and so Poseidon could got no nearer than eighth. " Next to backing the, horse; that runs second, ,or fifth, or tenth, or doesn't run at all, the most annoying thing is to back tho winner and then .break your ankle when on ' your, way: to collect the money. ,This is what happened to a man named Ernest Batten, at Flemington. Having put . His money on Apologue for., the Cup; he bolted off when the numbers went up to reccivo his ' winnings; but while he was making great time to the a-.Urunken man lurched against him, and WW; him-down, with the result that his : ankle was" broken. Poor Batten saw no moro races that day. He had' to be lifted up and "sent to the Melbourne Hospital.