NOTES AND COMMENT.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1592, 8 November 1912, Page 7

NOTES AND COMMENT.

[Bt.fGLESCOB.]

At the "present :time it 4ooks; as'if a better fielU will contest ;the .Stead; Cup on "Saturday ,than has ;been the .case in previous.'years. "," : The .■-probable- s & te l s and'; their riders .are:-Bobrikoff- (J!. . :V>- • Jones), 9st; Los' Angelos (W.., Young), 9st.; Undecided (R." Hatch),: 9st,; :3ronzo >(A. Oliver), Bst. 91b:; Bon 'Reve 7st:'9lb.; Haskayne (E. Wilson), 75t,,91b.; Brown Owl (C.-Emerson), 7st.'7lb. - If it'is. a fine" day and the going . be firm/ Bobrikoff, who -has' done- a lot of racing lately, iff-likely; to starUavourite. with th» .Stead pair next in..demand. Bon Ton lias been accepted for in _tne three events at Riccarton on .Saturday, but'- it is understood that ho will start in thoFehaalton,, Handicap .only.,- .;;, : .The Membors'. .Handicap,, 'an .open event run, over, a sevenrfurlongs course, arid wotth 500. 50v5....t0. the winner, has only attracted -eight, runners, while the Cressy Welter.haS 26 horses on Saturdays card. ' •■•'".-"•;■• \ ",' ;. ■■■'-.• 4. feature of the- C.J.C. meeting has been" the excellent riding of L. Wilson, who so far has won seven races. His victories include the New Zealand Cup, Canterbury;Cnp, Metropolitan Handicap, Jockey Club Handicap, and the Juvenile Plato. ; ' The -Hastings horseman has a mount in each flat race, on Saturday. With the exception of the Waikanaebre'd/youngsters, who all brought good ■urices; the'yearling sales at Christchurch vesterday proved a frost, and several-, youngsters were passed in /without a' single :Wd -being offered for them. Prominent amongst., the buyers of the Waikuntte vearlirigs was Mr. W. F. M. Bucklev" a steward "of the Canterbury Jockey Club, butit is not.known (telegraphs our correspondent) he was acting for himself. or someone else. The local owner, Mr; H. Whitney, yesterday purchased at auction a yea/rimg :half-brother (by Charlemagne-; lIV to Odessa: In colour and build the youngster, greatly . resembles his relative and if he-is-as successful as ,him on the. turf his owner will havo no cause to legret his purchase..- ~_. ■• _ ' ' Dyed Garments, who broke Ins neck in ; the hurdle raco at Flemington yesterday, won the Sydney Cup'in 1908. ~.; Piastre's/gallop at Flemtagton a .week/ before the Melbourne Cup resulted in the Newcastle horse being made a strong.secorid favourite. It was a sensational gallop,- as :tho horse ran Tonnd -the _sana - in 2m'in. 28sec., a mile and a half in.2mm. Usee..'and a.mile and three-quarters,in -3min. 7ssc. beatini* by-2sec.'the" previous best record- for the distance-; on --this course, liolan was of no use to mm over

the last mile. Piastre rail the last six furlongs in lmin. 20scd, and the last mile and a quarter in 2min. 13* sec. In the final gallops nothing occurred nt. I'lemingtbn-to put, Piastre's gallop of the previous Tuesday into the shade (says the Sydney "Arrow") and many regular frequenters of the. Ploniington tracks declared that it was a waste of time looking at work if the Positnno horse was not going to win. "I have been coming here sineo 1863," Tcmarkcd the veteran trainer, W. Filgate, "and I havo soun nothing equalling .-it." Filgale and the other old FMmington traiilors are great judges of track work and once again their judgment proved correct. • '..: ■The jockey,-A. Shanahan, who rode the Melbourne Cup' winner Inst Tuesday, is no doubt identical with tlio lad who rods in th"o Dominion three, seasons ago. The winning mount in the race would be worth over .£3OO. A gold watch, valued at 40 guineas,'was also to .be presented to .the. jockey. V .-..••■' . Gunboaf has' paid his way since going to.lndia (says an exchange), A little while -back- he won a'race at Poona, and returned a somewhat sensational: totalisator dividend,.and at the same place on September 28 no was again successful.- The race he won was the St.'Leger Plate, of 5000r5., to the. winner, and as ; jn ,a field, of six; liis dividend was; fairly' lnrge, punters, as a whole, must have again been i unprepared' for his success. He.carried Bst. lOlb'.V mid -among those he beat were Mil, 7st. 31b., and Aborigine, Bst. 61b. The latter seems -to ■'have*deteriorated in India, but ns.-the race was nearly.a-mile and .three-quarters,.: the^distance-' was. against him. •.-.'-■: :■• ■■■'■' : ■'.. .' Following is nn illustration of how the fervour for anything appertaining to horseflesh .is fostered in .Yorkshire. : A- boy. ' in the-, infant class at ■Dringhouses School was asked by his.-teacher . whatMyauld be the effect of the rain'then falling. His replv was: "It'll, do ft lot of good 'to Knnvesmire for graces.'" 'Who ■ told you that/' -my -."little j, lad.' •"Mother, mum." - : ".! ' ■ -:;v':v ; ; " '. -The-amount of coins which were bandied at the last St.' Leger .meeting at Doncaster in connection with the four days' racing—the silver takings of the Corporation—turned the scale at 1 ton 12st.' 10lb. The wholeof these' coins had to be''handled and carefully, counted. There-were less than ft'dozen bad coins. The receipts- of "the-Doncaster CoTpora- : tion Tramways for the: fourVrace days, although not a; record,-were in'excess of- ; last year; Altogether 104,666 passengers were'carried to and from the. bourse.