TURF TOPICS

Free Lance, Volume IV, Issue 165, 29 August 1903, Page 24

TURF TOPICS

By St. Simon.

4 Bookmakers' Association protection fund has been established, with a capital of £300— to be increased to £bOU when the layers lay again The bookmakers make no claim to be allowed to bet they just want to get on to a course like any other common individual, and watoh the totahsator do the rest ' Mr Ihig. Thompson sold Scallywag after the Grand National meeting, to Mr Lowry. of Hawke's Bay. Scally wag turned out to be not such good goods as he was ticketed. The per centage deducted from money put through the ''tote" sluice-box at National time more than covered the stakes paid out. Rawiri could not earn a stake in the Winter Cup and Islington Handicap vet Joe Henrys bumped him up a pound in the Heathcote Handicap. It looks as if it were Prosser who was being handicapped. From what I can learn, Ostiak's racing career is in no danger through the bursting of the blood vessel which bothered him in Chnstchurch. Messrs. Barnett and Grant, a household name in sporting circles, have issued a handy book, "Form at a Glance " dealing with the performances, etc., of New Zealand Cup candidates. Jerry Driscoll could not resist kicking his hat when Waiwera passed the post in the National Hurdles, so great was his glee, not so much for the money value part of the business, for Jerry has traded to the advantage or his banking account, but the superabundance of sporting instinct had to kick something, and of course he could afford a new tile. For the Stewards' Handicap, to be run at New Zealand Cup time, forty entries have been received, for the £500 Canterbury Cup eighteen, and for the Jubilee Cup twenty-three. The South Canterbury meeting takes place on Wednesday and Thursday next. Excellent nominations have been received for the various events, and interesting racing should result. At tune of writing the acceptances are not to hand, but, with a start, I expect to see the following anticipations prove pretty correct • — Timai-u Hui dies. —Slow Tom and Catherine Gordon. Stewards' Welter.— Count Kolmar and Antigone. Hunters' Steeples. — Agitator and \ ictory. Flying Handicap.— Sainfoin and Goldspur. The new grandstand at Ricoarton, when completed, will seat 1800 people. Cruciform m Sydney for spring engagements, has proved a capital investment for her owner, Mr. G. G. Stead, who secured his craok mare for 325 guineas four years ago. As a two-year-old she gathered in £1515 stake money alone, and at three years old added £3765, and, though incapacitated through an accident in January last for the rest of the season, she had previously won £1040. Up to time of writing Cruciform's haul totals £6370. Mr. G. G. Stead's record in turf matters is unequalled. In the last engirt years, he has— with but one exception, in 1899-1900— been on top in the list of winning owners, the total prizemoney falling to his credit being £52,709. A Sydney cablegram reads — "The New Zealand mare, Cruciform, put up a fast gallop at Randwiok to-day, covering a mile on the outside of the course proper, with a light boy in the saddle, in lmin 45-1-sec. The first five furlongs were compassed in lmin 3sec." The racehorse Awahuri left Lyttelton for Sydney by the s.s. Victoria, on Friday, to take part in other-side lepping events. For some time past Sir George Clifford's three-year-old filly, To-morrow, by Bill of Portland — Elusive, has been affected by a trouble in her head. Last week, at Christchuroh, she was put under chloroform, and operated on by Mr. J. R. Charlton, M.R.C.8.5., the sinuses being opened by trephining. The operation was highly saitisf aotory , and a speedy recovery is confidently hoped for

When Scottish Minstrel fell in the Grand National Huidle Race, he mluied the frontal bone of his nose. A Mood-vessel buisfc, and ohoked him, so that he did not see the huidle, and lan right into it. Mr. G. G. Stead has leceived woid from Sjdney, from his trainer, R J. Mason, to the effect that Orloff, one of whose, legs has filled, is still causing some anxiety, bub that he is hopeful regarding h:s chance of racing again later on. The rising tlnee-year-old colt, Prince Edwaid (bv Son-of-a-Gun— Her Majesty), has joined W. Davis team, at the Hu'tt. At the Hutt, Motor is getting along nicely in his pieparation for the New Zealand Cup and it must not be forgotten that "Old Bill" has brought off more than one Cup. I mentioned in my last week's notes that it was rumoured that C. Jenkins was engaged to ride Lady Lillian in the New Zealand Cup. It appears that Jenkins has the ri~M; to the mount provided his services will not be required by the Porirua stable. Mr. D. Thompson, of the Albert Hotel, has purchased Skobeloff from Mr. George Rutherford. The son of Stepniak and Pibroch reached here bv the Rotoniahana on Sunday morning. The C.J.C. Oaks winner, Armilla (by Castor from Necklace), has the distinction this year of producing the first foal of the season at Wellington Park a fine colt bv Phoebus Apollo being the entry for the Stud Book. The Auckland-bred Hova (by Ingomai I—Hapn1 — Hapn Land) is now at the stud at Durham Court, New South Wales. Carbine's best daughter, La Carabine, who was mated last season with the Eiridspoid horse, Ranfurly, has proved barren. Maybe La Carabine's missing in her first season is not an unfortunate event. The mare having gone through several seasons' hard racing, a rest for a year after coming out of training before being called upon to act the part of matron would be m favour of her offspring being more sturdy and vigorous than if the mare were, rushed from the racecourse to the paddock. This was not exactly done with La Carabine, but still the rest that has come to the Carbine mare will probably conduce to extend her stud life. Everything points to the forthcoming meeting of the Waikato Hunt Club races, at Cambridge, on Wednesday, September 2, being the best meeting ever held there. The class of horses engaged is much, superior to former years, and the entries for all events piomise to be larger than ufual. Wakeful is evidently as good as ever she was. At Caulfield recently the bay daughter of Trenton delighted the spectators by the way she got over about a mile and three furlongs. She galloped fast and easily throughout the journey, and pulled up well. Provided she continues to do well, Wakeful will, it is predicted, prove as brilliant as ever during the coming spring. Even in conservative England they are commencing to clamour for the introduction of the totahsator, the cramped prices offeied by the bookmakers being the cause. At the recent Ascot meeting, backers were very dissatisfied with the prices going, more especially in connection with the outsiders. There were twenty-three runners for the Wokingham Stakes, but, though the favourite's price was 9 to 4, nothing longer than 20 to 1 was available about any of the other runners. The Sydney sportsman who invested £500 in the purchase of the Auckland Cup winner, Siege Gun, had bad luck. The son of Hotchkiss has proved untraanable, and as a consequence the pen has gone through Ins name for all spring; engagements. Some little time back it was stated that an English offer of £3000 had been refused for Lancaster, who claims full-brothership to Siege Gun. If the Englishman is still unsatisfied, Siege Gun would no doubt be passed to him at a sum measured by hundieds instead of thousands.