Turf Topics

Free Lance, Volume IV, Issue 167, 12 September 1903, Page 25

Turf Topics

By St. Simon.

The Noith Island mare, Aldmga. has joined T. Godfrey's stable, in Dunedm. Canteen's ounei is not too sure about Starting the grey in the New Zealand ■Cup. There is a probability of the Rotorua Jockey Club holding two days' racing at Christmas. Mr. J. O'Diiscoll, owner of Waiwera, is standing himself a trip to Australia, on the strength of Ins late win. A yearling colt, by Muskeitry, out of the dam of Shrapnel 1, is said to be full of promise. He is called Irish Rifle. Pure Silver and The Guesser are m very good heart just now, and Peters is giving them plenty of useful work. The New Zealand Cup candidate, Lavalette, who has been under the "vet.'' for lameness, has resumed work. Mr. Gee-Gee Stead is in Australia, to witness his great mare, Cruciform, measure strides with the big guns of Australia. A New Zealand Cup candidate, in Bulawayo, got away with the rirmcipal event at the Timairu meeting. Count of Kolmar won a double. The Hon. Timi Kara (Carrol]) has a useful-] oo-kmg nlJy by Hotchkiss — Sunnangdale. She is now a stable companion of Rinrai&n and Matuku, at the Hutt. Lee Side, a three-year-old colt, by Euroclydon, from Broadside (a fuli-sis-ter to the Melbourne Cup winner, Arsenal) has been put into work at Oamaru. The South Australian Derby was won by Sir Rupert Clarkes F.J.A., by Carbine's son, Wallace. The same owner appropriated the Derby in 1900, with Miltiades. Pardon the trumpet' Out of four selections made by me for the Timaru meeting before acceptances appeared, three got home and paid fair prices, and the fourth selection did not accept. Mr. W. Smart has had a good stakeearner m Shrapnel Shell during the past season. The gelding is having a fairly easy time of it just now, at the hands of his trainer, Frank Higgott, who, by the way, has all his boxes occupied. The other Dunedin representative, Pampero, is going on splendidly in his work, and his Southern admirers are coupling him in many doubles, and taking the by-no-means tempting straight-out prices very freely. The annual meetings of the Pahiatua, Ashurst-Pohangina, and Wairarapa Racing Clubs were marked by enthusiasm, and fair credit balances. In all cases an infusion of new blood resulted, which is at all times a good thing for any body.

Oi loft's ailment has necessitated his withdiawal fiom his Austialian engagements. A double I have a gieat fancy for is Heioism and Petrovna On enquiry, I leai n that the piesent maiket puce is 100 to 1. The two-yeai-old filly by Stepmak— Maihn, pui chased by the ow ner of Halbeidiei, is repoited to be smaJl, sm ut, and shapely. Haydn was nearly being sent on ease a to contest Australian jumping events, his owner only changing his mind at the last minute. Stibbmgtoo). the three-year-old halfbrother to St. Paul, has contracted an attack of influenza, and he will probably not be seen out under silk at Avondale meeting. Coronation, a three-year-old full-bro-ther to Record Reign, is in training at Pukekohe, and he may be expected to make his debut before long, in the colours of his breeder, Mr. J. Roulston. The bookmakers received a nasty jar when the machine commenced paying out on two horses. Several members of the betting fraternity inform me that they do not come out of a meeting so well as of yore under the present system. The Ike — Enchantress horse, Glenelg, who is owned by the Southland spoitsman, Mr. John Tennant, has been running somewhat disappointingly of late, his display at Timaru being anything but attractive. I think the fault lies in his being badly placed. During his career, the famous English lockey, Fred. Archer, rode 2748 winners, while during the last eleven years of his life he scored on no lees than 2290 occasions. Even in this record-breaking era these figures will requne a lot of beating. The champions of New Zealand and Australia (Cruciform and Wakeful) will meet in the weight-for-age events on the other side, and, much as I would desne it, I feel that honours will not rest, with the New Zealand er, aJbea.it that Cruciform is putting in some splendid track work. Royal Fusilier the three-year-old son of Hotchkiss and Janet, is stated to be shaping most satisfactorily in his prepaiation for the New Zealand Cup, and if one of the youthful division is destined to tnumph in the Southern race, Napierites predict that he will be the one to accomplish the feat. Mr. G. P. Donnelly never won so much in stakes during one season as he did m the last, when his total came to £1700. This year, he has made a good stait, and, though he has nothing formidable in his stable 1 , with Awahuri to battle for him he may even go one better before the close of 1903-4. On a recent visit to the Lower Hutt I had the pleasure of looking over Telford's stable, and found the three horses under his charge looking very well for this time of the year. Stepsoni is looking particularly well. Telford is a painstaking young fellow, and will, no doubt, ere long have a greatlyincreased string. The Canterbury Jockey Club laid dow n a ton or two of hay on the grass sward between the stewards' stand atad the main stand, on the Riccarton course, on the third day of the meeting, with the object of enabling visitors to the enclosure to keep their boots clean and their feet dry, and the plan answered admirably. It would talce ai ton or two of such treatment to satisfy tho Hutt-road.

Marshal Soult changed hands in Auckland the other day, for five hundred guineas-, with certain contingencies A South African sportsman some time ago offeied a substantial sum for the son of Soult, but business did not result. Victoua, who ran on four or five occasions for the Auckland Cup, and who is now in her twenty-third year, foaled a colt to Menschikoff on Satin day. It l^ the fiist by the young Wellington Park sire, a bay in colour, taking after himself in appearance. Mr. Cyril Haalett, of the Dunedin sporting family, passed through Wellington the other day, en route foi Rotorua, where he wall spend a few weeks lecuperating from the effects of his horse falling upon him. He mfoimed me that his brother had a very good win over Bladimir's victory m the Winter Cup. When RoseLla wound up at Ellerslie last June, it was understood that the daughter of Seaton Delaval and Roie had run her last race, and, as s>he was subsequently despatched to Sylvia Park, it looked safe to count her out of the active brigade. However, it has been determined to give the chestnut mare another bout of racing, and she has ■joined the team under the charge of J. Gallagher, at Kohimarama. New Zealand is snortly to receive another addition to the list of thoroughbred sdres. Dirk Hammerhand, who was awarded first honours in the bloodstock class, at the Royal Agricultural Society's Show, held in Victoria this week, was subsequently purchased by Mr. J. A. Freeman of South Canterbury and we may, I presume, expect to find the Australian-bred horse take up stud duties in Maoriland at an early date. I had a ohat w ith an Auckland friend the other day, who informed me that he had closely watched the New Zea^ land Cup favourite, Wamki, in his work, and he expressed grave doubts about his standing a severe preparation, not liking the appearance of his foire end. Auckland papers, however, record the fact that the son of Soult will journey to Christchurch about the 22nd instant, to complete his preparation. Pony racing was not favourably regarded in the time of King George 11., inasmuch as in the thirteenth year of his reign an Act was passed "for the suppression of pony-racing or of small and weak horses." By this Act it was forbidden to run any race for a less prize than £50, and each horse, if five years old, must carry lOst, if six list, and if seven 12st. This law was intended, it is said, to have a twofold good effect, to wit, the discouragement of dissipation among the lower classes and of the small and weak breeds of horses. Judging by the weights they had no room for squibs in those days The ancient idea of a day's sport was, to say the least of it, peculiar. A programme which contained the items in the following advertisement must have furnished spectators with, at any rate, sufficient excitement, though the entertainment cannot have been considered edifying — "At the bear garden, at Hockley-in-the-Hole, near Clerkenw ell Green. These are to give notice to all gentlemen, gamesters, and others that on this present Monday, being April 27, 1702, a great match is to be fought by a bald-faced dog of Middlesex against a fallow dog of Cowcross, for a guinea each dog. Five let-goes out of hand. Which goes furthest and fairest in wins all. Being a general day of sport by all the old gamesters, and a great mad bull to be turned loose in the same place, with fireworks all oveir him, and two or three cats tied to his tail, and dogs after them. Also, other variety of bull-baiting and bear-baitung. Beginning at two of the clock."