NEWS AND NOTES.

NZ Truth, Issue 122, 19 October 1907, Page 2

NEWS AND NOTES.

- Treniham to-day. Pixie is no rcood m the mud. Nominations for Taratahi close on Monday night. Hereward carries a lot of condition for a youngster The Yaldhurst horses are expected back from Sydney on Wednesday. It is freely stated m Hastings that Downfall will not go to Riccarton. Black Reynard will probably make his first appearance this season at Gisborne next Thursday. The way the various candidates are being raced it looks as if there will be a record field for the N.Z. Cup and Stewards' Handicap. Gravitation was suffering from a knock after Hastings, so Jack Farmer sent him home instead of bringing him to Trenthain for the Wellesley Stakes. Idealist, Red Gauntlet and.Petrovna will all be hard to beat m the Stewards' Handicap, the. first-named particularly so. Pctrovna is very backward yet, but a couple of races at Oamaru should sharpen her up considerably. During Jos. Prosser's absence at Hastings, Playmate had been off the track suffering from lameness behind. ' He quickly got over it, but his Otaki preparation had been interfered with, and he showed no form there. However, he is sure to make amends early. The Hastings trainer T. Jones, has made a wonderful improvement m Te Kainui since that gelding went into his hands. Formerly it was thought that Knox's cast-off had turned rogue and would never win a race, but Jones has worked wonders with him, and now has had the satisfaction of seeing his charge win three races m succession.

Trainer D. J. Price, rightly or wrongly, has the reputation of liking to keep his "good" things for himself and his immediate circle of friends. Such being the case, there, has been a deal of conjecture as to the why or wherefore of Subterranean having been sent to Caulfield, and putting up such a sensational , gallop as he did on Tuesday. The horse is the property of one of the strai'ghest of goers m E. Manifold, who races quite independent of betting considerations, and who certainly would not countenance any funny business m connection with him.— Melbourne "Truth."

The Caulfield Cup will be run today, j Masterton and Poverty Bay on Thursday and Friday next. Storm and Lumilite were heavily backed m Wellington for their races at Dunedin on Saturday. Contralto is suffering from kidney trouble, and Prosser took a "vet." to Trentham to havo a look at her. Te Kainui and Tirol e each won three hurdle races straight off the reel. It is hard to stop a good jumper when well. . -■ Happy Maid does not seem, to . improve with age. She only started once at Otaki, but her display was a wretched one. Hurimoana won a double on the flat at Otaki, and is possessed of a lot of pace. He was well handled by H. Gray m both races. What is the hardest ; race to win m New Zealand ? Ninety-nine people out of every hundred would vote for the Stewards' Handicap. At Mordialloc, Melbourne, there are great accounts of the flyine abilities of D. J. Price's 2-year-old, Banna (Stepniak-Gitanella). Irish Rifle looks apple pie m the Masterton Cup. Guess Sid. Reid won't want to go to Riccarton till after the Masterton meeting. From Hawera up to New Plymouth they went nap on Supplement at Otaki, and the rinemen have not recovered from their shock vet. The Newmarket winner, Ebullition, won t?he Caulfield Stakes on'-Satur-day, and beat Subterannean, Ellis, and Solution, erstwhile Maorilanders. It will depend upon how Chatterer runs m the Masterton Cup before Gooseman decides whether she is worth taking to Riccarton for the N.Z. Cup. The French mare Punto Gorda, which has won £16,560 m prize money for her owner, M. Mieux, was bought out of a selling race for about £350. Kairoma ran second to Isolt m the Jackson Stakes at Wanganui, but since that the Karamui horse has never done so well. He is not a good track horse. You have to go from home to hear news. A friend residing m Dunedin informs me that they will have nothing but All Red for. the Stewards 1 Handicap down there. Splendid Idea is a long way from being at her best. Wilson is considering a trip to Auckland with the chestnut mare, but nothing definite has been decided upon. According to track reports Subterranean must havo improved immensely since going to Melbourne. He should be knocking at the door m the Caulfield Cup to-day. No end of money went on St. Albert the first day at Napier, and he missed. Next day a like amount went on Gold Dust, and St. Albert beat him. and paid the limit. C. Parker has again moved from Trentham and Pat Coney is m charge of Wind and Black Squall. The last named has been galloping very freely of late at Trentham. Bonnie Doon was a miserable failure at Otaki. She was not paying much over even money the first day but the second day had she won her supporters would have received a £15 dividend. The local dailies fall into many and curious errors. Last Saturday the "Times" notified its readers that the Caulfield Guineas would be I run at Randwick. It gave no reason for the V.A.T.C.'s action m shifting from Caulfield to Randwick. The chestnut mare Greenleaf was unlucky at Otaki, inasmuch as she showed a lot of pace m the mud, but could not secure any money. On the first day she finished fourth m the Welter Hack, and m her next attempt she was close up third. R. Barlow was very confident that Turkish Maid would beat her two opponents m the Rangiaru Welter, but the mare is not much good when meeting horses that gallop .ill the way. The surprise to me is, however she managed to ' win a double at> Hawera last season. Her trainer acted wisely m not bringing her to Trentham. The local layers of odds tumbled m badly at Otaki. In the Trial Handicap the owner of Flying Wind sent a commission to Wellington for the chestnut, and the bookmakers wired it back to the course, with the result that it started favorite. Just on time, however, a bi" 1 commission went m on Supplement, who won and paid £4 18s. If the Flying Wind money had not gone back to the machine, Supplement would have paid about £2 10s. Poseidon's trainer appears to be ' standing the colt up to the collar this Spring far more seriously than he did last Autumn, and the crack is putting up some record gallops. That last Saturday week was a smasher, for he ran a mile on the middle grass at Ratidwick m lmin. 41fsec. A performance like this really sets anybody wondering as to who 1 ' measured the distance, especially as Apologue was only two lengths behind Poseidon.— Melbourne "Truth."

The W.R.C. authorities would be considering the convenience of trainers if they shifted the steeplechase fences off No. 1 gallon at Trentham and this would eive trainers an extra track on which to work their horses. Another matter which requires immediate attention is the shed which does duty for a iockey's sleeping room. It is a very barnlike affair, and Whoever planned such a structure should be transported to Siberia. If some of the stewards would visit the place they would auickly see for themselves what is wrong.

[ They have not trotted out Docile vet. When they do, look out. I Jockeys W. McKay, R, Barlow, and F. Lind all broke their ducks at the Otaki meeting. Tartan will make them do their best m the Melbourne Cup despite his burden of 9st 91b. St. Aidan is a half-sister to Mobihoy. who won the Easter Handicap at Auckland last season. Contender is pretty well at present, and will improve a lot with the racing he has had recently. The Voucher and Golden Eagle both looked very light on it at Otaki, and badly i v nee d of a spell. J. Lowe's pair of three-year-olds are still kept to trotting . exercise at Trenuham. They are both building up nicely. Waihuka's dividend at Otaki was a great one. Even money m a field of three is very hard to get about a favorite. Rendrock did not gallop as well on the second day at Otaki, and probably the hard race on the first day was responsible.. Consequent on Lupulite's victory m the Short's Handicap, McKay's gelding has advanced m favor for the Steward's Handicap. After all Supplement was brought ; on to Trentham, but the other rnem- | bers of Barlow's team were sent home to Hew Plymouth. Antonio has Bst sft m the Caulfield Cup to-day.- Nine pounds oft his back should . make a big differ- | ence to the English-bred horse. Off Chance, a New Zealand aged | gelding by Gorton— Take Miss, owned by Alister Clark; is doing weH at the suburban meetings at Melbourne. Flotilla did not run as well m her second attempt at Otaki as m the first. She has not been up very long, but should be ticked off for later on m the season. The Soult mare, Happy Maid, has been sent home from Porirua, and it is unlikely that her owner will persevere further with her,- and probably she will go to the stud. Marseillaise had three races at Otaki. and was successful m her final attempt. She is just about well now, and I would not be surprised to see her score again next time out. ...*..» The Karanui-trained WOodlev was made a hot pot for the Scurry at Napier Park, and hackers laid 5 to 4 on but Wonderbohm upset the good thinrr. which oaly paid 12s for second place. Dividend will never race again, and with him one of the best horses that ever raced has gone. He will always be remembered as the liorse that twice downed Poseidon at weight for age. The owner of Papareahi was not present on the first day of Otaki, and his horse ran very badly. Next day, however, his presence made his horse favorite, and he ran a stone better. It's wonderful what a difference an owner's presence on. tho course makes both to the totalizator and the running- of the horss. Everyone would be pleased to see Apologue win a good race before returning from Australia. According to the cabled reports, Bob Cleland's horse ran* a great raGe m the Metropolitan Handicap, and to be beaten a head by such a n;ood performer as Mooltan, to whom he was conceding 2211 i, is a performance of no mean order. The positions might be ■' reversed' . m the Caulgeld Cup. run to-day. ■ It is noticeable that trainer Ike E&rnshaw has engaged • Antonia ia the weight-for-age events »t the V.R.C. meetings, and it would appear from this that he has «r»ry hope of keeping the imported fcors* on his pins. A good iud.ee cf li;e*lishl i;e*lish racing considers 1 , that Antonio is far and away the proved best class racer that has left the Old Country for Australia for soverHl decades past.— Melbourne "Truth." The Spring Meeting of the D.J.C. passed off well, and was not responsible for anything very exciting, , unless, of course, the hostile demonstration that took place when Astrakhan beat Appolodoris by half a head. The latter was a red hot favorite, hence the hooting. I do not think there were any grounds for heir.c suspicious m this case, as they- hot.. started on the first "day and "had no chance with Idealist. The last-named was not started on the second day, and after a great finish Astv^than, who is a sticker through ».Dd

through, gained the verdict. Ho is just the sort of horse to v/in the N.Z. Cup m the same manner as Star Rose did, but this, of course, is highly improbable.

An exchange says : A well-known racecourse frequenter named Tommy Connop, who hails from Wcod>LUe, caused some excitement m the vicin^ itv of the Otaki railway station oarlv yesterday morning . He cstce down from the township to che Railway Hotel at Otaki on Wodwis-. day night, at about 10 o'clock. .m. search of a bed, and although appearing a bit off color, he was siren a share of one downstairs hr aa old man. Some time during the night, the old man had occasion to resent the behaviour of his companion. The latter was found to ha bleeding profusely from a wound m the leg, which, it is reported; -he received through a horse which he was riding falling and rolline; r.n him at Palmerston North early et» Wednesday morning. Connop l«ft the hotel a little before davliflrnt and visited a private house not far distant, where he behaved m such an eccentric manner as to warrant the police being sent for. Con* nop was taken care of by a guardian of the law, and sent down to Porirua by train yesterday afternoon for treatment.

There could not have foeea much Wrong with Boniforro as he is working again on the Yaldhuist tracks. S. Wad-dell brought ten horses to Trehtham. Some of them will not sport silk till the C.J.C. meeting. Luke Wilson, the lightweight jockey attached to the Karamu stable, will ride Grand Slam m the N.Z. Cup. Pearlie. has run four consecutive seconds, and her owner must have lost a lot of money by her repeated failures. St. Amelia is a greatly improved mare. She jumps beautifully and has a lot of pace, which she proted by her dual win at Otaki. ♦ Miss Frisco has been turned out of training, and will go to the stud. Her owner .is .at present trying t« solve the problem as to which sire to send her to. No fault could he found with the condition of Paritutu at Otaki, and the big fellow was m a class by himself there. His dividend m the Welter Handicap was a surprising good one. He was ridden by E. George. It- is whispered m the South that it is not by any means certain that Seal Rock will be a starter m the New 'Zealand Cup. If this turns out to be the case, it will be a shock to early backers of Mr Stead's horse, V/'ho rushed m blindly just before the first acceptance became due. Jockey W.O'Connell was seriously hurt when • Tirole fell with him m the Hurdles at Dunedin on Saturday. O'Coraiell is a brother to the successful Hastings horseman who generally „ rides . Messrs Douglas's horses. Two younger brothers, Joe jind Jerry, also ride over fences. Jack Lowe has received an addition to his string m the shape of a nice brown 3-year-old filly by Soult out of Tauhei. The youngster is rather on the small side, but that is owing to it being a late foal. M. Ma'he.r brought her down from Gl3--borne, and will remain here until the arrival of Mahutonga. In emulation cf many other succcessful publicans, Mr (George Payne of Ohristchurch has invested cash m many different racehorses, and all of then have turned out trumps. His latest purchase, Idealist, must be a good bit on the credit side, and Dick King, who rides him, generally manages to get a "fly." and stop in^ front till the post is reached, rrhat "fly" won't come off always.