NEWS AND NOTES.

NZ Truth, 4 January 1908, Page 2

NEWS AND NOTES.

Spell-o for the punters now. Weights for Trentham' on 'Monday.. S. Reid rode five winners at the Awapuni meeting. Montigo got left both days at Palmerston North. Grand Slam was a complete failure at the Manawatu meeting. Trent and Suttee were each treble winners at 'the. Reef ton meeting. Pantaloon's dividend was a facer to the S.P. merchants m town. Bourrasque shaped badly at Awapuni j and is a long) time striking form. . Moscow ~ seems to run. , kind enough for S. Reid, and may go on winning races. ~\ They tried to^drop Lady Disdain at Apawuni. but the reserve asked was too high. l - Tangimoaria looked well enough ' at Awapuni, but she was never prominent m her races. , . . Qauze seems to be better now than ever she was and her efforts at Awapuni were both full of merit. What a useful horse Sen Sim would be to take to Australia. He and Hugh Tclford would be a powerful double. . Ikon found the distance m the Gillies Hack iiist a trifle far, , but had it been a furlong less .'she. would have been a winner. Polyanthus rah badly : at Palmerston N., and seems to have /lost all form. She is still very troublesome at the .barrier. ■' ' It is a long time since .Greenleaf won a race; so her victory the other day was well received,- 'though it occasioned a big surprise to those present on the course: Kitohenmaid is a long .way off her best form, and a good hack could beat her ' now. The racing : will improve her a lot/ and [ she should be more forward by Trentham - time. Pushful is getting careless, and you are always, taking a risk backing him. Harry Moore ought to be able to teach him to jump, as he has ridden enough of this sort m his day. Merrie^o&e, with an additional 10ft. on her back, was well stopped m the Manawatu Cup, and was done with half a mile from home. She did not start on the concluding day . of the meeting. At the Manawatu meeting Kaipetipeti, Taura, Te Arai, Whakawem, and Black Reynard all tried to win a race for H. Hdckey,. but all failed, though several second places were gained by them. Len King returns to Riccarton on Tuesday night as he has some engagements to' ride work there. He wiU return for| the Wellington, Cup meeting, and has-been engaged to do a lot of riding here. . t i Yosami is old enough to be able to stay for a week, but she seems unable to get further than about half a mile. S>he had' two runs m Palmerston N., but both were too far for her, and it was m the Maiden at Ashhurst that she displayed her best form .to date. Ido not ' think she will ever be a champion. Waicola was expected to run well m the Gillies Hack; but she was nearer last than first. It was different with Waitapu, who was very strong at the bend on the opening: day, and m the Grandstand Handicap he won with a stoaue m hand. This case, together with" Pantaloon's, should never have been missed 'by the stewards, but they were too busy watching the tote and bookmakers. After returning from the N.Z. Cup meeting, I had a lot of praise for The Rand, and predicted a good race to come his way soon. He must be a bit unlucky, as his rider dropped his whip entering the straight, and only had his hands and heels to finish with. These are two very s;ood factors for a free mover,' but this horse is quite the opposite, and requires hard riding. On the concluding day be carried top weight, 9.4, m the Cliff Weight, and was made a hot favorite, and he just . squeezed home from B.osegrove, who finished very fast. Ataahua was a greatly boomed horse at Awapuni, and he ]ust saved his name on the last day. On the first day he was scratched, and the Wellington people were running round like maniacs trying to get on him for each start and first start. On the second day he was trotted out, and the market plainly indicated that he was better fancied than Gauze, but the latter hopped out, and led all the way, with the favorite a bad third. On the last day, he was started : .inthe Hack Hurdles, and after jumping poorly, 'he just landed the race from a weak v field. ■ His stable companion, Playmate, was second, and the power of the opposition can be gleaned from the fact that the I#p wHe-ht was Taura 11.7. Ataahua will have to dp a bit better than that before I will have him as a goad hack,.

Aeolus is running out m the paddock at Trentham. Toa Tuhi seems right off,' and does not leave the. barrier with his old dash. Harry Solomon won three races at Reef-ton with Suttee. Vardo also secured for the same owner. The Rand was priced last week, and the reply was £2000. They must think a N.Z. Cup is in"- 'him. Lucretius is just good enough to get second, and the company will be very bad when she can break it for a win. Millenial does not seem to be galloping at all well, and with her light imposts she should have done better last week. H. Connop is experiencing a lot of difficulty m fining Roseal down, and it will- be the autumn before he can Win a decent race. . >Flingot was a failure at Awapuni, and his party were at a loss to understand him, as he had been galloping so well m his work. The two year old Sir Artegal had two runs at Dunedin, and was placed first and second. He must be a cheap horse to his owner now. Chatterer seems to have had enough racing, and would not face, the barrier at Palmerston. She needs a spell to freshen her up. As was generally anticipated, old Petrovna had no difficulty m defeating a lot of moderates who opposed her m the Federal Handicap at DunediiK ", " :y . , v : ; „_ . . ;■ .. t '--. . \ : \ Christchurch visitors to Paimerstbh Nor?th supported Strategem. consistently m her races there, but the mare ran much below her private .form,. ' ■•"•'■■ Dusky Morn's record is now eight wins out of nine starts. He is a fine big, powerful horse that should be able to win both National Hurdles m one year. The failure of Ikon m the, Flying Hack at Ashhurst cost her connections a pot- of money. It will come back though, as the filly can gallop over a short course. Culmination won a double at Lower Valley, and . the black mare seems to have improved a great deal, and Elevation's sister might go on now, and justify her relationship. The Cutts' stable had a great day on. Boxing Day. Harry won at Ellerslie with Fleetfoot and. Red Rain, and his father saddled two winners m Sister Anne and De Witte. Two real good sports won races at Ashhurst. Messrs F. Armstrong and G-. F. Moore. The success of the colors of either of these gentlemen is always very well received on the racecourse. .. . . . Fishermaid is now owned by F. Fafoer, of Wangjanui, and) this lucky sportsman hops off by winning a double at Wanganui when her former owner had been trying for months to win a single with no. success. : Carissima, who carried Mr G-. F. Moore's colors successfully at Ashhurst, is a half sister to Armistice. Previously she used to go sore when galloped, but 1 Harry Jackson has. now persuaded her to .shake this off; The aged gelding Tilsoti scored a very r-cnular win m the Hack Hurdles at Lower Valley on Boxing Day: Needless to say, his old 'pilot, ■ Galbraith, was on ' him, and •fehe pair we're very well received on returning to the paddock. ' Mr H. Whitney would be compensated for Saga's defeats by the dual victory of St. Ludlam at ' Lower Valley. The main difficulty would probably, be that he backed Saga arid let St. Ludlum run loose. It generally goes that way. Mick King never dreamed of defeat for Rangipapa m the concluding event of the meeting, and the "heads" were with him m his way. of thinking. He bumped out the. other hot one (San Fernando), but m turn went under himself. . The winning jockeys at Awapuni were i— S. Reid 5, W. Price 3, E. Lowe; W. McKav, W. E. Pine, and W. Young two each, and Geo. Price, G. Price, R. Cameron, Jno. O'Con-n-ell, T. Carroll, F. Cress, T. Pine, H.Telford, and T. Pritchard, one each. , . Sir Frisco was decidedly unlucky at the Awapuni meeting, and it seems as if he will never win a race, although already he is up m .the weights*. \He was the public fancy for the Nursery Handicap at Awapuni, but a bad start spoilt whatever chance he had. He is a good, solid little borse, : and I. trust 'l will soon see him break his maiden status. Saga suffered m the big events at Awapuna through having a minimum impost, and .being without the sexr vices, of a suitable , rider. Sid Reid rode her m the Cliff Welter, and finr ished third, but m the Manawatu Cup she got very badly left. About 14i miles is this mare's best distance, as she does riot seem to be galloping at .the start of mile races, and the field get a big bijeak on her. Paddy .McLaughlin took Contender \ and San^ Fernando to Palmerston N o the black- horse failed badly, but the little chestnut upset calculations m the Sapling Stakes, and won very easily. Later on m the day, a. 10 re penalty stopped him inHhe concluding event of the meeting, when he started a good favorite, but tailed off from the start. . Dusky Morn is a great galloper, and it will take him no time to put himself well at the top of the tree, and giving weight to the best sprinters m this island. He must have been short of a race the first day, but last Friday m the Kawau Stakes, he' was m front after a furlong, and going on won m the simplest possible manner. The same thing occurred at Ashhurst, when he met a fresh horse m Buccleuch, who was a quiet paddock tip.

Catapult was unlucky not to win a race at Awapuni. Playmate ran "very kindly at AwaV' puni, but he had just a Mt too much weight. Whakawehi ran a good race m the Ashhurst Cup, and is coming back to his best form. The Riccarton-owned Nikolsky was 1 three times placed second at the Cromwell meetingSupplement ran two seconds at New Plymouth, and her defeats cost her party a- lot of money. „ Speciosa looked very well at Awapuni, but she is no good when the opposition is mediocre. "" ■ ' . Leeside won both hurdles comfortably at Dunedin. On Saturday he carried 12.7, but the opposition was very poor. Kufawaka seems unable to strike form, but were she to do so, I doubt her ability m a. field like she met at Awapuni. The winning jockeys at Asfehurst were :— G. Price 3, A. McConnon, E. Lowe, R. Cameron, T. Pritchard, and S. Reid 1 each. Aorangi jumped very badly on Friday, and both he and Lyrist were early m trouble. The latter was the street favorite m Wellington. Waipuua made amends for missing the Auckland Cup by winning the Summer Cup on Saturday. He was ridden by H. Gray m both races. . F. Higgott seems to have the art of placing his horses so they can win, and. Tup'ono, who is only moderate, won a double at the 1 Lower' Valley;' ■ „ After trying for many months, Cassiopea has at last won a hurdle race. The black mare's, victory was gained on the second day at New Plymouth. Apa started favorite m the Auckland Cup j but ran a poor ra6e, and was never prominent at any stage. Probably the upside down track affected Mm. The opposition to Prizebloom m the Ashhurst Guineas was of the weakest description, and Mr Armstrong's filly paid a remarkable price for a three horse race. ■ ' Sid Reid, has established a- big break between himself and the other jockeys on the winning list; and, on the form he is now displaying he will take a. lot of catching. : Lull cannot be himself, as his display on the second day at Awapuna was equally as bad as on the opening" day. He was given no chance to redeem himself on the concluding day.. ■ ■ " ■•" : ' ! ' ■■•■■■ ; ■"■" Moeraki smarted three times . at Awapuni, and on the last occasion he was successful. He ran a very creditable third on the second day, and his win was not unexpected last Friday. : The public accorded Lord Soult \ a great demonstration when he deadheate'd with De Witte m the! Fitzherbert Handicap. His owner ought to be very proud of the reception the little horse received. ■ ' • Taitokp was given a couple of runs at; Palmerston North ", but I fancy.it was! more for educational purposes than anything else, as he showed no form at all, and will want to conic on a bit before he can win a race. . The „Gillies, Gillies Hack Handicap furnished one of the best finishes at Awapuni. Greenleaf was the actual winner by a heck, but had, the distance been a couple of chains less four, horses would have finished m a line. Zimmerman,- won the Auckland Cup, and.^as showing the, quality, of the field that opposed him, it might be mentioned that the distance "took 3min. 35 2-ssec. Just about the slowest Cup^that was ever won. Still, he won,, and hats off to the winner. Medallist was started each day at Manawatu, and his head was loose as many times. This seems peculiar, but as the- horse' is unsound it is a necessary course. He ran his best race for Leri King on the opening day, but after that he soured, and ran much below his "best form. Ballarat ran two good thirds .at Awapuni, but this would only pay expenses, and leave' no profit. Probably before these lines appear m print, the Mack mare will have won a race at the Rangitikei meeting, as the company would not be too select there, and the Awapuni races would benefit her. The bookmakers did a great business on the last two days of the Manawatu meeting, and on the concluding day their prices were far above that bet by the machine. lam prohibited from publishing the starting prices of the winners v . but the machine would get a bad advertisement if this was allowed. The Lark covered himself with glory by his two good races at Palmerston North. The first day he began very slowly, but at the end he was puiTbing m such good work that he was quickly fastened upon as the favorite for the morrow. The handicapper raised him 61b, but he ran a much improved race and won by a head after a terrific set-to with Maniopoto. The gallop The Lark had m the Manawatu Cup improved him considerably, and be a race into, him. Tilley sent him out m perfect; condition, and lam sure he never looked better. He began slowly the first day, but quite the opposite, m the President's Handicap, and being m such a good position early m the race meant a great deal to him. Riflemaid put up a splendid performance when . she ran m a winner m the Manawatu Cup, after a hard struggle with The Rand. This pony mare has been galloping great guns on the tracks, and on the morning of the race she. had beaten Maniopoto in 'a' gallop over half a mile run m 50sec. Quite a few of the "heads" were m on Riflemaid as a result,. and the pony pulled them through.

Buccleucb. pulled up very groggy- at Ashhurst, and may not race again for some time. - • Frisco Maid, the full sister to Six Frisco, has gone to the stud. Her mate will be Sylvia Park. F. Langstone rode Culmination at S Lower Hutt, as her usual pilot, S. Reid was engaged elsewhere. The Hastings horses trained by T. Quinlivan rraii first, second, and third at EUerslie on Saturday. Mahuta was last away m the Auckr land Cup, and occupied that position during the whole of the journey. Once again Fleetfoot proved her superiority over Armlet by winning the Great Northern Foal Stakes: Swimming Belt got kicked at the post before the. start of the Gillies Hack, and he was not brought out of his box on Friday. Uenuku's bad luck sticks to * him, and he was m a place on each day at the Palmerston meeting. There is a good, li mile race m this fellow- " Cassiopea won both hurdle races at the New Plymouth meeting. On the first day, Showman and Black Ban-, ncr ran, a dead heat for second place. 'Moloch seemed sleepy at Awapiarii, and would not put any dash into his work at the start of a race. Once warmed up, he skated like a greyhound, but generally was too late. Matalcokiri had ago m the... hack hurdles and open hurdles at ' Awapuni, but his best performance was a third place. In the big . hurdles he fell and gave Crawford a very nasty .fall.':,; -„-j.,\-:: ; : : .'" ■ „. ; . ."- .'.-;- Waipunehu was backed on two op-, casiqns at Manawatu, but he ran. bad-'' ly, and the fast pace set by Gauze seemed to prevent him from getting going m the earlier stages of his races. ■ Taui,. was. a very unlucky horse during . the Awapuni meeting*"". r«d could run no better than second, m Ms three, attempts." On . the "copriltid.- , md day he got into a lence 'arid cut himself rather badly. T ; ' " Lyrist, only had one outing a^-Awa-puni.j but that effort was a' very pbiir one, and he lost several lengths Jit every fence. ,He will require a. lot of racing to fit -him for ,the illegitimate same, but he" Jumps well m privirte. De Witte ran the race o^ his life when he dead heated with. Lord Soult and it was a Chokebqre , day but, or he would have. never seen, the way his opponent went.. He. had' a . lijg concession m the matter of weight', but still he wanted v it all. . •';; .;• Flotilla ran a good .honest 'mare m the Grandstand Handicap, but a mile is , .just too far for her, and -had- the race, been a. furlontr .less., she would have won. She ought' to be imjiroyed by Wellington Cup time, and should land a seven furlong race t^ere. . G. Price* -who ■ rode Mystification. in. the Ashhurst Cup, told the trainer of this, horse, that his mount, was going so well at the boud that he thought he was sure to win, bui he got badly round tbe iixst bend and this sent him out too wide, and setlied, his chance) ."'. . The greatest surprise of the Auckland meeting was the result of tbe Railway, Handicap. Everybody down this way .always thought Dawn was a good horse, but if anyone had told them that, he would give 6R) ,a,nd a beating to Bobrikoff he would be 'laughed at. "*• Later racing might reverse tjhis .form, y Windage only started once at the Manawatu meeting, and did not sho>v his. best form. He was hurried from town to the course, and only arrived just m time to be hurriedly saddled and sent, but to race. He resented this treatment, and gave his trainer", A. Hall, a very nasty kick, from which he has not yet recovered. Jim Cress kidded himself he was the - most unlucky man racing at Awapuni. He nearly brought off a, surprise packet with Thera m the 'Nursery Handicap, but got no dividend to speak of for second money, and then he put a poultice on San Julie m the Grandstand Handicap, and she got hung upMn the tapos. Wherever possible money went an Advantage, who won the Huatoki Plate at New Plymouth.' A gentleman at the Palmerston N. meeting told me it had no chance of missing, and was the best thing ever saddled. It appears Fishermaid, who won a double; at the Taranaki meetinjr, ha.d gone .under to Advantage m a six furlong gallop- at Wanganui. -' Mr J. McKewen, of the Clarendon Hotel, Palmerston North, notifies the travelling public that he has recently taken over this hotel, which has been refurnished throughout. This hotel is < situated m the Square, and. within easy distance of the station, and visitors to Palmerston •N. will receive every comfort and attention from the genial host and hostess; Pantaloon was a moral for the Kelvin Hack Hurdles. From tho time; the tapes were released till the post was reached, the black gelding had matters all his own way, and won with ridiculous* ease. He was as dead as mutton the first day, a fact well noted by the press, but the one eve stewards could not see it. Had the silly Gaming Act not been m force, j this horse would have been tipped m all the papers, and/would _ never have been allowed ,■ to pay such a false price. , The Alexandra meeting "was held on December 20th. The chief event of the meeting was won by Casque, who has been very successful m the.Tfrold-flelds-itrip^:Gf6sveM>r and. tlio Welliington owned MakiKi.hi were , *Jn the places. Curiosity broke a. bldod vessel during the race. Toney Dsat- his solitary opponent m the Flying dicap," but the latter got left at the post, and m this respect filled Toney's usual place. Caveola, Linda, and Zero were all successfuljduring the afternoon. -------

Belario and Asteroid were last the whole way, m the Cup.v - • Rangipstpa is" unlucky, and sceiris only, able to run seconds; Tan Sa<n .led into ; fciie straight' m the Cup, but he could riot go on at th^e pace.'- 1 . .;, r, ... . .;,■.'_ A. Oliver,- returned from. E-ilerslie with Apa, and was up on Windage m the mai<Ven at Bulls:-Karewh-a was out first' in the Oar-' narvon Hack Race, arid nothing had a. : chance with him . afterwards . Waik<ila slibwed no .form at all m. the Hack race, though her party were(Very. confident she would win. A. Hall did not take Windage home after the Bulls meetinr and the chestnut is now m other hands.' lilill struck himself badly at Awapuni,; and Ay Hall . was compelled to cancel his Ran'gitikei engagements'. Genuine was slightly sore when doing preliminary for the Maiden race, and his good showing surprised mx>st people; . ' Nbya . ihd ' Idea both got very bad passages m the Cup, but I 'doubt if they could 'have exchangedplaces with the winner. . . The connections of The Stake. did not profit by their horse's victory "m the Weltei:, as the old horse had not Seen' gqirig at all well on the track. Yosami ran second ' for half . the way. m the Hack race on the first day, but "the field -closed all round, her after this, and she finished m the), nick, TiVfl^ ■'•*•""""•' '■"'•'' '.'"' v ,",-.'' v l' /;!'.'..., „ JE*apaiawa T'is, a beauli'f'ul! 'jumper, 6ut she . .runs herself out .by tearing awaiy to . . -ibhe front. Seemingly,' her rider is iuiable to hold .her back .to' tb* field, , . . / 'CriiciJaeiia was very sore after racing at v ;,|>be Palmerston meeting, Y so Mr, Moßeth Rave iristructiqns to strike ,>hcr out of her garigitikei engagements. _ ■'.: '■'. \ '..■■■'»',■■ . Idshj Rifie. was well backed by W*«i--Rwasit people for, th* Ransitikei Gup, tout hV failed to gallop, with his custf mAty: dash, and the we 3 ght told its fcala vifry "eJariy. . .:"; YH&d FlptiJla not got into -the mixh}> with Probability, I thjiik she w'«uld have won the "Welter Handicap, As it was, she got all the wirist of. tb« deal. Bu©y.an;t ati'd Carissima : were made equal, favorites m the Welter .Hack race, and they finished first, and OTCotwi, with a length m favor of Mr €L P. Moore's mare. ': ' . ' Tansimoana ran a good trial at 'BuUs prior to the Cup,, and her trainer and rjtder were very sknguiriS th ; at sh»- would win. She was m front "a f vtrlong ' fr.om home, and won comfortably. *- , " " " Splendid Idea stands 'very tquiet at the post, hut has a b^ad habit of lashing out at- any-thin'* .that comes" aear her. Medallist was 'the recipient of a kick from her ■ just before the start of the Cup. ; Apa was galloped on during the running of the Auckland' Cup, and .his injuries were serious enough , 'to prevent him starting again at 'the meeting. ' He finished fifth irii 'the race; but the track was "not to "his liking. ' • ' - ;• Mokutawa, who is engaged m ; the hack races at x Wellington, is an in-; mate of F. Tilley's "stable at Fbrdell. H. Hiekey took his team honie after the Asbhurst -meeting, as most of them were sore after their week's hard racing. ; : Oryx went -to the front ' at the start' of the' r Ohakea Hurdles, ' arid Ms only opponent, Hu'rimoaria,. never Sot within ten lengths ofhimYOryx * looked very big and muscular, and he has' improved a great deal 'since going into Attwood's stable. - A hot favorite m Signor went under m the Carnarvon Hack race.. Mr Moore's colt was out with' the front division, but he got a bump early, and was knocked back over the last two furlongs. He got a clear run, but had no chance with Kareoa. Armistice,; who went wrong after the N.Z. Cup meeting, is shortly to be put into work again at Wanganui. Fonienoy, who has bean turned out for a lengthy period- owing to lameness, is quite sound again, ; .and . H. Jackson will shortly put; him into commission,- > . ;,,/ Aorangi jumped fairly well m. the Hack - Hurdles, and his pace on the flat was too good for the rest of the field. ; H. Telford rushed 'him away first. ,( -He got a good, clear run. at the initial fence, and from this out he was always handy, and w,.on withr out an effort. ■ In the Ha,ok Hurdles at Rangitikei the fast pace set by Papatawa spread-eagled the field, which was strung out over a furlong 'when a mile had been covered. Maidi ran a fair. .race for 1% miles, hut at that instance her condition failed her. Only four starters went to the post for the Scott Memorial Handicap. Little Mary got out first and Jed' for half the distance, when Ballarat went to the front. The latter could not keep her position, and Catapult then took the lead, and won .very easily.

Xavier is riot a good jumper, but he has a lot of pace on the flat. G. Price has now ridden the winner of the Rangitikei Cup five times. Waitapu was at any price m the Rangitikei Cup, arid he • ran accordingly. % ■ ■ ■ ■ ' Medallist got out first m the Cup, but he is not class enough for horses like this field. Compass Still juinns very badly. and he will need o improve a great deal before he can win. Coraquevor was much fancied for the Maiden, but Reid could get no nearer thai fourth with his mount. Mr G. Fi Moore " was present at Bulls, and supported Catapult freely 'i for the opening event of the day. The South Wairarapa crowd put thc r spondulix m heavily on Aboriginal, wJio looked like winning at the mile, but couldn't stay the distance. The Leader, mA. Hall's stable was given his first rim m his new owner's colors m the Hack Hurdles at Bulls. He was very green, and finished a long way m the rear. The hottest favorite to go down, at, Wairarapa was 'Moscow m the Wel-fi ter. , This aristocratically bred geld-, ing carried more than a 'third of the total sum invested, but he was slower than Aberration and Sherlock Holmes at the finish. ■[ ; Owners and trainers are • remanded that 'nominations for t>he Eoxjbon^ meeting, to -be -held on January '22 and -S3^next, close with, .the?seoreteryi> oii 1 - -Saturday, January 4. The Trial' Hack on the first 'day and the Maid- ' |en Hack Scurry on the second day arc execpted. ' ■ The Gipsy Grand-Tauti-da mare.v Grand Myrella, which was trained by Hayes on .Lyell Bay beach, nearly^.' did some tiling astounding at Tau- ; herenikau m the Pulcio Haqk, and really did cause surprise by running' second to Penates, who. won all the ■. way.ih lmin 15 i2-ssec. The field m the MaMen was greatly reduced, but, nevertheless, It produced a good finish. Windage was made a .very solid bet, and duly lan-, ded the race, ihe finish- f<br . second money was a ' very close thing" -between Genuine, Montpelier, / and Fond Memory, and Mr McX civic ha-d some trouble m sorting them out. An, unpleasant incident occurred during the running of the. Makowhai. Welter., Half way down the running' the field was bunched, and a collision took place, of Avibich the rider x>t.< Probability got all the worst. The stewards held ;an inquiry and fined G. Price, the rider, of Flotilla, £10 for crossing Probability before ho was sufficient distance m front. I The. Wanganui sportsman, Mr. G-. F. Moore, had a great week at Palmerston and Astihurst by the successes of . : Dusky ,Morn;Vi Signor, and Carissima. Mr, Mbofe is not a punter, and' consequently he ' does not step into the ring and back his horses solidly, but the pirbiic do as tlvey know his^ horse's are always triers, arid consequently Wieir victories are always' popular.' . ; The considerably-backed . Firciron finished out of a, place m the Tu-hi^; ta)>a'ta. Handicap, arid Sunbonnet wasalso absent at *he finish, A blanket could be thrown over the heads of Sherlock i Holmes, ' Prism,. Simplex, and Gawain, Avho finished m that order, with the others close up. The practise of closing the machine three minutes before I;ime probably barred , out a couple ofiiundred m tins race. /The Rangitikei meeting opened on; New. Year's Day m fine but windy.'., weather'; the attendance was quite up to the average, and the totalisa-. tor returns were only £56 behimd last year's figures. Five bookmakers, took out licenses^ and they were well' patronised by the public. \ln most : cases the fields were •good, and the racing proved mos.r exciting. Only two first favorites won during the day. ' ", ;,' ..,' . "V , : '; ■ "'.'.. That\ vicious brute Dulcinea gave another circus performance at the start m the Hack Welter, and displaced Olliyer while pawing the hea- i yens m a frantic manner. The vixen then boLted riderless, ,- but was caught and returned to the, post. Olliyer; who had sustained ojic nerve-shaking j spill on Riflemaid, looked gallied of the mare, and, didn't care about ' mounting, but he chanced it, at last, and got a fairly good start. Maniopoto is just now as near perfection as could be. He had a maximum of bad luck at the Manawatu meeting, and if there was any trouble at all during the race, he was sure to be m it. Both his efforts were noble ones under his heavy burdens, .and he was most unlucky not to be ,the winner of the President's Handicap. I fancy there are a lot of good horsemen- who would like to have the mount on this good horse m the Wellington Cup. It was the greatest fluke possible that Lbmaria was started m the Ashhurst Cup. Connop's., m,are had been railed home to Woodville afteir Awapuni, as her owner considered she had no chance, and it was only •after Mr E. J. Gothard, the secretary of the Woodville Racing -Club, had used his persuasive powers with him, that he decided to send her back. She was never sighted m the early stages of the race; arid at the dropped from the claudjs. Just when his owner was getting sick and tired of Penates, up he flops' arid land's a good 11 race. - He ran well on both the first and second day, but knocked himself out before the race, and' was done with after going half a mile. On the, final day he must have qaiitened down a lot, as his owner put his money m with some vigor, and the horse put the same thing into his work, arid . just outed Ranmpapa, and incidentally gave "Barclay and Co" a good win. .It is quite true thai; the press is not permitteaV-to publish the amount invested on each horse, but a club cannot refuse that information to the public on the course. A reporter had a warm argument with some Wairarapa officials on Wednesday as to his right to obtain the figures, even though he did not publish them. Publication of this information was a safeguard against hanky-panky business prior to the idiotic Gaming and Lotteries Act, but if the information is refused on the course, and backers have to bet m the dark, racecourse patrons are at the mercy of the casual crook, who gives no indication of where his money is placed. Oliarityman' was two lengths m front of the Nursery field when the barrier rose; but this did not prevent the Hawke's Bay filly, No Trumps (The Possible—Hine-nni-te-po), winning m the hollowest fash-

Secretary H. A. Goodall was most energetic during the day, and to his efforts the success of the meeting was due. ' • - Bidwell's Birkenhead-Ascension filly Consolation was made a lairly hot pot for the Tauherenikau Maiden, -but the Finland gelding Vasa jumped to the front, and as Langstone brought Consolation up under punishment it looked as though Bidwell's filly wouldn't get there. It was done m ■the last few strides, as Vasa stumbled, and the Wairarapa-owned yo\mgster secured the prize by a long aicck. The crowd rushed Vasa at the last moment, and scored a second. Rangihaeta might have won the. mile and a. distance race at Tauhere-' nilcau had riot Langstone , taken a .strong pull on the ; chestnut for a round. He came uu. at a terrific bat 'at the bend, but the effort was too great, and he was beaten into third place. Tbera and G-aelic took it m turns to lead the field, Gaelic lasting long enough to win by half a £ongth from Elevation's three-year-<ol'd sister, Culmination,, who had Sid Jteid up. Rangihaeta had been beat-Hn-g Gaelic m the morning gallops, ■and the result was a painful surprise. . Buccleueh. was a sliehtly better favorite than Tuporio m the Cup, .next m demand beine Aboriginal. Moloch. Saga, Rifleanaid, Grand Slam, 'Naphtha, and San Julie m, that or--,der. ' San Julio gave Moloch a great go for it, ■ ami lost a 'fine race by n, 'short head. Tuponu, who was prominent at the start, "fell laway at the middle distance, but came again strongly, thoug 1 !! ineSectually, at the finish. Grand Slam was.r fourth, Kaphtha fifth, and Aboriginal with Reid up, a bad last" Riflemaid's ftirths succumbed at the back,^ and OUiver. followed his saddle tQthe ground. The mare was falling over her- bridle as she galloped * an^ lU'derless, but sustained little inuvry ■y.ejiqnd' -a sora/tob; ori the off fore leg." - ■ . ■•