SPORTING NOTES FROM AUSTRALIA.

Otago Witness, Issue 2813, 12 February 1908, Page 56

SPORTING NOTES FROM AUSTRALIA.

By Hori Poene. MELBOURNE,, January 51. THE HEAT WAVE.

The late succession of heat waves in Victoria thinned the population alarmingly, but one of the most foitunate amongst the hundreds affected with heat apoplexy was your contributor, "Hori Poene " On Monday week I experienced a slight stroke, -vrtuch later on developed into heat apoplexy and prickly I'sat fever, and for six days it was a case of touch-and-go with me. The nights were even moie insufferable, than ihe days, and when what Charles Kingsky so admirably describes as "the brave West wind" once more as=c.(.scl itself, the ecstasy theieof brought in iti train no less danger through incurring a sudden chill. Even now, albeit I am simply new-made o'er again, as the saying goes, it is most enervating to sit down and write you a letter with any degree of conciseness , but as tlie weights for the big Autumn Handicaps have been placed on approval, and as time is of the essence of the continct m this connection. I must c'en sciew my courage o the starting-point With respect to latei-day developments, as a matter of course, the showings at our leceiit meetings have had no immediate effect on foithcoming "piobabilities." except in so far a 9 regards the piepaiation of a number of our acknowledged splinters and stayers aie concerned, and. as I informed you-in my last letter, we appear tc be possessed of a plentiful lack of the "staying" element throughout the Commonwealth. NEWMARKET HANDICAP. As a matter of cov.r-e, after his truly phenomenal showing in the great Victorian sixfurlong event last year. W. P. Click's four-year-old, Haut Brion — Collaiette horse, Oollarit was bound to be taken exceedingly good care of by the V R.C. handicapper this year; but to my way of thinking Mr Menzies, la allotting him top-wsight at 9 10, has been, =omewhat generous. You see, last Newmarket, Collarit was imposted at 9.5 as a three-year-old — or 12lb over w.f.a. He is supposed, according to the w.f a. standard, to have impicved 71b during the twelvemonth, and as he has only been uplifted olb, he must ha\o ; a couple of pounds the best of the deal this year. "Oh, but," Mt Pessimist may say, "he didn't get closer than third to Ebullition (7.11) and North Head (8.9) last year." Granted, but he. only failed in the last halffurlong, when his impost proved absolutely prohibitive on his three-year-old back. Up to 100 yaids> of the post it looked the best of good things for him. WheH Ebullition and North Head put him to the ciucial test, however, he failed to stand the strain, and 1 failed by a very narrow margin. With that performance vividly in my memory as I wiite, I unhesitatingly pronounce Colla,rit to be one of the very best-treated horses — if not "the" very best-treated horsa — in the Newmarket Handicap. Last year's victor, Ebullition, was handicapped at 7.11; now he has bsen given 8.13, an additional 9lb. taking his weight-for-age into account. That will not trouble him, and as he bears an extremely healthful appearance at the present time, and is bounding along like an india-rubber ball, he is likely to again render an excellent account of himself on the 29th day of Februaiy. For finishing second with 8 9 last year, North Head has been advanced to 9 0 this year, and as the w.f.a. scale does not disclose a five-year-old to have improved an ounce over six furlongs of ground from one February to another, the doughty son of Grafton and Loch Mea will, as a matter of fact, only meet Ebullition on 4lb better terms than he did last year. According to the way I fix thinga up, he wouldn't need to meet him on any better terms, were it not that he is somewhat dilatory in getting into his str de. That was -what lost him the race last year, and the year before, and what may cause him to be Number 1 once moie this year. In addition to Ebullition, W. S. Hickenbothami has three other approved good ones in Newmarket Handicap commission — to wit, Step Out (9.0). True Scot (8.10), and Master Foot* (8.2). Little Toy reads nicely at B<, and it has been bruited abroad that R. O'Connor has a veritable rod in pickle in Scotland, who is also on the 8 4 mark. The "sign" and his work on the training track portend that Tangaioa — another eightfourer — will carry a pot of money. However, the note of preparation is being sounded, and another fortnight will cause developments. AUSTRALIAN CUP. Tartan and Apologue head the apportionments for the two miles and a quarter event, and on the first blush they appear to have been given an almost prohibited weight at 9.11 each. The horses opposed to them, however, constitue/a remarkably weak field, and at the present time it looks as if Melodrama. 8.11, Booran 87, Welcome Trist 7.10, Mir* 7.9, Seddon 7.3, Lady Diffidence 7.0, and Enchanted States 6 9 would be likely to provide the strongest opposition to the two top weights. Old Proceedor certainly would run well under 8.0, and Peru (who has been apportioned 7.10) displayed sufficiently good fcim m the last V.R.C. Deibv to justify an a^sunjptKin that he might lenert Gi&A

Scot's exploit in the Australian Cup of 1903. Last year Booran 7.5 divided the winner, Realm 7.0, and Mira 6 13. Mira has been advanced 101b in the weights, but under Willie Filgate's "spuiting" preparation has displayed a good few pounds more than that impiovement — if not on the tiaining track, certainly on the convincing ground proper Unfortunately, yesterday morning she pulled up lame.' TRAINING AND TRACK WORK By the time this reaches you matters in this connection wrill have become exceedingly interesting, as Joe Burton will have arrived at Flemington with Tartan (and, possibly. Mountain King) ; whilst R. O'Connor, with Scotland, Lord Merv, Istria, and Melodeon will be disporting 'hims'e'.f on the classic heath of Caulfield. As a malter of course J. Scobie will put in his preparatory work at headquarters, where Mr Brennan will likewise be in evidence with North Head and others. Dan O'Brien is almost certain to bring the d'3*ppointing Maranui across the border, and should the Malatua — Grafin oolt but feel "disposed" on Newmarket Handicap day to put his best foot foremost (and have the good luck not to experience bad luck}, and repent up Flenuugton straight what he has executed time and again on Randwick Training tracks, his handy weight of 7.3 should enable him to put up a sixfurlong record against thei opposition, which, in tne language of quaint old Artemus Ward, would be "excelled by none." PREMIER BENT AND THE V.R.C. The Victorian State Premier again announced his intention last week of bringing in a bill to provide a board for the control of racing, as- the Owners and Trainers' Association and the Victoria Racing Club had! failed to come to a satisfactory arrangement with respect to the recognition of the Ascot, Fitzroy, and Richmond courses by our leading racing corporation. During the course of a conversation with Mt Bent, that gentle^ man remarked to a representative- of the Press, in just so many words : "In reply to representations made to me last month by the Owners and Trainers' Association, with reference to the attitude of the V.R.C. to owners who raced at Ascot and other courses I said then that if some arrangement could not be come to I would bring in c bill, especially m view of the fa/ct that the licensing of all race courses is now provided for by law. That is still my attitude. I am going to have the bill prepared." The V.R.C. folk persist in looking at the matter as one concerning themselves and Mr John Wren ; but on boing interviewed therearent that gentleman stated that the question appears to him "to be one between the V R.C. and the Owners and Trainers' Association. I understand," said he, "that the Pi-emier had promised a deputation from th© Owner? and Trainers' Association that if seme satisfactory arrangement were not arrived at between ttiat association and the V.R.C. he woud bring in a. bill to force the v r .R C. to recognise my courses. With regard to th© registration of Ascot," continued Mr Wren, "I made an application to the V.R.C, which they rejected. I do not object to that. All I can ask is that if they do not wish to register my course they shall not boycott it. Racing is an industry, and for the V.R C. to prevent any man from earning his living on » Government-licensed racecourse is an outrage." "Earning his living" is good — excellent good! Questioned as, in the event of his suggestion to th© V.R.C. having been carried out, how he would have got over the difficulty of horse-racing on registered V.R.C. courses and at Ascot being disqualified by those stewards and the V.R.C. reTusing to endorse such disqualification, Mr Wren replied, "That is saddling me with a difficulty which is not of my making." There can be no two opinions but that it was a very adroit move on the part of Mr Wren in shifting the gravamen of the lefusal of the V.R.C. to register his courses from his own shoulders to those of the Owners and Trainers' Association. He appears to have enlisted the sympathy of that body by stating that if the V.R.C. were to register Ascot and grant him either Wilfiamstown Cup Day or the Moonee Valley Cup Day, "he would give as big stakes as the V.R.C. give on Melbourne Cup Day," and put the money up on each day allotted him. Whiek is all very fine and large in its way, but still provides food for thought as to '"whether the powers that be in connection : with the Owners and Trainers' Association hay© thoroughly studied their "Shakespeare," and more especially that portion of it where the melancholy Dane replies to the qusry of Polonious as to what he is reading with the sententious observation, "Words! Words! Words!" More especially when Mr Wren, immediately after making the above grandiloquent offer, voucEsafed the information that the Williamstown Club gave a £1000 stake on a public holiday, for which they got back nearly £600 in nominations and acceptances, whereas on an off-day of the Fame meeting he had given away a JE2OOO stake at Ascot, for which he had collected only JE2O3 for nominations and acceptances. The question naturally arises, "If such a stake were really paid away to an outside owner, how did the Ascot proprietary contrive to make both ends meet wer that special transaction."