South Canterbury Times, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1880.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2394, 18 November 1880, Page 2

South Canterbury Times, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1880.

Tiik extraordinary performances of the New Zealand horse Mata on the Victorian turf have created a universal feeling of surprise and disgust in sporting circles, ft is necessarily a difiicult thing when a horse goes wrong on the turf to arrive

at the true cause. The facts may appear ugly, but there is always a risk of jumping at erroneous conclusions and mistaking accident for design. But in tin’s instance the New Zealand horse, on which so much money was staked, has gone so desperately crooked as to warrant people in forming a decided and strong opinion as to the way in which lie has been run. The circumstantial evidence favors the presumption that Mata has been handled in a most questionable manner, and as the owner is responsible for the performances of his horse, Mr Vallancc will undoubtedly be the chief sufferer. Had the eccentricities of Mr Vallance’s steed been confined to the loss of the Cup race, the backers of Mata, however severely disappointed, woidd have been reconciled to their loss, and there would have been no reasonable ground for imputing unfairness. But Mata’s subsequent performances in the Royal Park Stakes and V.I’.C. Handicap have been so astounding as to shock even those who would he inclined to glory in a good boil over so long as the hand of the cook was not exposed. In the Royal I’ark Stakes we find Mata coming in absolutely last, the time for two miles being dmins 41secs, while in the V.I’.C. Handicap, one and three-quarter miles, Mata was first, performing the distance in dmins (ij’secs, said to be the fastest time on record.

What ensued is thus told by the “ Age ” : —“ After the race was over, an “ investigation was held by the stewards “ into Mata’s racing for the Melbourne '• Cup, and his owner and rider were “ called upon for explanations. Nothing “ came of it, but it goes to show that “ there was a strong feeling extant that “ he had not, for some reason, been “ asked to do his best in that race—a “ feeling the public also participated in. “ Humour, which is not always correct “or reliable, declared that he was " sutfering from metallic influence in “ the Cup race, and that, had ho won, “ the ring would have been utterly “ ruined, and his name changed to “ ‘ Totalisator.’ Be this as it may, he “ ran decidedly better on the last day “ of the meeting, and whatever suspicion “ may have attached to his Cup running, “ the horse is in as high esteem as ever “ with the sporting million.” The subsequent disqualification of the horse and jockey Bay, by the Stewards of the V.B.C. was hardly necessary. The withdrawal from the horse and his owner of the public confidence is a severer punishment than anything that the Stewards could inflict. If Mata’s extraordinary running has been the result of accident, or is capable of any explanation consistent with ordinary racing morality, it is undoubtedly most unfortunate for Mr Vallance. In spite of all he can do, he must submit to the forfeiture of the confidence which the supporters of the turf have hitherto reposed in him. It is the {fate of spurting men to have their transactions on the turf viewed with the utmost suspicion, and Mr Vallance cannot deny that the performances of Mata have given good grounds for something more than ordinary suspicion. The result of the late meeting in Melbourne must be to practically extinguish from the turf calendar a horse of which New Zealand had reason to be proud, and a hitherto reputable owner.