THE MELBOURNE CUP.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 421, 20 November 1889, Page 3

THE MELBOURNE CUP.

The minor events having been .disposed of, everything was forgotten but, the Cup candidates. Chaldean and Savan'ak were scratched • on the course, ; leaving al'a 1 ' nice field of twenty to contest the great raoe. The "bird cage," filled up Rapidly as the timo approached, a,nd it soon became a difficult matter to obtain even a glimpse of the various equine warrior^ When the final bell rang, a r'uah was made from the " cage" and the paddock to the different points of vantage, and those who had been tempted to stay too long gazing at their favourites hadi great* difficulty in reaching the lawn and stand! The first to appear on the course was Singapore, and he went through his preliminary canter in his own determined, powerful style, and, to the eye, no fault could be fqund. However, ,he cannot speak, and there must bo something wrong with hi in, . else he would never have finished among the last joints of the tail. The next to appear was Bluenose, another doomed to share the rear guard', and then came Rudolph, as lively as ever, and evidently well pleased with, himself. His rider wore a red sleeve knot to distinguish the, son of Husk from Singapore. Shortly after Rudolph came Benzon, looking the picture of a racehorse, with Hales in the saddle,. t apd iollqvving closely in his wako were the South Australian pair, Carrington and Tinjander, looking fit and anxious' for the fray. Richelieu seemed a little weary" after his Derby defeat ; but Cardigan, who succeeded him, 'never looked fitter or fresher in his life, and why he did not run more'forward is somewhat puzzling. It may be said that Melos- was the least bit fine drawn, and it is now said that ho shirked his feed after Saturday's race ; but, be that as it may, he ra,n. a great horse, and his followers should be satisfied with the run they got. Knight of the Garter is even neater than Bluenose, but, like the latter, ho quite failed to run up to what was expected by his too confident party. The bigCuicago appeared rather too aldermanic, but Antjeus the beautiful presented a perfect picture of condition, and was rather , fractious. Little Menotti, Tinlander, and Chetwynd were out of place among -such aristocrats, and very little notice was taken of them ; but suddenly all eyes were rivited on Carbine, who, accompanied by Prince Consort, slowly wended his way' to tho posb, stopping occasionally, as usua.l, but finally following his friend, and ib may be that the great son of Musket will forget that, .he ever had a reluctance to go to the post. Great curiosity was evinced as Bravo made his appearance on the track, and when it was seen that he was not only in first-class condition, -but showed no tign of lamoriessi! either recent or remote, his price hardened considerably, and at lust tens 'to one were accepted. After leaving : the paddock Chicajjo met with such enthusiastic support from all quarters that before the Hag went down he was nearly, if not quite, a? good a favourite as Melos. Even 'in the f ce v of his defeat on the first -day, the public remained faithful to their favourite Carbine, and 10 to 1 \Vas the best offer. ' Tho recently-deserted Singapore also rallied up to 12 -to 1, at which figure Knight of the Garter was in some request; but Antieus and Cardigan had but few friend's, an.i fancy prices down to 100 to 1 were forthcoming about tho others. As they look up their places, Carbine, Bluenose, and Carrington could be seen nearest the rails ; Antaeus, Bravo, and Richelieu in the ceutre ; and Benzon, Carnigan, Rudolph, ant 1 Knight of the Garter on the extreme right. An exclamation from the crowd, followed by the deep tonee of the gong, announced that the great race had begun, and the start appeared to be a good one. After settling into their strides Carrington was the first to carry his colours to the front, and, with Prince Consort in close attendance, led up the straight at an average pace, and after them came a bunch not yet extended, headed by Anttous, while Dunkeld, Pakeha, Richelieu, Carbine, Melo?j" Chicago, and Bravo were in good positions, which they held right through the race. The South Australian colt did a lot of work, assisted by Prince Consort and Antiuus, until the awful pace compelled him* to retire in favour of Benzon, who was clear of his field when less than half from home. Rudolph made one brilliant dash at the home turn, and then the game little fellow faded right out of it, and for twenty strides it looked as though Chicago, JSlelos, and Carbine would fight it out.' But all were hard at it at the half distance, where Bravo left his horses, and, literally smothering them, singled out like a racehorse and won the Cup, to the great dismay of those who believed,' aa most of us did, that ho met with an accident at Ballarat. It is now said that bis injury only existed in the imagination of certain clever people, and that he used to work at night time ' at Ballarat, and so escaped the Argus-eyed watcher?. Had it not been so industriously reported that he had been injured, there is ".ittle doubt but that on the strength of his running at Caulfield he would have been very heavily backed by the general public, with whom he always has 1366,11 a great favourite ; but as matters stood only a favoured few outeide of the immediate friends of the stable accorded him their support. ' At one timo during the last few days a certain layer of odds : laid, or at all events h' 'said to have laid, £10,000 to £10 against this flying son of Grand Flaneur, but, if the rumour is to be credited, he'got most of it back without? much loss. Tho result of this Cup will probably make bhe public cautious in dealing with hor>es who go' a little wrong a few days before the all-impor-tant day. ' Carbine was in a good position all through the battle, and the grand race he ran, with " his big weight, stamps him as a great horse, and Abercorn as a greater. Neither weight nor distance troubles this mi<jhty New Zealander, and by his second day's performance he has covered himself with glory. With such a thumping weight to carry in the Cup to-day, his excellent performance was deserving of a better fate. Melos also stood the brunt of battle t all the way. and his finish with' Carbine for a place was something to be remembered. Nothing looked more } like a winner than Chicago, but he was just short of the necessary couple of gallops to help him home, ancl, after one brilliant run, died away very fast at the finish. Cairiogton rani 1 a great colt for the greater part of tho journey on behalf of South Australia, and will yet be a credit to that colony. The length of trip told against Antiuus and Rudolph, Benzon failed to stay, Knight of the Garter was outclassed, Richelieu was stale : but Pakeha ran wonderfully well, and Prince Consort* also conducted himself like a racehorse for a mile and a-half. • Durikeld'ran fairly well, but Singapore 1 never got further. than the centre of ,the ruck, and Bluenoso was out of it from fall cf flag. Although tho defeat of Singapore, Carbine, Antaeus,.' Melos, and Chicago was most welcomo'bo the ring, several of its members have^been pretty hard hit by tho victory of Bravo, foy the Ballarat pc -pie supported him with great confidence, and, moreover, he was heavily backed when the weights first appeared, as well as after the Caulfield mcot* ing.