MY NOTE BOOK,

Observer, Volume II, Issue 40, 18 June 1881, Page 444

MY NOTE BOOK,

By "Saul."

"Is Saul also amongst tlie propliels." — JVIr Webb has sold his chesnut colt by Leoliuus. out of Ada, and a yearling by the same sire out of "Wave, to tlie owner of Kussloy. — The colts purchased some months ago by Messrs. Mason and Vallance, by Tubal Cnin, from Seashell and Debenture, Lave been named respectively Armourer and Coupon. — The famous English mare Wheel-of -Fortune has dropped a dead fonl to Kingcraft ; while Cast Off, dam of Robert the Devil, lias beau similarly unfortunate with, regard to a full brother to the last St. Leger winner. — The Americans are carrying all before them in Europe this year. Already they have won the Derby and Grand Prize of Paris, and it would scarcely surprise us if the Ascot Cup (run yesterday) and St. Lager were to complete the list of triumphs. — It will be seen by a telegram from the Bluff, published in the daily papers, that in the Epsom Gold Cup, run on Thursday, of the Summer Meeting, Bobert the Devil met his great opponent,, Beud Or, and was defeated by him. This shows that after all the Derby of 1880 was no fluke. Probably the pair met in the Ascot Cup yesterday. — Both Odd Trick and Darebin received injuries in shipping to South Australia. The latter on being led on to the steamer fell and cut both fore legs rather severely. "Augur" says of the son of King of Clubs — " I never saw a more symmetrical or blood-like animal, as he is a good deal above the ordinary run of racehorses, he may score another victory for his owner ere he returns from Adelaide." — Tristan, the second for the Grand Prize, is an English bred oolt (by Hermit, out of Thrift), belonging to M. Lefevre. At two years of age great things were expected of him, and he ran eight times, scoring four victories, bub has not done much this season. The third (Albion) is a bay colt, by Consul, out of The Abbess, owned by Count Lngrauge and bred at Cliamant. He raa five times at two years of age without winning a race. — The Grand Prize of Paris is the richest of all the great three-year-old races. It consists of a sweepstakes of 40 soys. each, with £4000 added, and generally tots up to about £7000. The Grand Prize was initiated by Napoleon 111 in 1863, and is the only French event opeu to English bred horses. It hns been won nine times by the French, seven times by the English, and once by the Hungarians. — Foxhall, the winner of the Grand Prize of Paris, is a handsome buy colt, by King Alfonso, out of Jamaica, bred by Mr J. E. Keene in America. As a two-year-old he ran three times, scoring two victories — the Bedford Stakes at Newmarket second October meeting, and the Bretby Nurseryjat Newmnrket Hough ton. This season Foxhall was made a warm favourite for the City and Suburban Handicap at Epsom Spring Meeting, in which he ran second to Bend Or, carrying a good weight. — The Ashburton Steeplecha.se meeting was, in a racing sense, a complete failure. This, apparently, was entirely owing to the ridiculous practice of adopting for a course the stiffest country obtainable — country that the best horses in the Colony can only manage to negotiate, and even by them not without difficulty and considerable danger both to horse and rider. Not a season goes past but an accident occurs somewhere from this insane practice, and in many cases with fatal results, yet the same thing is done in the next season. If we must have steeplechases, let them be over reasonable country, and not such as is described in our rex)ort of the above meeting.