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DECADENCE OF AUSTRALIAN HOUSES A very rich hunting ground is provided by Aus ¬ tralia at present for Englishbred race horses De ¬ tails of the first half of the great autumn meet ¬ ings in Victoria show that English horses carried off all the big and generously endowed events The fact is that Australia despite its wonderful en ¬ couragement of racing for such a comparatively small population is sintering from a dearth of gooil class horses this year The twoyearolds o last season were a very ordinary lot and they have burgeoned into honest but not brilliant threeyear olds A good English selling plater would probably bout the best of them themRichard Richard Wootton just back from the Antipodes gives it as Ids mature and considered opinion tliit Australian horses have deteriorated in quality during the past decade and that the Australian thorough ¬ bred is consequently markedly inferior to the Eng ¬ lish thoroughbred Wootton knows bis game n i man better and few with knowledge of both ends of the earth will gainsay his dictum It is not for want of trying Unit the Australian owner bus not such good material as his English peer He is as keen in breeding rearing and training as any lover of horsetlosh in the world and natural advantages placo Australian race coursvs ahead of English courses He lias produced some splendid animals during the last twenty years but there has been a pause in the supply of late although remarkable in ¬ ducements have been extended to qualify Perhaps it is this dearth of tiptop stock which has mado him turn recently to English studs more than in previous years for new lines of blood for which he IIHS paid good prices without hesitation The failure of homebred horses and the success of Ini orted horses in the Commonwealth has consequently a very marked business side for English breeders It brings new customers to their studs and their stables stablesTo To hark back the four best prizes of the Aie tnrlnn autumn campaign were taken by Imported horses or sons of imported horses Rnrri a thrce yenrold with no record for great deeds won the Oiiklolgh Plate of 1350 sovereigns distance five anJ a half furlongs in 108 Iurri is by MImer which WHS lniM rtod a few vears ago Mimer gained no great distinction on the English turf and goes back to Coldcbrougli Tho following week Eudorus by Iorfarnlilre Penny wls captured the Futurity Stakes HMOII furlongs worth 2200 sovereigns in l27Vi carrying 127 iniunds Eudorus is the prop ¬ erty of M srs Clarke and Robinson and was takon lf Australia and specially prepared by J E Rrewer His cute owners probably beard of the inferior stand ¬ ard this xewson and went after this pleasant little Make with Kudorus which was no champion in Eng Imid ns Ills best performances were the Coventry Pluto Kmnpton Park and the Newmarket Heath Plate But they had a fulrly good line to what jva required by the fact that four imported horses Sir Foote 1 02i Plnyawjiy Ol Antonio 1 OS and Conndy King IMO tho lattor as the gr noxt of thneyiiirold had worod In ltd race Owing to Ills work on Ibo Caulllild tracks Eudonin wan written up as the rntitwt horso over seen at Ounltlold That Is a little trick of exaggeration which tontH display in all parts of tho world and whon It ramo to the finish Kudonu with 127 pound only liHd half a length to Hpnro from VolHloane which wn conceding him ton IUIKK mid why though an Epsom Hundicup winner Is no mmiNhur Still Eudorus won and thats all that was ex ¬ pected of him himNext Next came the Newmarket Handicap threequar ¬ ters straight at Flemington worth 1500 sovereigns Relievo a somewhat poorly performed threeyearold colt by Mnrillo won handsomely Murillo was Im ¬ ported by Mr Francis Foy about ten years ago and was as smart a twoyearold as ever appeared on an Australian course but after winning the rich and classic Marlbyniong Plate he could not bo trained again and was retired to the stud where he was not greatly successful until Relievo arrived Three days later Almissa by Ayrshire La Roche won the Australian Cup two ndles and a half with 2500 sovereigns added He had no performances In England at two and three years but at four years took the Moonec Valley Cup one mile and three eighths and the AVilliamstown one mile and a quar ¬ ter iu the spring Not one of the four therefore achieved anything of note in England but have more than paid their wav in Australia And it may be observed that the imported horse has seldom figured to great advantage in longdistance races down south They have been IKSI placed iif sprints the local talent having greater staying ability abilityOf Of prize money there is sullicient for the most canny and grasping owner Stakes have been stead ¬ ily increasing for years and at this moment the pre ¬ eminence of the Victoria IRicing Club which has been the premier racing institution in Australia for years and which of course has its headquarters at the famous Flemington race course near Mel ¬ bourne is being challenged by the Australian Racing Club which is the leading New South AValcs club and which controls tho Randwick course close to Sydney The rivalry hns taken a form which must fill the hearts of owners with joy for each is bidding for the best stock by offering greater stakes Thev are not conducting this antagonism on happy golucky lines In their amended program the additional inoiiev is earmarked for races which attract tho very elite of Australian stables classic two or threeyearold races or weightforage events in which only the best can survive The public much prefer to see three or four good horses matched In a twomiles weiglitforago race than to watch a dozen ordinary horses brought together by handi ¬ capping In this respect the Australian has happily educated tastes The Australian Jockey Club has therefore pleased owners and the public alike by providing an additional 40000 in prize money for the current season and spreading it over the classic races so that quality shall meet with its due re ¬ ward wardThe The Arictoria Racing Club bus not yet announced Its counter stroke for counter stroke there will be lut it has obtained permission from the govern ¬ ment to charge Is for admission to the Flat at Flemington Hitherto the thousands who flocked to the saucerlmttom of the vast natural amphi ¬ theater which constitutes the course were able to see the best races in the land without charge They may grumble at the new X licy but they will not grudge the shilling seeing that they gladly part witli pounds to the seductive pencillers who cramp the odds for the multitude This shilling levy will probably yield 100000 more income to the club and this money will be utilized to increase tin stakes and still further Improve the comfort of patrons patronsThe The clash of turf ambitious In Australia therefore promises to bring grist to the mill of the English breeder Rigger prizes will persuade Australian owners to look outside their own shores for a better class of stock than they now possess and new world rivalries will produce more patrons for the old world An Australian in London Siwrtiug Life
