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THE LATEST FRENCH GOSSIP William Duke Improves Old Hil-dreth Property Crack Colt Epinard. PARIS, France, December l.r. I was out at William Dukes place the other day. He has spent a lot of money in renovating the Sam Hildreth property. On the right hand side he has built a fine ring, fenced in with a high concrete post and rail fence for a trotting and walking ring before the string goes on the rides during the season of training. Now it is used for a paddock to turn a couple of horses out morning and afternoon. On the left hand side of the house he has put out a fine rcsc garden, and the other day carts were dumping loads and loads of old manure on the lawn, so by next year the place will look as it used to when the present Rancocas trainer was here. While Duke bought some high-priced youngsters at the Deauville sales for the Aga Khan he also bought some cheap ones. The year before everything purchased ran into big figures. Taken as a whole they are a gcod looking band, not as even as those of last year perhaps, which one might say were a picked bunch. Duke says perhaps they will be all the better for being cheaper. He told me one of his bargains really was his choice at present. NICEAS AND SAINT ILLIERS. His two cracks, Niceas and Saint Illicrs, are wintering well. I prefer the latter, for I do not believe the former will ever go much of a distance. From the way Duke tallied I should judge that his fillies on the whole were better than his colts. He has a good Bridane filly, bred by Henry Blum, known to many of the Franco-American trainers now in the States. His high-priced Sans le Sou colt Dandy-Prat, he said, was a good hcrse. Just at the time I was at his place Duke seemed to be more interested in showing . me a Jersey cow he had bought at the agricultural show in Paris and which was beating all records for milk. In fact, they were getting so much they did not know what . to do with it. She cost 3,000 francs and has a pedigree, he told me, longer than any of his horses. With his cow and eleven English Dorking hens and a cock he is a bit more of a farmer than a trainer at present. Murphy is busy at Poissy with his yearling colts. I heard the other day he liked them pretty well and that he was in better spirits and health than in the fall. It is the general belief he will receive his license with the new year. Epinard is wintering well. He is such a fine character of a horse he could not help I but go on the right way. Reports from ILamorlaye say that Galen Browns Macom-Iber fillies are promising, one particularly so. Jerry Welsh is in comfortable winter quar-1 ters with his string also.
