SPORTING GOSSIP.

Cromwell Argus, Volume IV, Issue 163, 24 December 1872, Page 6

SPORTING GOSSIP.

BY ARGONAUT. The Cromwell Midsummer Meeting is close ut hand, and a few remarks by an enthusiastic admirer of the good old English sport of horsc-racing may be acceptable to some of your readers. Permit mo to congratulate the Jockey Club on having secured the valuable and experienced assistance of Mr A. it. B. Thomson as haudicapper. Why do not the various Clubs in the Province unite and endeavour to obtain Mr Thomson’s services permanently V This course is followed in Victoria, and nearer home —in Canterbury. Mr Thomson is well known throughout the Province, and I imagine that as regards the knowledge requisite for a haudicapper to possess, it would be difficult to find a gentleman more suitable. lam not aware whether Mr Thomson would accept such an appointment; but there can be very little doubt that the proposed arrangement would, if carried out, give general satisfaction.

I am glad to see that the Club intend to v take action with a view to securing that the i Course shall be vested in them. This is a step in the right direction. Should the en- t deavour prove successful, —and that may bo said to be as good as certain, —the Club, 1 i presume, will go in for improving the course, c —probably, also, for fencing it in. In the I latter case, they would be enabled to lease the block in paddocks for the major portion r of the year, by which means a considerable , revenue would be obtained. Besides, they would then be able to make a charge for ad- a mission, —for equestrians and carriages, at t any rate. If water could be brought to bear r on the course, improvement would be easy 1 and rapid, and it is to be hoped the Club will c be enabled to secure at least an occasional i supply. However, these opinions and suggestions are rather premature. I Anything in the nature of a letter on racing matters would almost bo incomplete with- c out some reference to the disqualification of c Peeress. The Australasian, I notice, has r given its opinion that the Canterbury stewards f exceeded their powers. The most natural i reason for their decision 1 have yet heard suggested is one which was given by a local \ sporting man the other day,—-that most likely 1 the stewards to a man had “put it on” s Peeress. There may be much in this suggestion. The pocket is a powerful argument, 1 and according as it loses or gains, gives an * astonishing bias to men’s opinions. ; But, Mr Editor, yoxi will be thinking lam . never coming to the point. Well, here lam at last, —like many a gallant animal will bo before tbe week is over, pretty well winded. < The show of horses this year is not so good ] as last, when we had Knottingly, Flying i Fish, Slander, Yattcrina, and several others i of less note whose names do not figure this < year. By-the-bye, what has become of Fly- * ing Fisb I She was a very promising mare. For the Derby, the first race of the meet, there are not likely to be more than three 5 starters; Port Philip Buck, Dragon, and 1 Flora. Dragon is my favourite for this ! event, with the Buck next in order. Unless j Flora is an improvement upon Ruby, Mr Fraser’s former venture, she is not likely to - shine at all brilliantly. For the Grand Stand ( Handicap, there are eleven named, but it is 1 impossible for me to say bow many will come ; to the scratch. Taking the names as published, Burgundy and Lyndon (which now both belong to Mr Patterson, who lias sold Maid of the Mill,) seem very fairly in. Tambourini has it pretty warm, —only a four-year old, with the top weight of 9st. 21b. 1 do not greatly fancy either Atlas or Brunette, the latter being quite overtopped by Burgundy, who ran her almost to a head last year, carrying considerably more extra weight than on tins occasion. Hatred has her light put out by Lyndon, who has to carry 71b. less than the mare. On the whole, lam inclined to place it thus : —Burgundy, 1 ; Tam-: bourini, 2 ; Lyndon, 3 ; with a struggle for fourth between Brunette, Hatred, Golden Cloud, and possibly Boomerang. Indeed, 1 have a fancy that that same Wanaka colt is | not to be played with, and it would not much I surprise me to see him well up at the finish. | Then we have the Flying Handicap, of three-: quarters of a mile; and as your space may | be falling, 1 will briefly opine that the young i ones —Kate Kearney and the Dragon—ought I to stand well at the distance, giving the pre-; ference to the former. Hatred, with Bst. ; bib., ought to prove too much for Brunette j with Bst. I intend to lay it on to Kate, with j a shrewd guess that Hatred won’t be faraway : from her. Hurdle Races are seldom foregone ! conclusions ; and the best plan is t<> trust the safest jumper. The Maid is a determined i imilker ; and Tambourini, however be may i jump, will be pretty hard put to it if he j starts on a two-and-a-half mile' gallop with I P Ist. 31b. no, -in fact, the handicap seems to mu to be altogether too heavy <m s<» young ! a horse. Sir Tatton, if lie is anything like fit. has decidedly the best show. The Maiden, ojl the second day, will likely bring Malice, the Burt:, Flora, Boomerang, Wexford, Fanny, and possibly one or two others to the starter. Malice is the mare against all comers for my money, and Boomerang and the Buck ought to try conclusions for second honours. I can say nothing as to the other events, i may conclude by expressing a hope that the Gromwell meeting of 1872 will be as successful as it deserves to be.

Marsha! Baxaine is not expected to rive to the cud of Ids trial. .V dostrnctivo hurricane has occurred in London. It did enormous damage to the shipping in-the river, and to Loth public and r.rivaie buildings.