SPORTING

Feilding Star, Volume V, Issue 73, 31 May 1884, Page 2

SPORTING

Notes by " PnocroN." The tips given by me for the Palmerston Birthday and Wanganui Steeplechase Meetings turned ont feirly well, betler than any others published in fact. Skylark for the Hurdles at the first named meeting came off, as did also Armourer in the Flying, with Dusk second as I placed hiraJ Somnus beat Armourer in the guineas, as he' was bound to do if running in anything like his old form. Sam Powell had patched hiui- up; Jor the job exactly, as he pulled up very lame, antl did 'uot start afterwards. The horse placed by me as second in the, Maiden A won, viz, Exchange, and my third selection, Touch-and-go, would have been a good second but fell a few yards' from home. Awatea was far from fit, but will one day win a better .race ; if placed in good hands. The Grand National in Wanganui was won by Clarence, Parnell 2, Druid 3, exactly as tipped ! and Clarence won the Grand Stand, as indeed he was morally bound to do. My other two selections for the Steeplechase feU; AH««l anyone followed my opinions practically through the two meetings by putting a sovereign on each, race, the. result w»uld have been a profit of £12 2s. However, I don't advise anyone to try the' game at any future meeting. , . - "-. ; v -- d Swindles occurred at- both meetings, and have in one case been punished with proper severity. In the Tradesman's race at Palmerston, a mare called Minnette was pulled m a most barefaced, manner by a lad named Burr,, who evidently thought he could do as he liked at such a meeting as the Palmerston Birthday. A quarter of a mile from home Minnette came up to the leader; Grey Tom as if he had stopped and thenqu'ietly took a pull and waited, as the spectatorssupposed, "just to mako'a finish of it" (ab is too often done), but to. everyone's ; surprise Burr took another pull jus* before reaching the post,-' which- -enabled Grey Tom to get his nose in first. The excuse was that, the -niare. had. previ- . ously been down (which was evident from the marks on her knees) tend that the lad was afraid of a repetition of this religious' exercise if he did not keep a good hold of her. bat had he allowed the mare to come at anything like: the pace up the straight that she did round the home turn, Grey Tom would not have been a good second even. The stewards, at a meeting held on Thursday evening | very properly disqualified tbe'mare^Minnette and the jockey Burr, but I fear' they erred on .the side ot leniency 'by not treating the owner in the same way; Any man capable of taking a part or making an excuse for such a gross swindle ihould .not be looked upon' as a -respectable "tradesman." The true motive "was, I , think, to - got Minnette. ih" "light ".'--fer the Foxton District Handicap. a ./ dioij - -Young Arnott, well-known here as a jockey, was fined £5 and' disqualified until the amount was paid for„dist>l|e\lience to the starter. The .boy^.being..in possession of a consummate amount »of cheek, has at last succeeded in bartering a portion of itfora certifieate-which will not be of much value to bim. I hope the money will be paid and the lesson' prove a lasting one ' A A A<-3 Billy- go- by -'ein has been ' at his tricks again. In the Grand Stand f ßa<s? -be boldly faced tho barter, presumedly to try conclusions at weight for age with Clarence, but upon: being. _I»id^'t<> go changed his mind and walked baclr .tpthe paddock. ' i here may have been two motives for this-rFirst, an , arrangement with the Clarence party to start so that though' practically it was a walK over for their horse, as another horse starlteyd-HtKey could claim the whole stake, instead of only half, as it is the usual custom* iir ( tbe case of a horse walking over, tp pay half the. advertised 1 amount.! .^Secondly, the totalizator money, some of which was invested on Billy; the. public innocently backing him without-having a. chance to win. Doubtless' some, of the public backed Clarence, but I shcralß imagine most of that invested on the latter belonged to the people who knew. In any case it is a matter for the -serious consideration of the Stewards/* It is hardly likely they will stand •to be shot a| for ' the amount of half the stakes, . atidjras trustees of the publio money invested 1 in their instrument, they, should get to the . bottom of any • transaction, savoring, so palpably of fish as this one does. Bisy-go-by-'em, it will be remembered, was disqualified here some two years ago and was prevented from running or training en the Wanganui ground- since on that account, but owing to the mislaying of some correspondence, the Wanganui Steward's decided to allow ,t'oTu~4 a^ their late -meeting, tho ( ugh ; the; Epjlding Stewards had decided that, as no sufficient reason had been given, thodisqualification would jiot.: be removed by tbem-r "SHne only reason giVen, in facti "Was that"The present owner had' been known ' for aife' number of years as an honest' racing^m'an. Tbis last transaction. Jooks as if he was tired of the "honest hero/-' and meant to give the " deep villian " -'' part^HnalV The hack race was also an abominable thing, and one which reflects great discredit upon the Stewards themselves, all of whom should have known that Exchange was hot' qualified ter start,, as a hack-.' Tt ? is possible that they !£ wWe not awar^of the Maiden" victory ,at ton,, but slirely it, cannot have?airea(|y escaped their, inei^ory^.that •. he wga^Jiiu M aiden, Hurdle Kace. at. iasfejailifeterig lijeld- :}fpon< their^ovn: course,: yet-: tb\s' : allow him to enter, aud r the gubbcr la back him in theuvutaohine, and then disqualify jthe/ horse h because ■■: he $r ;Js ihofc qualified to start, a thing no one was in such a position: 10 -know -as themselves, wherfranspd tb?rclau§e Xi^"^aw v &m j*m nioiiey ''..given t by d t^fcn»s,eif^.Ut*, t^ir v'j lAd -. • ,-. sAA A 7,i'i7' *A:A£iAii«is

~ very last meeting. Was it for the sake of the paltry ' entrance fee or the ~few shillings commission on the money ihVested npon the horse, or was < ■""• it gross carelessness, and negligence ? Whatever the reason, the stewards have, innocently or otherwise, made themselves a 'pirtv to a transaction that does not reflect great credit on an institution which has hitherto held such a high place in the ranks of New Zealand racing clubs. By the time this is in print the Foxton Winter Handicap will probably have been run, but as it is not over' at the time I write, I will give an opinion as to the j^wbaplerwinner. The handicap is a good _ .! one^and the horse best on paper is Orphan, J.wHo, if din good trim, should win, with ' Armourer, second, though Ahua is very leniently treated. A