SPORTING NOTES.

Globe, Volume VII, Issue 711, 29 September 1876, Page 3

SPORTING NOTES.

(From the Press.) “ Tout, tout, tout, Before the birds awake; Tout, tout, tout, E’er the day begins to break. It’s fine to be a tout, And watch them do their work; To see which horses stand the test, And which their gallops shirk. ” The above, whatever it may do by-and-bye, when Outts commences early hours, scarcely applies at present; for just now anyone on the course by 7 o’clock can see all the horses work. The recent heavy rain has been against much galloping; but yesterday and the day before most of the trainers were putting their nags through the mill. Tuesday was a pleasant warm morning, and when I arrived Mr Wilmer’s Derby Colt was working. He is by Sledmere out of Cruiskeen, and seems to be more like a neat useful hack than a Derby candidate. He is under the care of Merton, who, it will be remembered, trained Royalty, the winner of the last Grand National Steeplechase. Mr Redwood’s team were the nest to appear, and Cutts sent Maroro and Stirabout once round the grass gallop. Both went freely and well, and if the “ coach horse,” as they call him, can only stay, I fancy he will be one of the three-year-old’s whose chance for the C.J.C. is considered so good, Tara then gave a lead to Puriri, stripped ; but the mare was pulled up almost immediately, and Puriri finished his mile and a half by himself. I scarcely think the sou of Waimea showed to so much advantage as the last time I saw him; but his owner thinks well of his chances, and the public, who are not bad judges, after all said and done, fancy his Derby chances very much. Tara and Songster sweated; the latter is improving, but I must confess to not being able to find another Korari in his sister Tara. Fishhook and the Moose did a serviceable galop, and then George Cutts sent Ariel and Ngaro, both stripped, a good striding galop of a mile and a half. The mare still looks a bit ragged, and she never was a favorite of mine, but Ariel is improving fast. Tadmor and Hard Times went a strong gallop ; the latter is certainly in every respect a most useful horse. Far from being out of place in a buggy or even a spring cart, a good hack and weight carrying hunter —which his performances with Bob Ballance, the huntsman, show —he now comes out in a new line as a steeplechaser, and those that ought to know seem to think he has a very good chance for the Geraldine Hurdle race. Danebury was treated to a three mile sweat, the first time round in company with Fallacy, and the last with Lady Lea. The Champagne winner is looking well, and Bob Ray is evidently sparing no pains to get him fit. This colt goes as well as any I see on the course. I think, so far as we have got, the Derby lies between him and

Dead Heat, and at present I rather fancy the chances of the former. Bob Ray himself was riding the two-year-old filly by Traducer out of Opera, She has only just been taken up, but she seems very quiet, and will, if looks go for anything, make a very valuable mare. The Bush Inn string, consisting of Cloth of Gold, Tasso, Wrangler, the Lady Florence colt, and the Ethelred filly, all put in an appearance and did slow work. Nectar and Dead Heat were not out, and the Yaldhurst string had not appeared when I left the coarse. Dan O’Brien was out on a great big, raking, cross country mare, half sister, I believe, to the useful John Stofel. Dan showed us a taste of her quality over the hurdles, and she certainly jumped in capital style. While on the course I saw the Marquis of Normanby, who had just come up to join Cutt’s educational establishment; his Excellency is by Ravensworth out of Sweetmeat, which, as times go, is not bad breeding He is engaged in next year’s Derby, and such a well bred colt ought to be an acquisition to Canterbury. He is a small but compact chesnut, with a regular Ravensworth head, and showing nearly as much white about the legs as Tui, a colt of Mr Redwood’s that your readers will doubtless remember. The Marquis has a capital back, loins and barrel; he is a little coarse about the neck, but take him all over he is a nice colt, and I think Mr Saunders has got rather a bargain. Mr Walker, of Wanganui, from whom he was purchased, is I see offering the rest of his stud for sale, and as there are several mares of undoubted breeding among them, the investment ought to be worth the attention of some of our owners.

The programme of the Greymouth Jockey Club is to hand. The stewards have selected their usual dates, namely, 17th and 19th of March. In most of the events the programme is very similar to that of last year, the chief items being two Handicap Hurdle Races of forty and fifty sova respectively, Jockey Olub Handicap of 175 sovs; Railway Stakes of forty sovs, Goldfields Handicap of 150 sovs, and Grey Valley Stakes of fifty sovs. The club, I see, still adhere to their rule that in all handicaps three horses must, accept, or the public money will be withheld. Thisregulation, reasonable as it appears on paper, is apt to come rather rough on an owner visiting the West Coast. So far as I am aware there are few or no horses the other side of the range, and the majority of our nags will be engaged, at the time of the Grey Meeting, in Dunedin. Thus, an owner, who elected to visit the Coast would, in selfdefence, have to nominate and probably accept with two, if not three, to secure himself even a start for his money. With the exception of the Novel race of thirty sovs (the winner to be sold by auction, and the whole proceeds of the sale of the horse to go to the funds of the Jockey Club), there is only one weight-for-age race in the programme. Thisjia the Trial Stakes of thirty sovs, with penalties, Taking into consideration the difficulties of the road, the heavy expenses inseparable from travelling horses to the Coast, and keeping them when they are there, and the risk of damaging a valuable horse, I cannot see much chance of an owner, even with the best of luck, making a very valuable campaign of it. The first volume of “ The New Zealand Turf Register” has appeared. It is exceedingly well got up in every way. This publication has evidently been very carefully compiled, and one can only lament that the hand which penned it is still for ever. Mr G. Elliott, the son of the author, states in his preface that he intends to publish the “ Register” annually, and I hope so useful a book will have the support of all New Zealand sportsmen. To dwell on the utility of such a publication would be useless. To use a very hackneyed expression, it will supply a want which has long been felt, and I hope that in the succeeding numbers breeders of blood stock, and the secretaries of the various jockey clubs, will give the editor of the “ New Zealand Stud Book” and the “Turf Register,” the information which he requests in his preface. The publication is obtainable here at Mr Bennington’s, High street. In his introduction to the New Zealand racing rules, Mr Elliott says“ A proposal lately made by the Auckland Racing Club that one set of rules and weights should be in force throughout the colony, was favorably received by the Canterbury Club, and will, it may be hoped, speedily be carried into effect.” “As a rule,” Mr Elliott goes on to say, “ the Canterbury weights are about five pounds greater than those of Dunedin ; but this is not uniformly so, and the discrepancies are often very absurd, showing the necessity of revision and uniformity ” In reference to the above I understand that a circular has been sent to the various New Zealand Jockey Clubs, calling a meeting of delegates at the coming Christchurch Metropolitan Meeting in November next, and it is only reasonable to hope that a uniform scale of weights and, so far as practicable, rules may be decided upon. Your recent correspondent on “The Training Ground ” has rather taken the wind out of my sails in the matter of the 0.J.0. Handicap, because in many respects I so far agree with him that my opinions would simply appear as a rechauffe of those expressed by the gentleman whose views you say (I have no doubt with every reason) are of some weight with you. I shall content myself, however, with saying that the Handicap has been less abused than any I have seen for a long time ; that personally I think Tadmor and Rob Roy, of the known horses, have a trifle the best of it, and Fishhook the worst ; and that I think at present the race will be won by a three-year-old. In the way of stud news, the following items may be of interestMr Wm. Pyne has recently disposed of his fine upstanding colt Spreydon, by Traducer—dam Frolic, at a very satisfactory figure. He is sold to Mr Sinclair to go to the Sandwich Islands for stud purposes, and I have no doubt that such a horse will prove a very valuable acquisition. Mr B. G. Griffith’s imported mares Aurifera and Hammock have both recently foaled to Traducer. The former has a fine chesnut filly foal, but the colt out of Hammock, has, your readers will be sorry to hear, since died. Mr Redwood has engaged the services of Daniel O’Rourke for this season, and the little chesnut goes north by the first steamer. The following are the latest transactions in the betting market—Derby : 100 to 25 Puriri and Danebury, 100 to 20 Dead Heat, from 6toß to 1 any other. Cup : 6to 1 Guy Fawkes, Danebury, and Korari, 7 to 1 Punga. Cloth of Gold, and Ariel. 0.J.0. Handicap : From 5 to 12 to 1 on the field, Sinead.