SPORTING.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 1892, 17 March 1880, Page 3

SPORTING.

HAWKE'S BAY E.G. MEEIING. [By Telegraph.] NAPIEE, March 16. The races to-day were poor and thinly attended, and except the District Plate all the events were looked upon as foregone conclusions. His Excellency and suite were present. The following are the results : Handicap Hurdle Race of 100 sovs. 2i miles. Mr Mclvor's Grey Momus, list ... (Eae) 1 Mr Butler's Te Whetu, aged, llßt 51b ... 2 Mr Mclvor'a Loch Lomond, 10st 121 b (Mclvor) 3 Maiden Plate of 40 sovs. 1J- miles. Mr Bay's Paunterer 1 Mr Murray's Mavis ... ... ... ... 2 Mr Hooper's Inanga 3 Mr Walters' Grand Duchess ... 4 Hawse's Bat Cup, of 300 sova ; two miles. Mr Vallauce's Vampire, 6st 51bs, including 51bs penalty (Webster) 1 Mr Walters' Libeller, 7st 31b3 ... (Taylor) 2 Mr Eenata Kawopo's Otupai ... (Native) 3 Mr Butior's .Laerto3 and Numa were scratched. Vampire made all the running, and won, hard held, by a length. Grand Duchess pulled up after going 100 yards, and returned to the paddock. Ladies' Purse, of 40 sovs; two miles. Mr Walters' Billingsgate, lOst 1 Mr Murray's Tamatea, list 41bs 2 District Plate, of 50 sovs ; one mile. Mr Murray's Mavis 1 Mr Lyons'Numa 2 Mr Douglas's Bavrenata 3 Kight started. Consolation Handicap, of 25 sovs; one mile. Mr Mclvor's Loch Lomond, 9st 61bs ... 1 NOETH CANTEEBURY BACES. The following nominations have been received : OPEN HURDLES HANDICAP. Mr S. Heenan's I'awera Mr Lunn's Alice Grey DISTRICT HURDLES. Mr Larkin's Eifleman Mr Humphrey's Young Diomedes Mr Roberts' Manuka Mr Scott's The Cid Mr McNanght's A Bob-in NORTH CANTERBURY CUP. Mr Vallance'a Huntingdon Mr Lunn's Alice Grey Mr Lunn's Marie Antoinette Mr Powell's Mirelle Mr McCausland's Orange Peel Mr Mullins' Midaleton publicans' purse. Mr Vallance's Huntingdon Mr Lunn's Alice Groy Mr Lunn's Marie Antoinette Mr Powell's Mirelle Mr McCausland's Orange Peel Mr Mullins' Middleton Mr Scott's Supplejack. SPOBTLNG- NOTES. By Sinbad. The weights for the Great Autumn Handicap wore declared laßt week. Mata, as might bo expected, headß the list with 9ot 81bs, a weight at which I scarcely think he can expect to cope with the two that follow him. Weight for age last Autumn Meeting, the white-faced son of Traducer had little difficulty in defeating Mata. The distance, certainly, was not so far, but, fit and well, there can be no question about O'Brien's old favorite being able to get a mile and a half aa fast as any of them. The above was Fishhook'a last appearance, and it is to be presumed that leg conaiderations have kept him from the turf ever since. I believe he ia at preaent doing fair work, and ahould his astuta owner select him to carry his firßt colors on this occasion, I do not think there is a more formidable horse in the race. Foul Play, too, is anything but, ill-treated. His late career has been one of almost uninterrupted victory. With 9ijt, he virtually squandered his field in the Canterbury Free Handicap, and with a like we-'gbb secured another winning bracket in the Metropolitan Handicap at the same meeting, which, being the same distance as the race under consideration, he covered in 2mins. 45secs., without being ridden out, and the course fetlock deep in mud. He proveß for tho first time his ability to get two miles in Wellington, where he comes home comfortably with 89t 4!bs in 3mins. 37isecs. In Dunedin, with a seven pound penalty, which brought his weight to three pounds more than Mato, he sustained a three-quarters' length defeat from that horae in the Cup. Hiß subsequent wins at that meeting are not bo much to his credit, as there can be no question that the handicapper there took a most_ lenient view of his abilities; at the same time, the manner in which he won the " double event" stamps him as one of the beat horaea ever stripped in New Zealand. Judged on the Cup running, unlesß Mata won with a great deal more in hand than he has received credit for, I must consider that Foul Play holds him safe. Old Tompleton has throughout the season persistently !shown such indifEorent form that one cannot but think that the veteran must have lost that brilliant dash of foot for which he was once so famous. Time whb, and not so very long ago, when the game little son of Traducer covered this distance with Oat 31bs in 2mina. 42i-aoca., and were there any probability of his coming back to that form, he no doubt would have a say in the race under roview. I cannot, however, but think that ho has lost his old brilliant form. If Eay decides that thiß shall be his last chance the old horae will, no doubt, run a rare race under hiß light impost. Le Loup comes next at Bst lOlba. Hia performancea are aa follows : -Carrying weight for age he ran a close second to Monarquo in the Grand StandStakesat the V.R.C.autumn meetinglaet year, a distance of something under one and a half miles; in company withTocal (Bst9lb-0 and Bob Sawyer (6st 61bs) he, at the same meeting, carrying Bst 31bs, ran a dead heat_ for second place in the Newmarket Handicap, three-quarters of a mile. At the A.J.O. autumn meeting, carrying 83t 131 b?, he ran second to Petrea (63t lllbs, including lOlbs penalty) in the Maiden Stakes, one and a quarter miles ; at the same meeting he wna easily beaten by Chester in tin Cumberland Stakes, two miles, weight for age ; and on the following day was again beaten by the same horae in the A.J.O. Plate, three milea, weight for ego. His performances in the recent V.B.C. meeting are comparatively fresh in memory of your readers. Here he was nowhere in the Melbourne Cup ; third to the two cracks—First King and Richmond —in the Melbourne Stakeß, weight for age, one and a quarter miles ; again second to Swiveller (lOat lib, including 101 b penalty), in the Essendon Stakes, two miles, weight for age ; and on the next day scored nis first and only Australian victory in the V.R.C. Handicap, in which, carrying Bst 71bs, ho got homo easily in front of eight others in a slow run race," doing the one and throe-quarter milea in 3min. 12Jsecs. A perusal of the above, I think, shows that he has always performed best over short distances, and is certainly not a reliable animal. What hia owner may think of Mb chance in the present contest I know not, but personally there are others in the race, whose prospects on paper I must confess a preference for. Maritana, with Bst 81b, has nothing to complain of, but ahe haß been a bit off lately, and I should question her owner being able to bring her round in time. Natator, I consider, at Bat, to be one of the best treated in the handicap. Here is a colt, winner of the Champagne and Derby (the latter won easily in 2rsin 45sec), who in this very Autumn Handicap last year, carrying 7st 51b, was only beaten a head by Longlands, after getting

away very badly. Now, with only Bst on his back, and allowing for Olba more than ho then carried, his improvement from three to a four-year-old, he muot bo considered even more favorably treated than in the same race last Tear. Tho handsome ssn of Traducer and Waterwitch looks on paper decidedly formidable. Camballo, with Bat, has rather a too flattering impost, in fact more flattering than, I think, hio performances entitle him to. Titania at 7st 121 b looks a good thing, the distance being all in ber favor, and as she receives 51b from Mata for her Cup defeat, I thmS she has a very fair show of reversing places' with him. Of courso everything depends on flow much Mr Outts' gelding had in him at the actual finish But I fancy the mare will prove rather the best at the difference. As above stated the race was so close that with the addition of three pounds for the half length defeat Foul Plav should hold the mare sate over a distance' so peculiarly his own ; but always excepting Foul Play she must, on her Dunedin form, have a rare show with anything else. Hornby, with 7st lllb, should run a good colt, but he, like some of tho foregoing, is under suspicion of being on tho sick list. His performances at the coming Wanganui meeting will no doubt throw more light on the state of his health, but should ha be well on the 30fh instant, I look upon him as nicely in, which remark applies in a still greater degree to the uncertain Chancellor. This unreliable horse has shown ub what he can do over this distance and on the same course. A speedy five-year-old, with 7st 101 b on his back, is always formidable, and whoever may be tho malcontents, I shall certainly expect to B'e Chancellor go to the poet. Grip, with 7st 91b, ohould run a good race, but why Betrayer should be asked to meet him on even terms I can scarcely understand, after tho result of the recent Dunedin Cup and L'ger, where the Slanderer colt had all the best from start to finish in both raoes, and won in the latter with a good bit in hand by a length. Pinfire at seven-eight is well treated, but I fancy this constant animal finds two miles and inferior company to the presantlot znorejto his liking. "Were Longlands the Longlands of old, seven-seven is a weight he could carry from start to fi- ish j but then tbe game son of Totara seeras to have loot his former pace, and I think is scarcely likely to show prominently in the present contest. Judged through the Wellington Cup running, Lara has but a small show with his victor on that occasion ; but tbe white-legged son of Towton . was never a favorite of mine, and, like hio stable companion, Pinfire, requires a lot of judicious placing. Volunteer's sensational performance with Mata in Dunedin appears to have oarnad him a pound or two additional ; but hiß close race with Betrayer for the Chamrogne was no doubt also remembered by the har.dicapper. Still his performances, have scarcely been of a kind that should entitle him to give weight to several of those who follow him. Mr Walters is usually anxious at this time of the year to return to his " ain countree," but surely at the weights ho will leave one, if not both, of his representatives behind for a cut in at the Autumn Handicap. Hippocampus, judging from his present season's performances in the A.E.G. and Stewards' Handicaps, at tho Auckland Meeting, must, taking a line through Lara, have a fair show for this race, that is, assuming tho horse has improved to the extent I understand he has. In Norseman Mr Redwood possesses a colt of whom those who have seen him appear to entertain a high opinion. They say that but for his accident in the Wellington Cup, he would have been very handy at the finioh, and in Blenheim, though certainly the company was very moderate, he did all that was required of him by his owner. Assuming him to be the colt he is considered by hio friend?, he should run well fo? this event, but my acquaintance with him 13 not sufficient to warrant my giving a decided opinion of him. Miranda, own sister to Tompleton, sounds well, and though the mare has never been tried in public, I fancy she' will prove better than the Sludge and Tantrums filly, who ore the other two representatives of the Bush Inn stable, though why these young ladies, particularly the last-named two, should give weight to Vatapir*, Luna, York, Laerfcea, Tera, and On Dit, all of whom have proved themselves fair performers over this distance under light weights, is more than I can understand. Marie Antoinette, compared with soma of the others just named above, does not look a good thing at seven stone, for though before starting for Dunedin her private reputation was yerj high, she failed to in any way come up to her trial form. Rangatira (7st) I have never seen, but judging from his performances, is hardly class enough. Luna, who I fancy is a very much improving mare, has a good rough show at 6st lOlbs, if fit and well. York, at a pound less, I do not fancy, while Vampire, if his Wellington time be correct, Bhould run a good race, but on that performance, the W. 8.0. Handicap, can have but little show with Hippo if the latter put in an appearance. Libeller has the same weight as in the Dunedin Cup (6at 51bs), but from his recent performance I much prefer the chances of his stable companion, Hippo. At one time Laertes, with 63t, would, by those who have witnessed his Australian performances, have been considered a moral, but his running during this season, though on several occasions most leniently treated by the handicapper, goeß far to establish the fact that he has no longer the tremendous turn of foot he possessed in Australia, and that he cannot travel in good company even with the proverbial postage stamp. If this race should turn out to be an exception to the rule, no one would be more pleased than the present writer, for the sake of his owner, who gave rather a long price for him, and who, I am afraid, has scarcely found him the best of goodß. Neither On Dit nor Tera have anything to complain of at the same weight, while they, in common with many others, hold tho handsome Adamant, who is in at a like impost, perfectly safe. I should have preferred waiting for the Northern Meetings to be over before making my preliminary selections for the Autumn Handicap, but on paper Fishhook, Foul Play, Grip, Natator, Titania, and Chancellor look to me about the best. The betting at present is very limited. sto 1 agst Foul Play has been taken straight out pretty freely, while in the doubles Sir Modrtd and the pick of the handicap horses have foukd support at 100 to 12. [The above waa written before the acceptances appeared.] Old Royalty is in training once more for the Grand National Steeplechase, for which event his owner, I believe, intends to give him a final flutter. Reliable crosscountry animals are so scarce in New Zealand that I shall not be surprised to see Mr Brittan's favorite running very forward in the majority of hio winter engagements. The handicaps for Port Victoria races on the 17th, have filled fairly well, and tho meeting promises, like that of last year, to be a very pleasant one. At Turakina, in the North Island, I see that Randwick won a small race, beating Boukar, who, unfortunate as ucual, had to be content with tho Consolation Staka. Resolution, at one time a very promising horse, could only get third in the big event, the Turakina Handicap, which was won by Banshee.

At a meeting of the stewards of the North Canterbury Jockey Club, recently held at Rangiora, it was decided to adhere to the original date of the meeting. The races will, therefore, be run off on Easter Monday. From Northern files I learn that old Parawbenua scored a couple of wins at the recent Hampden meeting ; that Mr Henare Temoana has withdrawn his opposition to the use of his racecourse by the Hawke's Bay Club, and that the totnl'sator will be in work at both the Napier meetings. All Canterbury Bportsmen will bo glad to learn that Sir Hercules Robinson has expressed hi 3 determination to be, if possible, present at the forthcoming review and autumn meeting. Closely following on the Dunedin meeting came the one at Invercargill, where the events seem scarcely to have been eo well contested a 3 might have wished. Messrs Mtboh and Vallance and Goodman appear to have carried off all the good things, the former with the aid of the hitherto unfortunate Tera, who carried off the Maiden Plate, the Derby, and the Commercial Hardicap. Mr Goodman appropriated the Southland Cup, Publicans' and Jockey Club Handicaps, with the aid of Chancellor. Titania, Mr G-oodman's new purchase, only ran in the interest of her stable companion. There is so mtch dissatisfaction, says "Pegasus," with Mr Caleb Moore's handicapping that the ste yards of the Southland races took the Cor.3olation Handicap into their own hands. Their action is everywhere approved. The settling for the meeting took place last night. Mr Goodman received £213 • Mason and Vallance, £101; Mr j Cotton, £3B; Mr Smith, £2B; Mr Bonner, £l9; Mr Lunny, ;?8; and Mr Smith, £6. ' The total was over #414.