LOCAL SPORTING NOTES.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1371, 20 December 1872, Page 2

LOCAL SPORTING NOTES.

■ - ; ' ■•■ " r g, -■>■ . ; •'■■ '■;'■':. J [TO-. TfiE .EDITOR.;]./ M ;■ . Sib.— Having had. a look at the programme for . the 'cqaiingrAhaura Races,^ .and;. thinkirigV some! /of v^our sporting .readers would like 'ii> „knbw : ;the amount of moiiey ;to, : b!e > raced for 'inthe dij|erent events. I. will just describe thie. principal ones. The largest amount is for the Grey Valley Handicapy 100 6ovs ; Town Plate, 40 soys ; Ahaura Handicap, 25 soys ; the faces not described -are. 'from 20 4 ;t6 ; 30 soys each, making a total of 300- sovs. The first day's racing are all weight for age .races, with the, exception of the. La dies' j' which' is welter weight. The second 'day: -they are all ; handicaps. [In the programme "alluded to the races are all opeii: That nuisance^ "Local Racing," which .p wner£ of hbtses^tp' stop at ; home in the. adjoining Provinces in the racing sea^hjhasbVeh'done away with. 1 must . say \ that this programme should have been published two month! . since, but I believed" difference of opinion as to .(which was the best season; to race -in was, the cause ; 6f the delay.'- .v " ' " : L ' Considering that these races.are; within a iripnth ,pf the Grey,mouili Spprt^ owners ' coming to, the latter' are, certain to nomi- .-. nate; -their- iiprses ipr.^-theVljiaura Meeting,so that the publiciwill; have the pleasure of witnessing j :.some well-contested races : here;c:; ;t:.:i:fi ■';■; ■.'/.- ?.<■.. . '-. '.';{>• Tho Tbtara Flat Races, are the chief topic up the' Grey Valley, atipresent.. The ■smiddy! at the Flat is' the scene of a great many horsey operations, jthe : patching : up : of some old pretender :that never won ;the Sydney Gold- Cup 6r any' other, is the work of nearly every Jiour of the day. Mr Lewis takes it like alanib, and treats: theowuers to a little of his experience in turf matters, making special mention of the; number of winners he, has put^plates on. . About swnrise there is't'obe seen'a dozen, of these; animals . taking -ia constitutional,, some doing .sloWrVand' oibhers.fa^t work, the'owuers' being "fond' of 'aristocratic: names have, selected a few from.the Victorian programme, 'such , as the Quack, .Ace^^and-a.'hpst, ,of bthers; the name of : Dagworth seeming to • be ; at a dis.cpurit,.'. but- .1 /.suppose -some; person . will claim it. if or -want .-.of a better., Theie^are £ few- very noisy heavy weights here who insist on having a riiount at the coming races. ,:o.'neiof 'these' gentlemen is 3highlyi indignant: at;, the idea of catch : weight events* as he considers his pre" 'se'ncej ■especially- on horseback, would give : such an appearance ; to the meeting as cannot be otherwise procured 'in the absence of : thVSuperintenderit' ; ! and that . by. . makiDg .himself ; conspicuous at the sports/ it would 1 save^ ad vertising in the , event of :an.eleqtipDeerih^.ppntest in the. Valley!; where lie feels certain his chances '",. are great to .whatrtheyiwereKat Westportl I would caution, the, : handicappers to be merciful and ; not ,tp be .actuated by a* desire ;to-i pleases any '■■'. person, howevergreat their prehensions may be.; By acting on this^adyice|, ; they ;will; not only escape prosecution under. Martin'sjAct, but they will perhaps save.; the; committee the expense oi- a; ;^seconii: clearing, of the course, | in case of a mishap with , one of those* parties^ , which; would ; be f ar ; iin excess of the available funds. Mr James Ferguson has got a very decided acquisition to the local stablea in the: stud :horae.'VMoutt-v .'tairieer, whichfis .a \very; nicely proportioned little chestnut,, by To wton 5 he is "the 1 picture ■of the ! celebrated Misfortime|l tq whom he is closely related, as they are both by the same sire: -The have at last.a chance : t6''breed for themselves a hack with the' ! - : blood -qf Tojv ton in hia veins. "There';arra.'great;iiiany of the_ fraternity' - at :ii the ' stable at 'present. 1 Amongst them there jis : a ' j " prophet," who, ,if his'ptedictioris'of the future are toW taken fiji ; gran ted, says the owner of tfie little 1 hbrse^liat i won the Lottery Plate last year' will -not- take" a back seat when: the. .stakes ..are being paid awaylat the different race meetings this seasoni: .Prophecy, in racing^ may. sounds strange to your spprtingi^eadersi. -but as this gentleman's foretellirigvf.powefs liave been tried before and camel outright, I f pr one will pin riiy faith in him if the eventsj-of . '73. 1 ! wiud tip "as he lias^predicted. Like: every^r thingttnat is f gobd iii>a racing way/ when tjiis becomes gerierally/kriown, I suppose we wiiriose'hiiii. ' Mt Joe Thompson, , or our qwn! Joseph, are very likely to tempt him with a handsome sum to name the winner of th,e .Cup of .'73 Jor, tlfem. In losingt him the- New Zealande^ t .will hav.e at.least the jionpr of being the ifirst to introduce a prophet. into the^acingyWorld. 1 .:-.-■.' v:J"-:«..:vsX."-. :.r. ■• &C.j ,V i; :'. ;. .

.. • Writskaresaijl t.o ; haye been Berved against. tiiet/Mayor bf!; (Bienheini '.and Mr Henry l?q'dsp,n^fqrrlißeiling -.Mr. Eyes' '^y reading reaolujbipia > at A t P s?!%* luieetinjf ; "' t^fleeting "upon him, and for dth'er : p'&oe'eUffigsV''