SPORTING.

Te Aroha News, Volume I, Issue 54, 14 June 1884, Page 5

SPORTING.

I Tho Ono Thousand 0 uinoas winner Busybody, now owned by Lord Alington, kept up her reputation by winning tho Oaks Stakes, Superba being second, and Queen Adolaido third. The winner, although a great performer as a two-year-old, was not so successful as Superba, who proved a veritablo gold mine to her owner, Mr R. Pock. She ran in no less than nino races, and won all but tho iirst and last. Busybody was got by Petrarch from Spinaway, and her lines of blood aro represented here, as Macaroni, the sire of her dam, is also sire of the N.Z. Stud Company's matrons Florence McCarthy and Lovebird. It seems that Scot Free, the winner of the Two Thousand Guineas, was greatly fancied for that event on account of having easily won the Craven Stakes (for three-year-olds) at the Newmarket Craven Meeting. Our London correspondent says that at tho rooms on the evening of the race, 4 to 1 was taken freely both about Scot Free and Harvester, but presently 7 to 2 became tho best oiler against tho latter. Royal Fern retrograded to 5 to I, 6 to 1, and eventually to 100 to 15. Bar these three (Harvester, Scot Free and Royal Fern), any odds in reason might have been had ; in fact, Sir John Willoughby laid 3,000 to 1,000 on ono ot them proving successful. Ned o' the Hills, who won tho Queen's Birthday Cup at Adelaide, has proved a cheap purchase to Mr Morris Jacobs, Avho has already got back the biggest portion of his outlay (G5O guineas for Dutchman and Ned o' the Hills) in stakes alone. Although the hoi'fce was substantially supported at the eleventh hour, tho stable did not throw in for a heavy stake. Tho winner is by Pride of the Hills — Euterpe, and was trained by Mr James Wilson, jun., to whom he was handed over by Mr Jacobs directly he bought him. This makes the second Birthday Cup winner that Mr Wilton has trained. Last season it will be remembered ho prepared Little Jack for the same event. Writes "Martindale":— Mr J. Mondy has at last parted with Ascot, having disposed of him to Mr 11. Dixon, who intends to take him to Wanganui and the northern part of New Zealand. The price paid was £250, and at this iiguro he should prove a very profitable investment. lib has been a very fair performer, and will no doubt give a good account of himself in the Maori land should Mr Dixon ever race him. At present, however, it is his intention to put him to the stud, and as he has plenty of size and breeding ho should be a succe&s. Ascot is rising live years old, and Avas got by Kelpie from The Thorn. When Hercules stumbled and broke hi.s leg iv tho Tally-110 Handicap at tho Grand National Stecplcchaso Meeting, it was air odds he would have Avon, as he had a goou lead. Early in the race, Canard came down, and Lunn Avas afterwards taking it easy on him along Avay in the rear, but seeing Hercules fall he put on tho pace, and catching Hard Times at the last fence, Avon easily by a couple of lengths. During Hercules' career on the turf, he had started in 39 events, and Avon 17. At the Victoria Club Rooms the other evening (says the "Melbourne Sportsman") an animated discussion arose as to A\hich is the most brilliant racehorse in Australia OA r cr any distance, and tho general verdict was that, whether over si\ furlongs or three miles, Le Grand could beat tho best in the land at weight for age. Of coiuse in gauging the rclatiA r e abilities of our cracks, any opinion expressed must necessarily bo subject to the proviso, "Fit and avgll," And with this understanding, the idea of the debaters appeared to be that, over a mile and a-half, Lo Grand, Commotion, and Malua a\ ould be about tho order, and that Martini-Henry Avould be unplaced. Lady Asliton, Avho Avon the Brocklesby Stakes at tho Lincoln (England) meeting, liad no less than five crosses of Touchstone and four of Bay Middleton. This is inbreeding indeed. Of late years it has been the complaint in England that steeplechase courses are made as easy as possible for the competitors, and the following from a contributor to " Land and Water " shows that even tho Liverpool Grand National course has been considerably reduced :—": — " For many years I had not walked OA r ortho Aintree course, and the adverse opinion I expressed respecting Voluptuary's chance Avas founded on the assumption that tho ' line ' was the same as that aver which tho horses aboA^e-named had AA r on such undying fame. I started to look it Dvcr, and then discoA^orcd tho reason of Mr E. P. Wilson's confidence in the ability of Voluptuary to win. The 'line' is not the same as in days of yore. OAving to a bi'anch of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway having a feAV years back cut off that part of the course on which Avas tho up-jump and other stiff fences, tho ' lino ' after crossing Beecher's Brook bends sharply to the loft in the direction of the canal over three slight bush fences to Valentino's Brook, and thonco by the canal side over a flight of hurdles, an insignificant open ditch, and natural hedge and a bush fence, Avith drain 3ft. wide on the landing side, after Avhich the flat course- is reached. There are altogether 29 jumps, seven of which are hurdles not sufficiently strong to pen sheep. Time and drainago have reduced the tAvo brooks, once so formidable, to utter insignificance, and there is not a fence in tho Avhole line fit to test the capabilities of a hunter. Such is the Aintree course of the present day — far different, indeed, to what it Avas in my time ; and further it is to be noticed that there was only ono piece of plough, and that so Avell rolled down it ATOuld not soil a lady's satin slipper."

We may soon have a distinguished visitor to the South Seas — a novelist in search of fresh sensations. Jules Verne is having a vessel built in which he proposes to go in search of romantic material for literary use in the Antarctic Ocean At Southbrook, Canterbury, a man named Patrick Quill had his arm caught in a threshing machine and badJy mangled. A public meeting is to bo called in Christchurch to agitate for having the control of the Public Library transferred to the ratepayers,