SPORTING. From " Auckland Star."

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 239, 28 January 1888, Page 3

SPORTING. From " Auckland Star."

The weights for the Newmarket Handicap and Australian Cup are due on Monday. New Zealanders will pc interested to see what imposts Mr Barnard will allot to Nelson and Spade Guinea. Will the lastnamed bloom in the Australian Cup or Sydney Cup ? Lioness, the four-year-old daughter of Leolinus and Miss Laura, came out of her shell on Saturday last in the Onehunga Cup, which race she won in a canter. Tlie public went for Antelope, her stable companion, in tho machine, and because she did not win, there were the usual number of " know-alls " who were unkind enough to assert that the daughter of Apremont was not wanted. Her owners, I know for a fact, backed her on the machine, I think that I am safe in saying Antelope has won more money for Auckland backers this season than any horse that has started, and simply bocause she gets defeated on a course like that at Onehunga, all kinds of accusations are made. Can we wonder if horse-owners shauld beconverted into rogues when racegoers are so ungrateful? Lioness was trained at the hands of painstaking Harry Harrison, and he also annexed a couple of races by the aid of Capella. From Melbourne I learn that the Hon. E. Mitchelson's colt Whakawai is one of the most improved colts at Fleraington, and that Escutcheon is also doing well. Walter Hickenbotham has charge of Enfillade, and there is a marked improvement noticeable in the colt of late. There was a deal of curiosity at the Onehunga race-meeting to see how tho recent arrival, Kangaroo, would shape. A great number were enamoured with his chance in the Hurdle Race, and when the totalisator closed, he was just as good a favourite as either Peter Osbeck or Coral. The horse is an excellent jumper, and possesses a fair amount of pace, but he was a long way from being wound-up on Saturday. Kangaroo came down in the Steeplechase, and met with a rather nasty fall. Mr Gollan purchased Hippodamia's yearling sister from Mr Walters, and not the Hippocampus— Grand Duchess colt, aa I stated last week. The first payment for the Dunedin Cup shows that out of the 44 handicapped by Mr Dowse, 19 remain in. Tho notable withdrawals from the list are Mr Stead's trio, Maxim, Lochiel and Sextant. The registered owner of the " yellow jacket and black ca P" nas now only Gipsy King and Beresford left to represent him in the race, and if Nelson sees the post, one of the three should supply the winner. The following is a lisfc of the acceptors i —

The appearance of the weights for the Dunedin Cup led to no watering of aignific&vce in the South, but Gipsy King was installed nominal favourite. Inquiries were made for Nelson, Beresford, Hermitage, Ruby, Springston, Quibble, First Lord, and one or two others, but these were backed for trifling amounts, and the prices are of no value as quotations. Referring to this state of things, " Senex " writes :—: — Before we had such a plethora of racing as has been engendered by the totalisator the issue of the handicap for the Dunedin Cup was one of the great evencs of the racing year, for this Cup was, in the pretotalisator epoch, the vehicle of more betting than any other race in New Zealand. Books to any extent were opened on it, and every trifling alteration in the odds was keenly noted as an indication of some fresh favourite in the market, as if on the eve of an English Derby, and it would be well within. the mark if stated that throughout New Zealand £20,000 was booked about the horses before the weights had been declared twenty-four hours. Christchurch was in those days well supplied with bookmakers, in fact it was their headquarters ; but in these degenerate days the extenfc,,of all the books here would not amount to £500, and it is difficult to obtain now even a quotation. I should think that all connected with Magnesia, and the speculative public to boot, must be heartily sick of the mare after the numerous times she has disappointed them. She was made a "pot " for Saturday's Steeplechase at Onehunga, but after leading tho field till about a mile from home, she fell and once more put her supporters in a hole. Magnesia has never yet succeeded in winning a steeplechase, and it is tolerably certain that those who stand off her will be mo3t in pocket at the end. The mare can both go fast and jump well, but her heart is in the wrong place. The Canterbury Jockey Club intend calling a meoting of members to consider the question of taking over the Steeplechase Meetings hitherto held u«der the auspices of the New Zealand Grand National Club. The Great Northern Derby' entries for 1889-90 are now complete, and tot up to the very respectable number of 83, against 72 last year, 69 in 1887, and 78 in 1886. The "foreign" nominators for the race are the Hon. G. H. Clifford, Hon. W. Robinson, Hon. G. McLean and MessrsH.,Red wood, F. H. Pyne, Stead, Butler, Cutt*, J. Paul and Gollan. The Great Northern Foal Stakes has secured an entry of 91, the New Zealand Stud Company contributing 31 of the number. The Christchurch Middle Park Stud Company figure in the list wi&h 8 entries, Mr Vy. Walters has 6, and the Hon. G, McLean 5. Since the appearance of the acceptances for tho Dunedin Cup, Gipsy King and Nelson have been supported by local backers at sto 1. The following are the prices now on offer in Auckland : — 3 to 1, Gipsy King ; 5 to 1, Nelson ; 6 to 1, Beresford j 8 to 1, Artillery; 10 to 1, Lady Norah, Tetford, Snapshot, Springston, and Quibble. Rose d 'Amour (dam of Pasha), who has been on a visit to Nordenfeldt at Sylvia I Park, was shipped to Wellington by the s. 8. Waihora on Thursday last. R. Derritt is at the head of the winning jookeys in New Zealand up to date this season, having, ridden 15 winners. Dodd, ! comes next with 14, while Huxtable has had 13, and Woods 12 winning mounts. j i What a wonderful man the Hon. W. Robinson is for disagreeing with his trainers and jockeys. The latest in this line' concerning the Canterbury sportsman is that ; he /has returned, to his old love by re-en* | gaglng;Bob,Ray to look after the horse3,he hal in training. ' ■„'.' Auckland Tattersall's Club have . fixed .their, race meeting , to take place on J Saturday, tha • .11th < February, i and the . gathering will take place ab Bllejrsfie,' k the A.R.C., having . granted* Use of tho course. The programme; which ,w*ap . published , this Jieeeki .comprises seven, ,eyent}j,r*n&it-isf,not too much to say ihat it' is 4^©ofthtfbestthat have beonipufcforth this :s»a»on. i .Tattersall'a Club Cap of 60 so vs..

Handicap Steeplechase of 60sovs., Leap Year Hurdle Race of 50sovs., and an Inauguration Stakes of 40sovs. (for two and three -year -olds) are the loading items of the bill of fare. A commendable feature in the conditions of the Maiden Plate is that the competitors are to be ridden bybona fide, stable boys who have never won an advertised race. MrW. YV. Robinson will allot the weights. More bad luck in connection with Silvermine. While making a po.<il-viortem examination of Silvermine, Mr F. W. Day, tho veterinary surgeon, was seized with a severe attack of illnes?. Ho is now under the doctor's care, but nothing serious is anticipated. " Senex " thinks that First Lord is pitchforked into the Dunedin Cup with 7st. 41b. In a long paragraph condemning Mr Dowse for his very lenient treatment of the colt, my confrere says :— As a two-year-old he proved himself the best colt of his year, and since then he has only appeared once or twice in public, and then when entirely out of condition. I maintain that no handicapper has a ri«-ht to relieve a horse of weight on such evidence as that, and whether the horse wins or not that his 7st 41b is a blot on the handicap. Horses more dead than he have come to life again. A Dunedin writer thus refers to the colt's condition : — At present First Lord is doing all that is asked of him, and has already put in some heavy sweats, but I don't guarantoe that he will survive the stiff gallops yet before him. Local turfites have been taking some interest this week in the Sydney Anniversary Handicap, which come 3 up for decision at Randwick on the 28th January. The race is a most open ono, and there is every probability of a good field going to the post, for the stake alone is worth 2,ooosovs. The chances of the Melbourne Cup winner, Dunlop, appear to be highly thought of for the race, but he has a big weight to carry in 9st 7ib, and on their past form I prefer both Acme and Cardigan to him. My ' ' tip" to backers, though, is to follow the market in Australian races, no matter what their particular fancies may be. It is a pretty certain sign that if a horse does not figure in the betting quotations before the flag ! falls, ho is not a trier. The name 3 of those who have paid up the first acceptance for the race are as under :—: —

A Eoxton correspondent informs <l Sir Launcelot " that Uranus, the hero of the jumping events at the A.R.C. Summer Meeting, was bred by Mr Goggin, a settler in Campbelltown, and is by Blair Athol out of a Kakapo mare. Blair Athol was by Ravensworth out of Moss Ross, and was therefore half-brother to Red Rose (dam of York and granddam of Black Rose), Sweetbriar (dam of Chancellor), and Wild Rose (dam of Grand Duke and Rosebud). Mr J. R. Russell, the Secretary of the Foxton Racing Club, owns a three-year-old halfbrother to Uranus, got by Papapa, who has not yet appeared in public. It is said that the Australian Jockey Club is probably the richest club in Australia, having somewhere between £15,000 and £20,000 "at its bankers," Of two evils choose the least. In Tasmania recently, a horse named Romping Girl went out for the Flying Handicap at Brighton carrying 58lbs overweight, his owner electing to do this rather than submit to the line attached to late scratching. A good stud of jumping horses should pay their way in France. The business for one season at an Auteuil meeting alone comprises one steeplechase with £2,000 added, one with £1,200, and one with £1,000, two with £600, one with £500, and sixteen with £400, to say nothing of one hurdle race with £1,000 added, and a great many others with £160, £200, and £240 added to them. These prizes, not to mention some hundred and twenty others, are distributed over thirty-seven days' racing. English statistics show that the principal winning sire of the season is Hampton, his stock having won sixty-two races of the value of £31,779. Hermit comes ne\t with £24,665, boing well ahead of Springfield, whoso figures are £20,550. Isonomy, for a young sire, stands well with £18,207. One of the most interesting returns published at the close of the English racing season is that which relates to the winning mounts of the principal jockeys ; and for 13 years in succession the late F. Archer, who rode 2,748 winners out of 8,085 mounts, was at the head of the list. For seven seasons out of eight C. Wood was second to him ; and, with Archer gone, Wood this season takes his place. He has, however, won only 151 races, or 16 les3 than he did last year, out of 510 mounts. Watts, who nas ridden in 451 races, stands second with 110 victories to his credit; among them being the Derby on Merry Hampton, and the Jubilee Stakes and the Champion Stakes on Bondigo. The only other jockey whose winning mounts reach three tigures is Gt. Barrett, who has ridden much oftener than any other, haying been 581 times in the saddle and having won 106 races. A kindly tribute to the memory of the ill-fated jockey, Alec. Robertson, was paid in a practical manner by the Hon. W. Pearson during the progress of the sale of Kilmany Park stock at Kirk's Bazaar. The deceased has left behind htm a wife and widowed mother, who reside at Geelong. A bay filly by Venom — Renown (full sister to Boolka) did not realise a suitable offer. Mr Pearson bid 50 guineas for the animal on behalf of Alec's mother. If anybody liked to giro that figure, or over, for the filly the money tvould be given to the aorrow-strickon woman. Mr Campbell, junior, who was the auctioneer, dwelt upon the generosity of Mr Pearson, and hoped that other racing men with " big hearts " would follow the example so worthily set. He also eulogised the deceased in these words, "No better man ever lived than the jockey Robertson." Anent running horses dead, the "Canterbury Times " in a leading article last week | makes the following true remarks :—: — " The public are generally very good i \ judges of racing and its surroundings, but ; there is one point upon which they almost I invariably allow their prejudice to override ' their judgment. Scarcely a meeting takes place without some owner or rider being loudly charged with ' stiffening ' — which means, we may explain to the uninitiated, that the horse controlled by the offenders ' has bten ' purposely .prevented -from, winning — ana on more than one occasion' we have Heard .of half-a-do/en or more ca-es in the same day. There can- be no doubt in the world that horses are sometimes run to lose, but these are the rate exceptions, not the rule, as some people would have us believe. Backers-^and almost every Visitor to a racooourse is a -backer nowadays — are ever on ithe ( alerb for sqme^excuse forHhef defeat 63 .their favourites, ilt is more satiifactory to attributo the ions of your money to the ras-

cality of a jockey than to your own lacjc of judgment ; and besides, an acute eye for the discovery of fraud, real' or imaginary,. passes for a sporting accomplishment. We are satisfied that nine tenths of the charges of this description are without reasonable foundation ; but, on the other hand, it is possible that a largo proportion of actual offenders escape suspicion."

On© of Hie beat cricket stories ever heard was one old Tom Lockyer used to tell. A. rural wiulder of tho willow had his off stump knocked clean out the fhsb ball The other two stumps remained standing, and the bumpkin, instead of retiring to the pavilion, kept his ground. " You'ro oi.t, sir," said old Tom, who was wicket- keeper, and for his reply lie got, " Not me." "Nonsense,"" replied Wkyer, "look at that stump knocked down; you're out fair enough. "Am I?" returned the yokel, "Well I shan't go out , if there's one stump down there's two up, and in our country we're like members of Parliament, we go by the majority." " Felix " Horan, the well-known Australian cricketer, remarks on the recent match between Victoria and New South Wales, which was won by the latter with two wickets tospare :--"To sum up, it was a greut match, one of the very best we have ever had. Genuine interest was manifested by the spectators, and as the game varied in its phases, so varied the enthusiasm and excitement, which reached its highest point during the last fow overs, when three New South Wales wickets fell without a rua being added. There is not much difference between the two teams, and those wLttfancied that our men were very inferior to the Now South Welshmen will now alter their opinion. On fine wickets right through Victoria is quite as good as New* South Wales, but on sticky wickets the mother colony would, I fancy, win about five times in seven. Though one or two mistakes were made, the umpiring gave satisfaction. The takings amounted to £475, and only for the poor display of Victoria in the first innings the attendance would have been like old times. It is to be said, though, that the match was not sufficiently advertised." Joe Warbrick (so a Southern paper says) is getting up a team of native players to meet the English Rugby football team, who promise to pay New Zealand a visit next season. He has got his backs, and now wants some forwards. G. Haylett (of New Zealand) made at* attempt to lower Smith's (of Tasmania) 12 hours' walking record at the Pavilion* Launceston, an Boxing Bay, but, after going 47 miles and 2 laps in 8 hours and a quarter, he had to retire owing to ill health. Smith's record was 63 miles, so, if Haylefcfc had been able to keep on, he could easily have beaten it. Harry Bebhune, one of the fastest sprinfc runners in America, left St. Louis, Mo., for San Francisco, en route to Australia, last week, says the "Turf, Field and Farm" on December 9th. He was born in Cornwall, Ont., in 1861, and went to the Pacific coast about three years and a half ago. He previously was amateur champion of Canada at 100 yds, 200 yds, and at hurdles at the latter distance. In Salinas, Cal.» below Santa Cruz, in 1885, he ran a runner posing as "Clack of Missouri," for 2,500d0t a side, 125 yds, starting by mutual consent, and landed in 12£ see. Bethune thinks Quirk — who has just gone to England — will score in that country, where he has had very bad luck, having broken down twice. Bethune has been to England, but he has not run there, as his form has been too well exposed. He, however, hopes to yet make his mark in a Sheffield handicap. When asked why he turned professional, this speedy sprinter very pithily replied :_ " Well, you see in Canada there is a foot race going on every good day, and a fast man can pick up from 20dol to SOdol in. every village. I found that little fish are aweet, and these 5s and 10s come in veryhandy. I did not want to sail under false colours, and so took the money and dropped the amateur. ' Bethuno thinks that H. M. Johnson will soon turn up in Australia.

St. lb. Nelson ... 10 0 Gipsy King.,. 8 4 Tetford ... 8 0 Artillery ..8 0 Quibble ... 7 12 Snapshot ... 710 Beresford ... 7 9 Ruby 7 7 LadyNorah... 7 6 Hermitage ... 7 5 First Lord ... Torrent Apropos St. Clatr ... Springston ... Silvermark ... Brewer Captain Cook Wiidrake ... St. lb 7 < 7 ; 7 i 7 i 6 1 (> 1 6 ; 6 6 -

Dunlop Algerian Honeydew ... Acrae Spade Guinea Bon Bolt ... Cardigan Crossfire Lcichbardb ... Cairo... First yianenr Vespasia Phaon Ravensworth st Ib 9 7 9 3 9 0 8 12 8 12 8 4 8 0 7 12 7 12 7 12 7 10 7 8 7 8 7 6 Bowmont ... Corday Blarney The Queen ... Burrilda Cenfcaur Enigma Allandale ... Touchstone ... Upper Cut ... Sorella Peeress Rosebud Bfc 1b 7 4 7 4 7 2 7 2 7 2 7 2 7 0 6 12 6 10 6 8 6 6 6 4 6 0