SPORTING NEWS.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 253, 25 April 1888, Page 3

SPORTING NEWS.

*_ fHy Uii'i'ONv in Auckliiml "Stav."|

Tin: Victoria Racing Club «iro determined not (>o bo behind tho times, and their programmes foi noxt season which have jusst been draw n up show that they have handsomely increased the added money of l/ho next Melbourne Cup. The winner will iceoho L' 3,000 instead ot C 2,500, tho second horse L'6oo instead of C5OO, and the third horse. t!300 instead of £250. The .sweepstakes has also been increased horn C2O to C 25 each horse. It has aKo been provided that tho dinner of an\ handicap i.tee ot t'l,O(H) or upward .-4iall cany 141b penalty, the gieat'M. penalty pi ovided toi List ye.v beinu JOlb. The Melbourne Slakes has been mci eased fiom l'3oo (o CbOO and Ihe lioyal Paik Stakes has been raised to C3OO, and .idditional penalties pi o\ uled tor. On the lomth da\ i.he \". U C. Handicap added mono.v, i.s altered tiom (."300 Lo L'4oo, while t ho distance ot the Canicibuiy Plate has been iuci eased from two and a halt miles to tluce mile*. A1 t.ho ne\fc Aiihimn Meeting the addeci moiu) in the New - m.irkel Handicap has been incieas.'d trum CbOOto 11000, and the added monc\ in the l']»son(h)ii Stakes has been laised fioih L"250 to C4OO. On t lie second da\ the conditions of the Maiden Plate aie alteied to allow two \ <\u -olds |o rompele, ,md (hey will ha\e to e.u i \ 7st 21b The added motu/y to the All au'inl Stakes h,is been inclined tiom 1250 lo C4OO, <uu\ in the Kteeplecha-e tiom C5OO to L'7so. Altogether the rcxiscd programme toi next season sjiou.s that the (otiil ot the a<ldcd inone\ has been inci eased tiom i.22,850 to t'26,000. The inciciso m the \.iluo ot stakes i> all lound, the iii'MC'ise foi m cund and thiid iiioney beinu tiom 10 to 20 pei cent This week's steamei hom^ydnev, bioiitihi,iii inquuy asking tin- pi lee of Hilda, the two-\i\u-old lieioine of the A.R.C. Autumn Meeting it wa- stipulated that she must have ongagemcnls m .some of the Aus tialian thiee-\e;u -old iaee^, but as a pencil ot the li^ts showed that Hilda had not been entered, undei the ciieumstanees no deal i^ hkt_ls toiesull. The intending p\ivch.HCi 1 hear \\a- pieparul to ui\e a decent liLjuro tor the danghtei ot Musket. Thesums w on in ntikesduiing the pipsent. season In the Hon. .la^. Whire total L' 17.213 14s ; .Mi \Y, Cannon follows with L' 5,902 7s 6d : then corner the lion \\ . A. Lonir^itli L"4.7."»2, Mi W. (\ Cooper L' 3,520, and Mi 11 o\enham L"2,473. During the last lacing season in lOngland, only one ownei — Mi Abingt'Mi --was c edited with a lamei sum (T20J24 10s) than the squiie of Knkham has netted uj> to the present The Cat's \iefoiv in the Takapuna Autumn Handicap on Sa'urdaj was one ot the bi'4'xest boil o\eis (hat ha\e taken place on the Noi ih Shoie couisc. " Pus-,,'" as he isteimed. went lo the tiont soon aftei the fdl of the fla^, Jinf l ne\et aftciwaids giving theofhei tlnee stai teis a chance, litualiy walked in, ht^ on the totalizator leeching the nice dividend ot tj 13 15s toi then Ll investment. The sfable eonneelion- onl\ had one ticket, on the machine between them, owin^ to beinu di-jj'u-ted at the hor-e -> limning at ftp-Mim and at pic\ious meetings thi-sea-on. Shaw, the bin who had the mount, had ne\ci lidden a race in public befoie. The Cat is noted amon<; loe.il laec-^oei's toi an annual and it will be ie membeicd that at thi- peiioil two seasons airoheal-o won the Autumn Handicap .it TaUapuna, pa^inn .i €17 diudend, while la^t dune he won the Onelninn i Winter Oats Handicap, hi^ supportei-^ on the majhinc leeching L'2l 13s. Tin's hit t ei was the only race The Cat won last season out of <-e\enteen stai ts. One of the most di-eu--cd topic- in Ails tialia is the ielati\c mciitsot Abeicorn and The Austiali.m lVei, and tuitlle- arc at .i los», now that tin i.iting •-c.i >n is piacti(mlln .it an (Mid, w Inch to dub '"tin colt of the -ea-on. Altoni thei i!hm two <^reat uvals have met nine turn- They lu-t mcasiued -tiides in the A.I.C. l)eil\\, when Abeiiorn won in a c.inter tiom Xiaiiata, witii The .\u-Liahan Peei third, in 2 minutes 391 s (VO n(ls : but the oidei ot Ihings was ie\ ci'sed in the Vietoiia I)eib\, wheieiu The I'eei deteatel hi-- opponent, who lan a dead heat with Xiauaia foi -econd place, bv n length, in 2 minutes 40 seconds At the \iinc mectinir The I'eei , 7st 51b, ian thiid to Dunlop and Siheimitie foi the tautest Mellitnune Cup e\er inn, w Inlc Aboieoin, 7->t 71b lailtd to net neai thefiont, and on the towitli day of the meeting fin ther pi o\ ed his o\er the ehe-tnut by beatinj; bun c le\ei!^ tox thu Cauteibun Plate, 2 ', miles, in4minutes4s seconds. Thcii next contest was toi the V.J'.C. St. Lcg-ci, l t mile and 132 y.ud-, when Auercom be^an to tuin the ttibles and beat him !>> (hieo quai Lei - oi a length in 3 lo]. Then came tneii meeting m The A.J.C.St. Lever, I,• mile, in w Inch they cantcicd, waiting upon each othei until about live fui longs fiom home, whenthe> settled down to race, and Abercorn's sujjerior pace enabled him to get home with ,inad\antagc ot a length and a half in the w i etched Jy slow time ot 3 51. On the third day, with Arsenal to help him, The Peer aAcngcd liis St. Lejrcr detent by lowoiimr Abei coin's coloui^ in the Cumboiland Stakes, 2 mile-, by a lenuth and a quarter, in 3 minutes ,%j second- Their last engagement was in the Australian Jockey Club Plate, 3 miles, when, attei a wonderfully exciting iacc, Abeicorn proved that the Chesteis can stay by beating the son of Uaicbin by two lengths in 5 minutes 37^ seconds. Anyone who can split such foim, and tell us whether the Hon. .lames \\ hite has a bettci colt than that possessed by Mr William (Jannon, oi whether the lattei has a better animal than ihat owned by the Squire of Kirkham, must be clover indeed, and the future must decide which gentleman has the honour oi possessing " the colt of the season." I gather from a late Sydney paper that after the conclusion of the A..1.C. Mooting, the i dative merits of the Auckland-bred mare Mitrailleuse and the Caulfield Cup winner JBen Bolt were discussed, and hints were thrown out that a match should be made to run a distance of six furlongs with Bst 71b each. Several other proposals were made by interested people, till at length a challenge was issued on behalf of the mare to run Ben Bolt three-quarters of a mile, each to carry Bst 7lb, tho former laying l,ooogs. to €1,000, and allowing C5O expenses, to be run at Randwick. Nothing came of it, however. At a recontsalo in Sydney, Rocket, by Anteros, and Mirella, by Hornby — Mirella, both of whom were taken across by Mr A, Drake, were put under the hammer. Rocket brought 45 guineas, Mr Swan being the buyer, while Mirella found a purchaser in Mr E. Weckes, the Indian trader, at 160 guineas. Subsequently Mirella was re-sold to Mr Sinclair, of Rockhampton (Queensland), and she has already been taken to her new home. Touchstone, by Vespasian from drey Esperance, who ran prominently for the | greater part of the distance in the Sydney i Cup, has been bought by Mr W. (Gannon, and ho will join Arsenal, The Australian Peer and Co. in Kayner's stable. The price paid for him is said to have been £500. One of the sensations of the recent A.. J.C. Meeting was Lady Betty's defeat of Grant, brook in the All-aged Stakes. Backerlaid the odds of 5 to 2 on tho Newmarket Handicap winner, but he had to put up

with a half - length dofout, Lady Betty making all tho running. Tho time recorded for tho milo was lmin 43sec. Lady Botty's brilliant ])orformanco caused Mr W. Cooper to withdraw her from sale, and the well-performed daughter of St Albans will be left in charge of .1. JFoulsham, who will continue to race her in Air Cooper's popular colours during that gentleman's absence in England. Australian scribes appear to liavo como to the conclusion that after all Lady Betty is> tho be&t two-year-old of the year, and opine that she will be the hardest to beat in the classic races next spring. " Vigilant" remarks:— J don't like fillies for a Dorby or Lcger, but taking the A, I. C. AllAgctl Stakes running as a guide, which of tho two-year-olds that performed at Randwiek this autumn can have any show with Lad> Betty in cither race? 1 may mention en jxvsmnt that this beautifully- bred filly is engaged in our Derby, Oaks, Foal Stakes, and Legor. Referring to the two-year old iorm, the wcll-intormed wiiter on the "Sydney Telegraph " also makes tho iolI owing common trf :—: — Lady Betty gnllopa like n stayer, .so does Loiwlale, while an impression has gained ground amon» a few good judges that Volley does not, and notwithstanding that Pearl Shell ie said to be many pounds infciior to cither, a vast mistake will lie made if her merits arc gauged b) the torm .she displayed at Randwiok. " Sho didn't look herseli " was tho opinion of many old racegoers, and change ot climate and travelling so much soon alter hei ariivalfiom Neu Zealand were mainly the cause ol her easy deloats. She \\;\~> also unfortunate in being called upon to meet such a flyer as Volley, which placed bejond all doubt that she is at lca-t on a par with the* best ot torinui yeai.s. Commenting on the A..1.C. Autumn Meeting, " Martindalo ' wiitos : — Foi icallv -.olid galloping both the Cutnbci land Stakes and the A.-J.C. Plate were tail specimens. The time occupied by The Ausiialian Peer in the last mile and a quaiter ot the Cumberland Stakes wa2min 9^ec ; while in the A..1.C. Plate the last mile and a quarter occupied 2min II 4-5 >cc, and the List si\ turlongs lmiu 20soo. Tho winning ot (ho, Australian .lockov Club Plate caused Mr White to again head the list of winning owncis ; his cheque being 12,998 14-. Tiieie was gicat rivalry between JSI r White and Mi (Jannon ; bets having been made at the late . M.C. mooting that (.he latter would be the heav iei winner at Randwick. The lichost. -take run tor during the AuLumn Mooting of the Australian .Jockey Club was the Sydney Cup, the owner of the winner receiving €1,165, aiifl the second and third C2OO and L'loo respectively Next in point oi value was the St. Lcger, Abci corn's share ot the «=take being C 605, while the owner ol The Australian Peer became entitled to ClOO, and hr-t place in the Champagne Stakes was woith t'62o, in addition to which the second received t!5O and the thiid saved his .stake. Among the remaining races the richest H'!b the Fhst Foal Stakes .C6SS, and Abercorn's Plate victory increased his season's winnings bj C 429. The odds oi 3 to 1 weie laid on Australian Poci in tho A..J C. Cumheiland Stakes. Thousands ot faithful iollouois of the "blue and white "stuck n'uht manfully to their colours, and accepted the odds about Abcrcom. Ai-enal toiccd tho running for a couple ot miles, when Tho Australian Peer took command and. trying to run Aboi - coin flown, made the pace veiy merry for the lost of the trip. After pas^ng the halt-mile po^t the favourite commenced to j.iltci, ,wd Abcrcorn, challenging him when about 80 yards trom the post, out-paced and boat him by two lengths, amidst a ■-cone of excitement and enthusiasm that will never be forgotten. It is said that never beioio has Randwick. or any race oouisc in Australia, ic^oundcd with such loud and piolonged chceiing. " Ma/c)>pa '" has compiled a tublc yiviuti the perfoi manors of the New Zealand two year-old 1 * and the amounts they 'nave won this season. Carbine heads the li^-t, having won t'1,230, and has the. iocord of not lieing defeated in the live, races ho ha- .-taited foi. Pcail Shell has won L'B3l ; bomnoil, USR4; Hilda, C 50 4: Chic, I" 169; Adulation, L"438 ; Keeluso, L"214 ; Havens, wing, H2\6: Wolveiine, Ll8l): M.mton. L 169; Redvvood, C 166; Leopold, L'ISE : Man Fuda},i:io4: Piudcnoo. f 1 00 ; Excliangc, L'9s : and Taitai, L7O. Thc-c wcic the leading v\ innei s out oi the 53 m the list.