SPORTING NEWS.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 304, 3 October 1888, Page 6

SPORTING NEWS.

By Htppobta.] ,

The Spring Meeting of' the ' Australian Jockey Club has engrossed the soleattention of turfites during the past week. Melos appears to have won the Derby verycleverly, if not easily, from Volley, and it looks as if Mr W. Gannon had a worthy successor to The Australian, Peer in this colt. I think that if he goes on all right he will be the hardest to beat in the Victorian Derby. Melos comes from a great racing family, , and is brod like a Blue Ribbon winner. He is by Goldsbrough (son of the New Zealand Stud Company's mare Sylvia), out of Melody, by The, Barb — Mermaid, by Fisherman — Sweetheart, by Red Hart, Melesina, the grand dam of Richmond and Bosworth, What better lines of blood can you have than this ? Melos wa« bred by Mr Frank Reynolds, of the Tocal Stud (N.S.W.), and cost his present owner 500 guineas when a yearling. The Metro- , politan Stakes saw Lamond, the favourite, j get home from Arsenal and Abercorn, but the two latter covered themselves with glory, for they were giving away to their victor a terrible lump of weight. Lamond appears to have made the pace from the fall of the flag, eventually running home the easiest of winners by eight lengths. His easy victory has been the means of bringing him to the top of the quotations for both the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups, for which events he has now to carry a 141b, penalty, bringing up his weight respectively to 7st l?.Ib and 7sb 91b. Lamond's party have him very heavily backed for the Caulfield Cup, so that they stand on velvet at the presenttime. Lamond was got by Newminster (son of The Marquis) out of Axiom, by Firestick — Theorem, by King Alfred — Proposition (imp. ) Volley's running in tho Derby and Oaks disposes of her chance for the Victorian Derby, and it looks as if the honours of the "blue and white" banner will have to be carried in that event by Ensign. The way in which this colt won the Trial Stakes shows that he is little below first class. Carlyon appropriated the race last year, cutting out the mile and a quarter in exactly the same time, 2min 13sec. Mr John Marshall has had to put up with no end of hand-shaking this woek over the victory of Pearl Shell in the Oaks. After the filly's bad running in the Derby, her success could not be looked for, and no one was more surprised when the result reached here than Mr Marshall himself. Fillies are such fickle creatures that it may be Lamond will not get the daughter of Musket at her best for the Melbourne Cup Meeting, but if he does pbe will piny a prominent part in the " classic " events. By the time these lines reach my readers Carbine will be near Sydney Heads. I have not been able to find out if Mr OBrien has parted with the colt or otherwise, but it seems strange that such an astute general should run the risk of taking the colt across to win the Victorian Derby, and leave behind him two good things (on paper) in the shape of tho Canterbury Derby and Cup. In referring to Carbine's departure "Hermit" had the following in his notes last week ; — Carbine is not a taking horse to the eye, at least to my eye, but he no doubt can gallop, even if he is a bit slow at the beginning, and he looks as if weight would not trouble him. He is a deceptivelooking animal, and I do not fancy the touts at Flemington will fall in love with him, as in his work he does not show fco advantage, being a terribly lazy horse. The cable tells us that Lamond has been basked for the Melbourne Cup at 10 to 1. The- colfc-.'jHfr JbaTe^st 91b to carry, and to win he will have frb'fee a better three-year-old than The Australian Peer, Trident, Nordenfeldt, or Abercorn." Each of these failed to get home, and Lamond's performances up to the present are certainly below the quartette named. The Hon. W. Robinson's colt Exchange is doing strong ,w<>rk again at Riccarton. It is reported from .Yaldhurst that Maxim has bruised a heelj and is walking lame. The rest of Mr Stead's team in work are doing well. Word comes from Melbourne that the thoroughbred stallion St. Albans has had to be destroyed. He had been ailing fora considerable time, and it was deemed charitable to end his sufferings. St. Albans wa? an imported horse by Blair Atliol (son of Stockwell and Blink Bonny), from Pandora, by Catherstone (son of 1 Touchstone), from Polydora, by Priam, and had sired many good winners, amoncr -vhich the best, perhaps, were Meteor, Lady Betty, Blink Bonny, Malua and Sheet Anchor. The "New Zealand Turf Record " for the past season is in the press. Mr F. G. Whetham, the energetic compiler, hopes to issue the work about the end of next week. Particulars are now to hand of the Hawkesbury County Parse, won by Cinderella. Plutarch started favourite at 3to 1. Cinderella, Keibh, and Pet Girl were heavily supported at 4to 1. Pet Girl never was dangerous at any part of the race, and the same may be said of Keith, but Plutarch looked all over a winner till well inside the distance post, when ne was cut down by Cinderella, who won comfortably and landed her division a good stake. The time lmin. 42sec. , and the quality of those she defeated (says a Sydney paper) tell their own tale of the merit of the performance, and Cinderella may well be regarded as a worthy successor of Mitoailleuse. The " Australasian " publishes a full list of winning owners for the past season. According to this the Hon. James White /on.cc more heads the list, the Squire of Kirkham having won more than four times the amount won by any other owner. The total amount of his winnings is £16,728, so that he must have had a substantial balance in hand at the end ol the season. In four ye k ars Mr White has won no less 1 than £55,000 in stakes, and his stud is now four times as valuable as it was a few years ago. Well, no man better deserves to be successful on the turf, and if some of our wealthy sportsmen were to adopt the same system as he does they would not have to be continually deploring their bad luck. Mr Whitens luck consists of good management and straightgoing. Mr William Gapnon is only a moderate second, with £3750, but he means to make a bold bid for first place bhis season. Another New South Wale's turfman—the Hon. W. A. Long— is third on the list. _ * The starters for the Hawkesbury Handicap, in addition to The Queen, "Plutarch and Blarney— the placed horses— we,re Pasha, Keith, Leichhardt, First Flaneur, La Grange, Dagobert, Lyndhurst and Elsie, The latter started favourite at 3 to 1. , Up to August 3rd J. Watts stood at the head of the English winning jockeys on the 'flat with 62 victories - r for 274 mounts- F., Barrett 61 for 319 races, and nearest "to them came S. Loates, -47 in 226; } W t , Robinson, 46 in 263 ;,F- Kickaby, 41 in 270, and T. Weldon, 31 in 132. AIL this riding: was done between March 19th and August 3rd.,, ' , v _ \, >, s ,;•':■' i," "Hippo,", the Napier scribe, t had/a look, over Keans horses soon after' they ;were landed, andthis is wKathesays/oithein :—„< Cuirassier is a very big.browncoltr showing lots of power' and i quality;* bub^doeß ' not;>

look very' forward itiT condition*.* Leopold, is rather a small chestnuts',' colt, but looks strong. He also strikes me as being rather big in Escutohson is a big bay colt, with splondid quarter^. 'He looks in his box a long, 'raking^ speedy' colt, and appears to be in very forward condition. Ac they were in rather dark boxes I could not see them very well, but I was' greatly taken with Escutcheon. Fusillade has been taken up to the Waikato to perform stud duties. The first of Tasman's stock this season has made its appearance, the onco speedy Galatea producing a colt foal to the "N.Z. Cup winner of 1883, but the youngster died two days after birth. Among other foalings chronicled I notice that the union of Mr Stead's mare Iris with Martini-Henry has resulted in the production of a colt foal, and that Rose d' Amour (dam of Pasha) has produced a filly to Nbrdenfeldc. The first I foal by Musk Rose made its appearance at Calstock (Tasmania) on the 28th ult,, when Tho West foaled a brown' filly to the wellbred son of Musket. After the first day's racing at Forbury (writes "Sir Launcelot"), Haka was sold by Mr OBrien to Mr Kett, of Tokomairiro, for 150gs; with a^urbher contingency of a " tenner " in the event of his proving successful in the Hurdle Race. He won this event easily', and it is curious that ho made such an inglorious exhibition of himself on the first day by baulking at the second fence in the Steeplechase, seeing: that in his schooling work at Ricoarton he had always shaped well over big obstacles, but had generally bungled the little sticks. Another Chrisbchuich horse that was sold at the meeting was Waitangi, who is now an inmate of J. Poole'a stable. In the. .race for the Hawkesbury Guineas, Lamond had most followers ,at the post, and so* persistent were the public in according their patronage that the ring men declined to do businoss unless at 7 to 4 "on." Bonnie Spec met with some support at 5 to 2, while 10 to 1 was offered against Melos. Latnond and Bonnie Spec had their heads in front tor the greater portion of the journey, and the latter being beaten soon after landing in the rails, Lamond looked all ovei a winner. Melos, however, pub in a powerful claim at the distance, and fairly galloping over Lamond, bpat him cleverly by a little more than a lenguh. Melos's victory was a complete surprise to hie stable connections. Writes " Rata" :■— FitandAvellatthepost, I fancy the winner of the New Zealand Cup could easily be spotted in Lorraine, but perhaps it will be well nigh impossible to bring him to the post fit now even in the event of his standing. At the meeting of the Dunedin Jockey Club to confirm the rules adopted Ly the Metropol tan Clubs for the restriction of the use of the totalisator, the Hon. G-. McLean said :—": — " Everyone must feel that the totalisator has been the means of providing funds for legitimate racing, and anyone who understands the matter, or who thinks it out, must come to the conclusion that of all systems of betting the totalisator is the most equitable and the most conducive to that honest racing which we all desire." Some of the up-country clubs in Otago have turned rusty over the rules, but their threatened opposition is not expected to culminate in anything serious. - * Mr Peicy Tattersall, a former resident of Sydney, writes the following letter on " Inbreeding" to the "London Sporting Life" : — " I have observed thatfortunate in-breed-ing for the turf w as, and 'is, usually and distinctly maternal in its nature, albeit, the close in -breed ing of the successful sire, Wisdom, to the own brothers, Stockwell and Rataplan, is a notable exception. Inbred b3' maternal channels, chiefly, is the recentwinner, Gay Hampton, whosestronger lines revert to Priam, who was described as a horse not of a decisively masculine type — a mareiih-looking sire, it was said. Priam seems to have excelled as a filly getter (and did not, too, his half-brother, Plenipotentiary ?). Cricifix, Weatherbib, Cossack, &c, are instances- ,in..- Priam's case. His srandsire, Orville, that illustrious fore-elder of best British, American, and Australasian strains, was himself in-bred to Herod, Highflyer's sire, through his dam, Evelina, and Beningborough, his sire's dam (by Herod from Pyrrha). Sires in-bred to such heroes of the harem as Touchstone, Stockwell, Birdcatcher &c, are and have been by no means scarce. Chattanooga, who, had he survived the voyage to Australia, might have begotten colonial Plaisanteries, was in -bred Co Pocahontos, or, say, her sire Gloncoe.' Galopin has a double Voltaire crobs (in spite of Dr. Shorchouse's denunciation of the tribes tap-root) through Vojtigeur and Merope. Mr Peck's Bullion has double crosses of each — Touchstone and Votigcur, and Petrach blends the final Touchstone through Newminster and his (Petrach 's) Orlando dam Laura. Gay Hampton's prominent ancestor, Priam, by-the-by, was in-bred to Whisky, a grandson of Eclipse, and at Herod (maternally)."