SPORTING NEWS.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 334, 16 January 1889, Page 5

SPORTING NEWS.

New Zealand horses are well represented iv the entries for the Newmarket Handicap and the Australian Cup. Mr Stead has entered Lochiel for both races, and Maxim and Giosy King appear in the long-distance event. In addition figure the names of Sultan (Antelope's full-brother), Pearl Shell, Niagaia, Cuirassier, Tranter, Whakawai, Cinderella, Carbine, Aglaos, Enfilade, and Paddjr (Teddy Yuillc's brother). Weights for both events are due on the 28th of the present month. The exact; amounts passed through the totalisators at the Auckland Racing Club Summer Meetiner were as under :—lst: — 1st day, ■07,495 ; 2nd day, £9,419 : 3rd day, £7,824 : Total, £24,738. Last year the amounts were :— lsfe day, £0,925 ; 2nd day, £8,795 ; 3rd day. £8,484 : Total, £24,204. j The Hen. James White wa« in great form with his horses during- the A.J.C. and Tattersall's race meetings, held at Randwick on Boxing Day and the opening days of the New Year. Ho had six horses running, four of them being two-year-olds, and he annexed seven races. With MavtiniRenri's son Rudolph he gained the December stakes and Lady Carrington's Prize, and auother of Martini-Henri's progeny in Sinecure won tor the Kirkham squire the Flying Handicap and New Year's Gift f)->'u bier fields, while Plutarch won two iace-% and Spice (full-sister to Abercorn) ■j-ot home in the Nursery Handicap In T.sttersall's Cup Carlyon went out fa\oiuke at 5 to 2, but the 9st he carried proved too much, and he melted away at the distance. I see by Melbourne papers that Fores? t Queen, by Musket from Sylvia, and full sister to Martini- Henri, was submitted for public competition and passed iv at t*e resen c, 750gs. The highest bid was lOOgs. less than that amount. It is quite on the cards that Cuirassier and the two-year-old colt Corunna will be taken across to Melbourne to fulfil their Y.R.C. Autumn engagements. Both aie engaged in the several " classic" races. If Mr Stead sends over his team, to say mthing of Carbine, Pearl Shell and Neck let, we shall have a worthy lot to represent us at the head-quarters of racing. The Siunma 1 Meeting of the Victoiia Racing Club was noticeable for poor racing, and but one clo*e finish resulted. The much-coveted Normanby Stakes only attracted five starters, and Carringbon. who gave such great promise in the early spring. won lather easily ' f rom the elinHnsr Moutalt?, wbo canied a 141b penalty. The winner comes of a great family, being by {.lang Forward from Josephine, and consequently full brother to Hortense, who Avon the same race it: ISS7. Both jumping races went co Ballarac, Sir Launceiofc winning the Hurdles m Scobie's hand, carrying 12st 31b : and Corrig-an steered Flashlight, list 101b, to victory over the big jumps, each being a strong favourite For once the uncertain Box pulled his party through bj T winning the Standish Handicap, three quarters of a mile, easily with Bst, and he beat a good field including Dividend, Fishwife. Bravo, Newman ter, Bothwell, Dufterin, and Lady Betty. Malua, 9s t 6lb, was most inquired after of the seven runnci.-. of the Bagot Handicap of a mile and five furlongs., bui he could set no nearer than third to Recall, Bst 61b, and Pakeha. Bst 61b. It is not long ihe jockey Sanders piucbased Recall, so that he quickly has le'urned hit. outlay, the prize being worth £836. The running for the Middle P. irk ;nke» ab the Chri?tchurcli Midsummer Meeting brought the fact to light that Mr 1). OBrien owns a first-cla--^ coir, in Dun- t keld. a t?. o-year-old son of Awemont and , Atbole. He carried 141b o.es-we^nt m j order to ha\e the sjrvice^ oi Demtt. whiv.li makes the win all the more menroiiouss. Referring to Dunkeld' 1 win. " heiiex " write» : — '' The racing was ehietiy lvmai kable for the fine form <-hovi_n b\ O'Biicn's two-ycai-old, Dunkeld, and i am inclined to think that this astute judge ha:> .'.g'lin got hold ot a really crood animal, and one that will in all probability prove to be ihe best horse of hio year, following ah he does in the footsteps of Maxim and Cai bine, the winner of the Middle Paik Stakes, in the two pie\ious year. He appeared as a bwo-^ear old should, big m flesh and perhaps a bit soft, '-h owing that he is capable of great improvement when the time comes* icr stiingin^ him up properly, and when h>: nas let down and furnished out in the way that bib fine Irame cannot fail to do : indeed, to all appearance ho is a cole that i- likely to develop ma: c than either oi the abo\e mentioned colts showed si£n fc of doing at Ins age ; he is not so thick-set as Maxim wa--, nor *o racinglike as Carbine, but rather moie like v/h.'it Welcome Jack was at his uge, and the style in which ne won his race was that of a thorough racehorse.' I may mention that Dunkeld's dam Athole iei c out of the New Zealand Stud Company's mare Florence MacCarbhy. Martini-Henri gi\es promise of being 1 a great sire, for Rudolph and Sinecure, the only two of his piogeny that have yet spoited silk, have won almost at their £n>b effort. Speaking of Rudolph, ■•Martindale '' writes : — Those who backed Rudolph to win the Maribyrnong Plate always maintained that he was Necklet's fcupeiior, and his easy wins m the December Stakes and Lady Carrington Pn/.e (more especially in the lattei, when he earned 9~t>, and won in a canter in lmin o^ec). makes them slil) adhere to then first formed opinion. Tlu=s son of Martini-Henri is a wonderfully good colt He belies his looks in eveiy» way ; but what will beat him in the Dei bys, if all goes well, it is hard to say, unle^ his worthy owner can produce a better one. Some time last ve.ar the Duke of Portland watered Lord W." Beresfoid £500 that the latter could not produce an Australian bied hoise of any age which could beat an English 2-year-old, Bsb 71b a piece up, 6 furlongs, to be run for in the autumn in England. Now, if Rudolph could be taken over, I think Lord W. Bercstord would have 2 to 1 the best of the wager. The pony May Flower, who is so well known to Auckland turfites, won two more races in the neighbourhood of Melbourne lately, and she has since been the means of gaining a lot of notoriety. A challenge was issued by someone unknown, to wager £500 that Mayflower cut out half-a-mile, carrying lOst, in 53sees., or 3he could be backed for the same sum to run any pony 14 hands in Australia. The next day Mr R. Phillips, owner of Mayflower, disowned the challenge coming from him, and added : — If the parties who issued this challenge like to back their opinion, I will lend them the mare for a period, and bet them £500 that she cannot do the task that they would like to set her." Since being in Melbourne, Mayflower has recorded some wondeiful performances, and this is what a Melbourne scribe says ot her :—": — " When that wonderful 14 hands pony Rhody made his debut in the metropolitan arena a few months back ho was thought to be a veritable phenome- i non, bub the star of the Western district crack has been made to glimmer since the , advent of the New Zealand bred pony, Mayflower, who has forcibly asserted herself to foe queen of the 14 hands class. At Mordialloe she is credited with performing a feat which very few racehorses are capable of accomplishing, namely, slicing out half a mile in 52£ sec, with 10st 101b on her back. I was very much

inclined to doubt the genuineness of the record ; bub as several watches "\voro in accord with the official tiuiekeoper, I suppose we must accept the register as authentic. The day following her victory at Mordialloc Mayflower carried list 31b, and won the 14.0 Handicap at Sherwood Park, conceding 4st 71b to Oscai\ who ran second. It will take nothing short of a flyer to clip her wings in the 14.2 class, and eventually, I presume, we shall sec hor holding her own amongst the thoroughbred sprinters. Truly, she is a phenomenal pony." Writes " Sir Lauucolot" :— Mr Stead has for many years done good service to the cause of racing and breeding in Now Zealand, but one of his happiest hits in both directions was when, on ft visit to England at the close of the year 1881, he purchased at Cobham the brood mares Steppe, Fairyland, Deviation, Lady Ravensworth. Lovebird, Nelly Moore, Florence Macarthy, Leila and Sweet Cicely. This lot he disposed ot later on to the New Zealand Stud Company, but previous to his doing so Steppe had produced Russlsy to Doncatter ; Fairyland ; Rubezahl to See Saw ; Deviation, a foal to Cadet that died shortly after birth ; Lady Ravensworth, Ruvenscraig by Craigmillar ; Nolty Moore, Lochiel by Prince Charlie ; Florence Macarthy, Athole by Blair Athol ; and Sweet Cicely, Poppy by Wild Oats. Lovebird ami Leila both missed to tho stallions with whom they were mated prior to leaving England, but the above-mentioned progeny of all the rest (with one exception) have won races of more or loss importance since then — especial!} 1 Lochiel and Russley, whoso deeds are written large in New Zealand racing annaK Tho exception is Athole, who never raced, but her first foal, Dunkold, won the Middle Park Stakos at Riccarton on the last day of tho old year, and it. if- hi? victory l-hat has. led me to discourse as I ) have done about tho benefits o ecru ing bo tho New Zealand turf through Mr Stead's judicious purchase :\x> Cobham. Plutarch amply repaid hi? Australian backers at the recent Randwick meetings for his early spring failures. In the Summer Cup he did not get a place, but in the rich Carrington Stakes he won with the greatest of ease at the finish, carrying Bst Bib, and coveted the mile in Imin 42sec. Then on the second day he again defeated a [iold of smart horses in the Club Handicap, ivhen he put up 9st 31b and won in a ranter. At a recent auction of thoroughbreds in Melbourne, Bravo was knocked down to Mr VY. CUscock for 600 guineas. A two-year-->ld biown colb, full brother to Lamond, by N^ew minster — Axiom, was bought by MrM. D'Loughlin for 200 guinea 0 . Chicago, the ?anlheld Cup winner, did not. elicit a single bid, but the throe- yeai -old fiUy Precedence, oj Musket —Maid of Honour, was knocked !o\vn to Mr Smith for 165 guineas. Strife md Rahman were both passed in, while Don Jio\an wa» sold to Mr McKenna for 300 guineas. A number of horses in the cataogue, including: Thunderbolt and Enfilade, not brought forward. The Australian thoroughbred is attracting considerable fittentionnmong prominent sporting men in England, for, according to \ cable message, Lord William Beresford hat» laid a wager of L'soo that he will produce an Australian-bred hoi so to run any bwo-year-old in the Duke of Portland's stable during the coming year. It is just po-^ibie that Lord Berestord may be re-prp-euted by one ot the Hon. J. White's vounu-teis who are engaged in the classic events of 1890. ■• Rapier"' in the "Illustrated Sporting md Dramatic News '' congratulate-* New Zealand iricids on tho appointment} ot so ?\cei!cnu a sportsman us Lord Onsiow as i Joxcrnoi ot tins colony. He says it will be j .n "iri/'ncr thing if he is not one of the j :nc-t poj^.lru C«o\e>.'noi*i ever .-.cut to the ' Loul Onflow i-> an excellent all- j lo'vv! opoitsraati, and makes* the sports of v. hn-h he ib i-o iomt a recreation, not an Dccup..lv~>n. He is an exceptionally good , shot, lides. well to hounds, is favourably known as a member of the two coaching club-, and, to sum up, unites in himself the hot qualities of the representative English gentleman. From a Calcutta paper I gather that, out of the shipment of 230 horseb from Melbourne by the BothwellCa&tle, Mr Baldock sold only 96. They were taken across irom the Bombay Tramway Company, and all but 68 tailed to pa^s the standard agreed upon. Thocc which were selected by Mr Baldock for the private market realised j prices Tanging from 650 to 950 rupees j singly. p"»irs irom 1,500 to 2,000, and reams | Irom 5,000 to 5,000 rupees. Another paper sa\ v ■ — "We hear that small, light Australian hoi--es are selling; cheap at the Calcutta auctions. Government reject many hoices as nob being large enough for iiiilit-iry leauircments, and the rejections are generally sold to the highest bidder. Some ot these undersized animals are nice breedy horses and likely to make good pigstickers or light-weight hacks.'' The following notes from a Sydney paper on Australian cricketers well known to fame are very interesting : — Since the match between the Australian Eleven and the New South Wales team many arguments have taken place with regard to Trott's great batting powers. Everyone admits that (with Lhe exception of Miucloch) no man who ever \i&ited the old country with an Australian eleven has shown such improvement in hib play as Trott has done ; and some folks have asserted that the batting rlibolaye'! byTiott in the late match was even better than that shown by the great Mmdoch on his return from England, inasmuch a-.^ Tiott scores much faster than Murdoch did, and plavfc the game in as scientific a manner. Thi.% notion of his powers as a batsman over Murdoch I am inclined to behove in, for when he is at the wickets he i-> very busy, never neglecting a chance to bcoxe, and scoring oft bails which other bat&mcn would rind great difficulty in playing. Ris all round hitting is simply perfection, "Very seldom does ho lift a ball in the an ; and, if he doe.-*, it is generally a stroke which carries the ball .safe out of the fieldnutn's 1 reach. His grand score of 172, mado in the late match, will long be remembered a.s one of the finest displays ot batting ever seen on the Association Ground. The bowling opposed to him was not, perhaps, up to the standard of Turner or Ferris. Bub in the form Trott is now in, any sorb of bowling could apparently be played by him with m, much ease and grace. We folks in Sydney are indebted to the New South Wa^es team for allowing the Australian eleven to go in a second time, if it was for no other l-eason than to redeem the bad impression given to a number of people as to the capabilities of Lyons as a batsman. His first appearance in Sydney was anything tjut satisfactory to him and his* friends ; a feeling of disappointment having 1 been left in the minds of Sydney cricketers. Thanks, however, to his dashing display of batting in compiling his fine scoi'e of 101 on Boxing Day, that feeling has changed to one of admiration. Lyons belongs to the school of the hard-hitting order of cricketers. But on this particular occasion he played with more than his usual caution. 'Some oi his cuts and drives were pretty to look at, and very often brought forth loud applause from the spectators. A. Bannerman has not altered one whit from his old defensive style. If anything, he ha 3 become lest aggi'essive ; a great contrast in the rate o?° scoring being seen between ' him anc ' Trott when they were at wickets together.