SPORTING

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 161, 2 August 1909, Page 4

SPORTING

TURF TOPICS. (By "Moturoa.") On all sides one hears and reads a chorus of approval at the practical resolution recently arrived at by the Welkigton Racing Club in the direction of benefiting breeder# of thoroughbreds and other sorts, the latter per the agency of the agricultural and pastoral associations iu the province. Among other appreciative notices of the "new departure" is one as follows from the pen of "Sentinel,'' in the "Otago Witness": Tlie intention of the Wellington Racing Club to allot a percentage oi the stakes attached to their weight-for- age races on their programme to the of winners is worthy of being highly commended. It is a step in the right direction, and should undoubtedly give a decided fillip to the breeding industry—particularly if a similar scheme is adopted by t)th?f metropolitan clubs. In the past breeders of thoroughbreds in this country have not received ». great deal of direct consideration from racing clubs, ami as our studmasters are tlie providers of a very ; essential part of racing, it is pleasing to note their just claims are to he re- , cognised. To tlie Wellington Racing j Club belongs the honour of introducing the scheme in its present form. The conditions originally attached to the C. J.C. Challenge Stakes provided thii/ 100 povk should go to the nominator, and as foals were eligible for nomination it was generally th'eir breeder who .'made the engagements for the race. This, however, was deleted a couple of years after the introduction of the Challenge Stakes, but it is to'he hoped that the Wellington Club will prove better stayers than the Canterbury folk.

The French turf is to-day the wealthiest in the world, and in no other country does the gtudmaster receive so much consideration. Tlie encouragement extended to French studmasters is so telling in its effect that a goodly proportion of the cream of the English S'-M Book is being continually bought mr Trance, and also for other Continental countries, -where racing is conducted 011 similar lines to those of our Gaelic ! neighbours. Buyers of blood stock for the Continent have been particularly prominent at English blood stock sales during recent years A and this in a great measure because the allocation of prize money provides foreign studmasters with the sinews of war to continually reinforce their stud. Hence it is very gratifying to find one of our clubs adopting | a scheme calculated to assist breeders jof blood stock in this country. WellI bred mares will become more and-more [ valuable, and weight-.for-age events , become more conspicuous at our meet- ; ings, and every farmer would be tempted to keep a bit o' blood iu the shaping of a .likely brood mare.

RECORD RACIXC FRAUD. An attempted racing fraud in France recently, which consisted in running a son of the famous Volodyovski iu the name of another and younger horse, is one which has frequently occurred in sporting novels, nnd In; ■ even been tried in real earnest upon an English racecourse on at least one occasion.

This was at the Derby of 1884, when a plot within a plot was engineered by certain parties, the details being of so extraordinary and complicated a natur" that the whole, truth concerning them has never yet been properlv elucidated.

The main facts, however, stand out clearly enough. Firstly, there was a .horse called Rumiing Rein, which was entered as a three-year-old, whereas it rt'as really a four-voar-old whose original iiame was Jlaccahens. Knr tlie smile race there was entered a horse called l.eander, also, it was afterwards asserted,* foilr-year-okl. There were thus two alleged' four-year-ijlds running for the Derby, which i>, as all the world knows, a race ''ir three-year-olds. Each was accordingly backed for large sums by those "'ill tli'« know."

Only one thing troubled the conspirators. The favorite for the race amongst tlie outside public was on i Ratau—a magnificent animal—and, of course, n three-year : old—and the |ilotlers feared (hat despite tin- disparity la ages, ho might prove too good for both l.eander and Hiinniiig licin. lie was accordingly "got at" in his stable the night before tlie race and rendered incapable of starting. ■ lust after tlie start of the race liunliing Itein kicked Leander—whether purposely or accidentally was never made clear—and broke his leg, afterwards winning in a canter, llut .suspicion was lodged on behalf of the owner of the second horse, Orlando, and legal proceedings ensued which was the most sensational racing lawsuit ever beard.