SPORTING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 310, 9 February 1910, Page 8

SPORTING.

TURF TOPICS. (By "Moturoa.") i St, Prior was inadvertently omitted ' from the list of acceptors " fo r both ! Scurry events at tlie T..1.C. meeting < next week, published vesteruav morn- ' ing. " ' 1 Races at llawera to-day and to-mor- ' row. 1 The Poverty Bay Ttirf Club's autumn ] meeting takes place on Thursday and'. J Friday. | Wanganui Cup weights are due on Friday. At present Diaholo and Crucinella are nominal favorites. Despite the punishment dealt out to Deeley last November, reports say that there wa.-' plenty of " rough-ruling'' at Takapuna last week. Celtic's maiden performance m a hurdle race at Takapuna last week was not sufficiently promising to continue Taranaki engagements. Celtic jumps safely, but too slowly, and is hardly the stamp of a hurdler, anyway. Ringdove's sire. Collar, is represented in eleven different countries by winners, a performance which is unequtiiled. The heaviest weight ever carried to victory in the Egmont Cup was '.lst. Klb. under which Convoy won in 1904. Con-; voy and Mahuta both won the Cup iu 2min. 36 4-ssec, which stands as a record for the race since the distance was reduced to a mile and a half. Charlie Jenkins has ridden three winners of the Egmont Cup—Monte Carlo, Bourrasque and Marguerite. The l'orirua team for the Egmont meeting comprised Swimming Belt, Waione, Playmate and Kina. They were railed to Hawera on Monday and landed in good condition. Sandstream, in charge of W. Griffiths, put in an appearance on the Hawera tracks on Monday morning and moved well over six furlongs. '! Polymorphous and Perolina, in charge of George Price, and T. Wilson's pair, King's Prize and Toanga, arrived at Hawera on Monday. This last month, the New ZealandJired Golden Cairn has run four seconds in Australia, hut has so far failed !o .get on the winning list. It appears that the hurdler Moose had a bad time coining up in the train from Foxton, getting tangled up in som» chains and severely cutting Ids' fore-legs, He is on the easy list at present. j Mr. E. Kemp has purchased Merriwing from Dave Kemp. This mare is gallop-' ing very well at the present time, although she is very fat; but with a couple of races she will soon be all right. The Mauser gelding Moloch was recently sold to a patron of W. Davies' stable, and is now trained at Treatham. Moloch may be tried over hurdle" short ly. - Lethean, who changed hands recently, will run in his new owner's colors at Hawera. The Lethe gelding ran consistently throughout the Christmas and New Year meetings, and has gone on the right way since. Mr. E. J. Watt has disposed of Sep- { arator to a Clive sportsman, the prion being somewhere in the l'eL'bm of a hundred guineas. Tim little Sen ton >- laval horse goes into Geo. Hone's st'ib.'e.

Although a poor field will contest today's Egniont Cup the iss'ue appears to very very open. Sir Prize seems to be nicely treated when one takes into con-, sideration his running at Riccarton In November; but whether the chestnut ia as well now as then is the main consideration. He carried 7st. 21b into setowl place, behind Ngapuka, last year. The owner of Roosevelt is anxious to get rid of his' horse, as he says he is shamefully treated by all hand'icappers. Ormond's crack 'chaser, Audnx, who went wrong in May last year, is again in work, and appears to be quite sound after his long spell. ; Vi met with rm accident last week," getting into some wire and injuring Serself severely. It will be some time before ihU mare will race again. Playmate and Waione were going well on the beach before' leaving Porirua, [ and may account for a few races before returning home. They both looked in [ splendid nick when landed at Hawera | on Monday. | The four-year-old Gravitation was not' [ nearly fit when he was pulled out to con-.) tost the Craven Plate at Riccarton, and,' despite the efforts of R. Hatch, finished a very bad last. The first of the progeny of Machine Gun to race was the two-year-old Lady Meg. who easily defeated a big field in the Nursery Handicap at Randwick last week. It is stated that All Red will probably make his last appearance on the turf in the Wanganui Cup, after which ile will be taken to his owner's place and put to the stud. Miss Park was unlucky at Foxton lately, but is galloping so well at pre-! sent that she must very nearly win | whatever short race sbe " gets out' 1 in. Himitangi will be ridden by Mr. C. Hammond, the owner of Genuine, in' whatever races he starts in at Hawera. Truganini's win on Tlmrs'day at Gisborne was the first that came that prad's way since March, 190S—nearly two years ago! Truganini has run over a dozen seconds in the interim. Koran was taken to Hawera on Monday and is very fit at present. Waverley sports won't hear of defeat. Te Kahurangi was withdrawn in favor of Kina in the Mere Mere Hack Flat, so that probably represents' the strength of Prosser's pair. There is a big field carded, and Kina's usual quick starting may help her to show out for the first few furlongs, if not for the whole distance. Gold Thread, who was taken across to 'Stralia last week, is nicely handicapped in sprint events acros's the water, and may soon make expenses. The brilliant Polymorphous will lend

an aristocratic air to the Hawera Stakes and great interest should be taken in ' his meeting with the crack sprinter Lord Soult. Both horses are very well, and an interesting race is' promised. Capital acceptances have been received for all events to lie decided on the opening day of the Taranaki Jockey Club's autumn meeting this' day week. The Cup has a record acceptance of eighteen horses, including Roosevelt, runner-up in the New Zealand Cup; Lady Medallist, | winner of the Wanganui Guineas; Ma- i heno and Coromandel, from Auckland; ! previous winners in Glenullin, Uhlando, ) and Waitapu, and a number of other useful performers. . Noctuiform's yearling brother, who is Tunning at Longlands, while playing j the other day slightly hurt himself, but, s jio- seriously, and will be himself again in a iow days. It will not be long V■fore he is sent in to be nut through his early preparations. Running in the same paddock at Lcmgiauds is a fine colt by Royal Artillery. Full Rate and No Trumps, who have . paid up for Taranaki engagements, are! going well at Opaki. No Trumps is : galloping well over nine and ten furlongs : in view of the Taranaki Cup engage- , ment. I On the strength of a brilliant gallop Madam Madcap was voted a moral for j the Middle Park Plate on Saturday, and the confidence placed in the brilliant I !daughter of Clanranala was warranted,] for she ran into the lead after going ! a furlong and set out for places' in front ' of her at such a pace that nothing else ] had a chance with her. The clock react ( lrnin. 13 4-ssec., which was a great go against the stiff breeze. " ' - Salvator, who recently died in Ame- i nca, held the American miie recoil, viz., Imni 35 1 /, sec, on a straight course, carrying 7st 12!b. The mile'record for the world is held hy Caiman, who ran ( his mile in Imln 33 l-o : :ec, on. an ••;•- i dlnary course and carried Ost '2lb. ' The man whose boast it was that he ' would bet on anything from a fly walk- ; ing up a window pane to a Derby dog I getting the course, at last admitted defeat. "Never bet on Highland games," he said solemnly—"Never! I backed a gillie in a quarter mile, who was an absolute cert., for I knew his form, and after he'd finished a bad last I went up to him and suggested that he might have put more in. What d'ye think he said? 'Pit mair in!' says he, without turning a hair; 'pit mair in—an' the bagpipes competition next!' " At a meeting of the Hawke's Bay ■ Jockey Club, held on Friday, the appeal lof J. McLaughlin, against' the fine of ' £lO, imposed on him hy the Dannevirke Racing Club, was considered. A hurdle race in which Full Cry was engaged was run before time, and McLaughlin scratched Full Cry, and was , fined by the Danncvirke Club. The Metropolitan Committee has now ordered that the fine be remitted. Wnimoa, while doine three-quart >r pace last. Tues'av mornine on the Hasfc- ' ings track, put his shoulder out badl.-. 1 ;ir,d it will be some time "before lie will be able to race again. Th<> horse was very well, and it is had luck for -ii.s owner to los» his services 'for the remainder of the season.