SPORTING

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 143, 26 September 1910, Page 7

SPORTING

TURF TOPICS. (By "Moturoa.") Thi! ex-Maorilander. .Broad-word, is now aiv inmate of Trainer A. Skirving'i stable and occupies a box near the. Avel-boiM-nt-. Cup winner, Lord Nolan. Broadsword has 7st 81bs in the Epsom Handicap and has been well supported for that rave, Mew Zealanders cannot fancy Clifford's cast-off running out a mile in solid fashiony 'but perhaps Skirving has found out how to make him do his best. Aflu- West Australia's St. Leger, Frank Butler Wius cade.l upon by Lord Derby to relate anything of note that occurred daring the great event. Butler's mode of describing anyl'hing was rather quaint (to say the least of it), and on this account liked by Lord' Darby. One of the competitors wa»s started for the sole purpose of obstructing, and, if possible, knocking tile favorite over. Lord Derby was aware of this' fact and wished to hear the famous jockey relate the affair in his own forcible lnnguHge. "That young. of W——', my lord," began the indignant horseman, "he come at me on the far side before we'd gone a mile; and lie toad another cut at the Red House. Then I seen what he was hup to, so 1 jeisit hups with my whip. 'You young !' says I, 'if you comes at me again, I'll jest knock your eye hout.!' And he never come at me no more, the young ." It is related of Lord Rosebery that when a schoolboy he bet a companion that he would marry the richest heiress in England, become Premier, and own the winner of the Derby before, he died. How he has realised his ambition, writes "Mat Merry," is, of course, a matter of history.

English, papers to hand show that I Swynford, wM last week carried Lord Derby's colors to victory in the St.,Leger Stakes, led the field home in the Liverpool Cup, run some few weeks previously. AsSwnford fa/irly romped home over the opposition, it may be that his victory in the St. Leger was hy no means a great surprise. Th« Australian rider, P. Wootton, steered Swynford in the Liverpool Cup, and Lord Derby's colt may have won the St. Leger in his ham's.

. The Australasian says:—ln. view of the fact that the coming V.R.C. spring race meeting will mark the Jubilee of the Melbourne Oup, the executive has issued invitations to representatives of leading racing dubs in many parts of '.he world, in addition to the principal racing centres in New Zealand and ihe. Commonwealth. Among the hospitalities I to be extended to the visitors will be an! invitation from members of the V.R.C! committee in their private capacities to dinner on Wednesday, November 2. Their excellencies the Governor-General and the iState Governor have both consented to attend the function.

1 Though Bayardo so unexpectedly missed the Goodwood Cup, which had been regarded as little more than a walk-over for him., he has done good service for his owner, Mr. F.iirlie, setting that up to the present time 'his winnings in stakei amount to the substantial sum of £44,534. This, however, falls short of the record.in this connection, which is 'Held by Isinglass, who aecountrll for £57,104, while Donovan won £55,153, leaving Bayardo in third place with the total montionod above. The Australian record (£29,476) is held by Carbine.

In the colonies we often hear complaints as to sxmie jockey or other riding a bad race, 'but it is hard to say how some of the growlers would have expressed themselves if they had laid odds on Bayardo for the Goodwood Cup. Mnh'er 19 undoubtedly a great rider, but according to the "Pink 'Un" he allowed the lightly-weighted Magic to gain a lead of quite 209 yard* in an early stage of the race. With Magic still setting a solid pace, this wa.s a nice bjt of leeway for Bayardo, with hiis ttst 101b, to make up, and after catching Magic aboui. three furlongs from home it is not surpri-ino: that Mr. Fairlie's crack failed to hold the three-year-old at the end. Perhaps if anv other jockey than Maher had .ridden in this fashion he would have received a roasting from the press. A horse m'ay give another a lump of weight, but a long start aa well is another matter.

It is reported 'by a Sydney writer that a substantial bet was made there recently by an-admirer of Frank Wootton tbJat'the Australian lad will head the list of winning jockeya in England this season, and on that question excitement is probably running very high in England. When the last mail left Maher had won sixty-three races against the Sydney boy's forty, but the former had had about thirty more rides. Since then we know of eight more winning races out of thirteen Frank Wootton has placed to his credit, a score which, according to the cable, left him only ten behind the American champion. The racing season has yet about three months to run, and in that time Wootton is likely to reach the top of the list again. Last season Frank Wootton won 165 races and D. Maher M 6, but those figures are hardly likely to be reached this season.