SPORTING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 288, 29 April 1911, Page 7

SPORTING.

RACING FIXTURES. April 29—Wellington R.C. Autumn. April 29, May 3—Avondale J.C. Autumn. May 3 and 4—Marlborough R.C. May 10 and 11—Hawke'a Bay J.C. May 17, 18—Egmont R.C. Winter. May 24, 25—Wanganui J.C. Winter. TURF TOPICS. (By "Moturoa.") Concluding day at Trentham. Hawke's Bay weights are due on Monday. The Avondale meeting opens to-day, and will be concluded on Wednesday'. If Waipukurau is any guide the veteran Pushful has lost his push! The champion Danube will be pitted against a poor crowd in the New Zealand St. Leger to-day. Why did Smith leave home ? To back Master Sylvia, of course! Jockster Ross, who got a spill off Tam Glen at Patea, is now quite right again. What kind of sport is this t Erin lost the Easter Handicap at Waipukurau through her rider weighing in without a breast-plate. Clemora's close second to St. Toney in the Denbigh Stakes in fast time, has encouraged Trainer Johnson to send the bay horse north, for the Avondale meeting. A contemporary mentions the similarity of the names Minura and Minora. To which one might add Parawai and Piriwai. They're apt to confuse the hustled punter. A good word is spoken for Maxwell, by Soult—Castorline, and therefore full brother to Soultoria. Maxwell proved his galloping ability in the Autumn Handicap at Ellerslie recently. i Paritutu jumped well in his recent efforts, and hopes are expressed that the veteran will bob up again serenely ai Avondale—his lucky course! Double-betting has increased enormously since the outlawing of the Bar Vons, and so far the pencillers seem to have had all the best of the arguments. As long as the punters are foolish enough to accept 20 to 1 about a 100 to 1 chance the lamb-shearing will go ori.

From Dunedin comes news of how a good sport lost his day's racing. A fractious horse gave a wee jockster such a bad time that the lad declined to ride. A by-stander gamely mounted in hjs stead, and the horse promptly bolted off the course. Neither horse nor horsem'a'hj turned up again until the races •were Jflst I ftbout over. ;'The stallitto fia'voc,Who passed in his marble ;: at Sydney recently, was bred by' ex'-Auckla'nder T. Morrin in 1890. Sold -fo'f 2200 guineas, the son of NorcTftlfeidt 1 went to 'Stralia where he won many I '.'big races, afterwards proving a success" at the stud. .t! Syflrtey is surely the place to sell thoroughbreds. At the recent sale 753 lots realised a fortune—lo2,s3o guineas, an average of 135 guineas. Wanganui breeder Geo. Currie sent up four Soult yearlings and quitted at an average of 318 guineas—good business! The appearance of the harem skirt on the lawn at Feilding drew harder than a porous plaster. In one race the tote was quite neglected, and the crowd just glued its collective eye on the masquerader. The latter's sex was doubtful, and anyway, it would take a brave female to flaunt the "scarums" in such- a proverbially "calm" village as Feilding.. Nowithat'the Bar Von's raucous voice is hushed ■ and the world is rapidly becoming saintly, it is interesting to read the tote returns for the Easter meetings and compare them with those of last year:—Auckland, 1910, £34,358; 1911, £ 6,7,090; Canterbury, . £25,559 (£38,028); Feilding, £24,817 (£35,697); New Zealand Metropolitan Trots, £8.427 (£14,435); Waipukurau, £7,022 (£8515); Patea, £5913 (£8116). —-Shocking! . The, Canterbury stewards were very much, -alive after Cheddar's Great Autumn victory, but it was a foregone 'conclusion that the judge's placing would not be disturbed. At the same time it was passing strange that this same august body failed to notice Culprit's, glaring reversal of form at the meeting. The Canterbury filly was beaten right off in the Champagne Stakes the first day, and the following afternoon came out and made no race of the Autumn Nursery. And the running -wasn't even questioned. Concerning Lady Medallist's first appearance at Randwick a Sydney scribe writes:—The first race of interest was the Autumn Stakes. Some of the salt of horsedom stripped for the event, including those nags of high degree—Trafalgar, Flavian, Comedy King, Lady Medallist, Eric, Patronatus and Lord Foote. Comedy King and Lord Foote got away first, and then with a rush like a sandstorm out West, Lady Medallist went to the front and made a fearsome pace, leading by four lengths past the 1% miles mark. Behind her, held well in hand, thundered Comedy King, with Eric, the Hawkesbury winner, in the offing. It was a pretty race. Lady Medallist increased the pace and the lead, and Eric and Trafalgar ranged up alongside Comedy King. At the home turn Eric dropped bacjc, and Comedy King and Trafalgar closed in the flying marc, and they turned into the straight bunched together. At the Leger stand they were running a ncck-and-neck race; Comedy King, with plenty of reserve power, drew easily away. Trafalgar came with a great rush, but the King beat him off easily, and won by half a length.

The famous English jockey Fred Archer had practically the pick of the riding in his day, but occasionally he pot up on horses that had but little chnnce of winning, a fact that on one occasion at least caused him to lose his temper. Referring to this, a 'Tink W correspondent writes:—"Archer was riding a horse for Captain Machell—named, I believe, Deception. I remember quite well it was a chestnut, and if started favorite. To the dismay of backers Archer was seen riding for all hri"was worth after they had gone five hundred yards, and he continued to, although he was hopelessly beaten. On returning to the paddock he threw the reins on the horse's neck, turned to Jewitt, and said, very loud and evidently in a great rage: Tell Captain M. I 'don't thank him for those sort of mounts.' And this at Newmarket, of all places. I don't think Archer rode for the stable <sgain for over a year, neither do I think the horse ever ran again."