SPORTING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 306, 22 June 1912, Page 7

SPORTING.

RACING FIXTURES. June 26,27—Napier Park Racing Club. July 4, 6—Gisborne Racing Club. July 17, 20—W«llington Racing Club. DATES OF COMING EVENTS. NEW ZEALAND, f una 26—Napier Steeplechase. AUSTRALIA. . July 6—VJt.C. Grand National Hurdle Race, fuly 13—V.R.C. Grand National Steeple•hue. TURF TOPICS. (By "Moturoa.") Napier Park races on Wednesday. Glenmore has broken it for a win. Manawakaha is said to have recovered from the effects of his Auckland mishap. Trainer J. Peachey has Antarctic ■working at Wanganui, but the steeplechaser appears to be full of rheumatism, and some days he shaped poorly. "I used to be 'a bookmaker once," remarked a judgment debtor, "but I can't afford it now." Bronze, Miscount, and Undecided are reported to be ruling favorites for the New Zealand Cup. The big double at the Great Northern meeting was a favorite one with punters, but unfortunately for them the layers in very many cases have flown. Since the licensed bookmaker has been done away with, apparently every Tom, Dick, and Harry has taken on the double game. Longboat, who is reported to be a cut above the hunter class, was sent out a hot favorite for the Hunt Club Cup at Hastings, but fell while leading two. fences from home. The winner turned up in" The Chief, who has now won the event three or four times. Discussing the wittiest-named horse an English paper awards the palm to Present Alms, a prad by Sentinel out of Beggar Maid. The name selected for the colt by Carbine—Skyscraper, Feu de Joie, is an example of clever nomencla- • ture. Mr. C. Gollan's Sternchaser, by Hbrdenfeldt—Crinoline, knock this lot sky high. Thrave has cost his connections a lot of money recently, but they got a fair •urn of it back when the Torpedo gelding landed the Heretaunga Handicap on Wednesday. Irish Rifle piloted the field to the distance, and still retains his oldtime dash. With the tracks in hard condition Koran showed a clean pair of heels to his opponents in the Hawke's Bay Hurdle Race. Nothing else had a chance with the Waverley hurdler, who paid a good price. Stevens was sent out a warm favorite for the big hurdle race on Wednesday and ran his usual good race. It would be interesting to know how many second* this horse has run in big stick events this season. Small steeplechases must be very easy to pick up in Australia at this time of the year when moderates like Hautapu and Simple Simon can carry all before them under heavy imposts. The other day Hautapu was pulled up to pick up a lost lead-hag, and even then got second in a big field! Those usually bad horses at the starting post. Boanerges find Blakeney. caused no trouble in that respect in Sydney. This is no doubt accounted for by the fact that over there the horses go straight to the barrier and are started immediately. In the Dominion we send them out twenty minutes or so before the advertised starting time, and this needless delay causes nervous horses to become excited and by the time they come into the starter's hands they are fractious and full of circus-capers. A clergyman who evidently had not even a nodding acquaintance with the totalisator told the Totalisator Commission that the machine was an invention of "Old Nick's," and that it increased betting amongst women. The very opposite is the case in New Zealand, and at every meeting we hear members of the fair sex grumbling because the bookies are not there to take their halfcrowns. The machine casts the glassy eye on anything less than the quidlet, and in consequence thousands of women and not a few men cannot afford to back their fancies. Old Rosegrove still battles along gamely amongst the hack steeplechasers, and on Wednesday returned a fair price when he struggled into second berth in the Woodlands Steeplechase. Last year he filled the role of runner-up to Wangtead in the same Tace. and won on the •econd day of the meeting. The Wanganui trainer, Alf. NeaK who puts the finishing shine on Overtime and Co.. now races The veteran was made a present to Neale after the Wanganui meeting, and he ran a close third in the Hack Steeplechase at Hastings on Wednesday. Tonderghie has a fair turn of speed, but jumps slowly. Anyway he is a cheap horse at the price! Hastings' touts all went for Appin in the Hawke's Bay Steeplechase, and the horse would have probably beaten Glenmore had not the latter crossed and upset him. Whakaweira rushed his fences wildly and threw out. and this boomed horse may now be relegated to the uncertain brigade—the crowd best left alone. Glenmore jumped badly, but had no difficulty in winning a poor race after the dangerous ones had turned turtle. The rain which fell at Hastings on Thursday was badly needed. Many well backed ones the previous day could not •trike out on the hard tracks, but may do better at Napier Park next week. The Napier Steeplechase comes up for SSecision on Wednesday next. Hastings form is not often good to follow at "the Park," but Mangohane, Chemist, Whalebone, Rhino, Jack o' Lantern, and Nadador—all winners of the Hawke's Bay Steeplechase—won the Napier crosscountry everit later. / Rangi Thompson is now one of our leading steeplechase riders, but his win on Glenmore on Wednesday was the first that has come his way in the Hawke's Bay Steeplechase. He is a fearless horseman —for a Maori—and is a fair judge of pace and a vigorous horseman at the end of the longest race. Frank Wootton was not fortunate enough to ride the Epsom Derby winner. but on Derby Day he was on three firsts, and the Australian jockey is said to be riding better than ever. He and Danny Maher are now practically the .same weight, so that their battle for supremacy is now more even than in the past when Wootton was able to ride good light-weights, which his Amurkan rival bad to refuse. It is generally conceded that Wootton is riding better than ever this year, and an English scribe states, "He has more than made up for his increasing weight by his increased skill and development of positive genius in the saddle." Horse racing in India is in a oncer tangle. At the very time that King George is congratulating the Bombay Club on its excellently conducted meetings, and is presenting cups for big rnces, his vice-regal understrappers fire doing all they can to break up the same. The present Governor has practically crippled the sport, and as his term of office has

several months to run there is little prospect 'of things looking up for some time to come. Youngsters by the defunct Multiform are well spoken of in New South Wales now, and one that is expected to do big things is a fine-looking colt named Lochform, by Multiform out of Marvel Loch. The latter is the dam of Lochano. Ben Deeley is aaid to be very anxious to beat C. Jenkins' record of 88 wins for one season, and with the Napier Park, Gisborne, and Wellington meetings still to go his prospects of success appear to be v«ry fair.