SPORTING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 108, 23 September 1912, Page 7

SPORTING.

TURF TOPICS. (By "Moturoa.") Otaki races to-day. Avondalo Cup on Wednesday. Smilax is to Ije tried our liurdles. Sir Lethe armed in Sydney without a scratch.

Ka-tua is not badly treated in the Stewards' Handicap at Otaki. C. Brown will ride Mulga Bill and Patriotic to-day.

No.less than twenty-seven horses have been paid up for in the Maiden Handicap at Avondale. Over-weighis not being posted, Ngatimaru is alleged to have carried quite 7st 41bs at Marton, and is only asked to carry lib more in the Dominion Handicap to-day.

A contemporary that "none of the horses racing at Marton won at Dannevirke." The writer might have supplemented it with, "except Otahu, Don Carlos, Runaway Girl and Wheturangi!" That's only half the programme and isn't, apparently, worth mention--111 s.

That much-boomed sprinter, My Lawyer, was beaten each start at Ashburton by moderate performers, and unless there is truth in the allegation that he was badly handled each day, he cannot be much class.

Orchid, winner of the Ascot "Thousand," is a three-year-old son of Poseidon's full brother Orcus. The latter was sold as a yearling for the record price of 3050 guineas, but proved an absolute "waster" with the colours up. By Positano—Jacinth, Orcus has aristocratic blood in his veins and may make up at the stud for his many turf disappointments.

Good reports come to hand from Trentham of the work done by Merrivonia and Prosper, and this pair promise to be in good fettle for Wanganui engagements on Thursday next. Muleteer has been galloping well of late and is being boomed for the Otaki meeting.

St. Serf beat Postillion rather easily at Marton, and must be a good sort of a horse. Taranaki money will flow in for St. Serf to-day, but punters might notice that Serenity and Bonnie Boy are in the same race, and the latter are not bad "milers."

The cable announcement that the French racing authorities intend to take saliva, from the mouths of winner* at Longchamps, and analyse it for cocaine, strychnine, etc., is inclined to invite derision. "Doping" there will always be, but the practiced not nearly so general as alleged, and the subject is about done to deatn. Many good horses, racers and others, are got into condition with "condition powders" which "actually contain "tonic doses" of the above-mentioned poisons, and it would be hard luck for an owner if he and his horse,'were'Tilled out simply because there were traces of poisons in the prad's saliva. In these days an actress may "dope" herself with arsenical "complexion," drops and "belladonna" her eyes;-the athlete may fill himself up with oxysren, kola, rum and cloves, or any pet "gargle." The swimmer takes to cocoanut oil, as an outward application, and the footballer takes to good old beer as an inward ablution . The dog-fancier or the birdfancier prefer' iron,'gentian, cayenne and other "dopes" to get their favourites into "show condition." And it is all fair! : Still, if a man has a fast horse of uncertain temper, and he tries the "dope" to stir Ws equine into a gallop he is likely to go out for life. Tt it; a blackguard's sport to feed a horse on big doses of poisons until its heart looks like a prize pumpkin, but all the same the. judicious iwe of drugs has before to-day kept horses racing better and for longer periods, and with less strain on themselves, than could have been done without "doping."