SPORTING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 136, 26 October 1912, Page 7

SPORTING.

RACING FIXTURES. NEW ZEALAND. Oct. 26, 27, 28—Wellington Racing Club. Oct. 28—Waverley-Waitotara Annual. Nov. 2, 4. 6, 9—Canterbury Jockey Club. Nov. 8, 9—Auckland Racing Club. N.OV. 27, 30—Takapuna Jockey Club. Dec 26, 30, and Jan. 1, 2—Auckland Racing Club. ..,..< AUSTRALIA. Nov. 2, 5, 7, 9—Victoria Racing Club. DATES OF COMING EVENTS. NEW ZEALAND. i Nov. 2—New Zealand Cup. Nov. 6—Great Northern Guineas. AUSTRALIA. Nov. 2—V.R.C. Derby. Nov. s—Melbourne5 —Melbourne Cup. T'UKF TOPICS.. (By "Moturoa.")

The Wellington Racing Club's Spring meeting opens to-day and will be concluded on Monday. Splendid acceptances have been received for all events, and winners look to be :well concealed. Coming within a week of the New Zealand Cup meeting added interest is attached to the racing and the attendance should be far above the average. The New Zealand Cup candidates Bronze, Undecided, Domino, Midnight Sun, Goldfinder, Byron, Mira and Haskayne will probably be seen under silk to-day, and punters will then be better able "to judge theit chances in the big handicap, est Saturday. Bobrikoff heads the list in the Wellington Handicap, and is set a stiff proposition. Equitas reads well, but may be reserved for Riccarton. Sea Queen reads badly in comparison to several lower on the list, but no fault can be found with Merrivonia's impost. Mendip would •<only have to be himself to run well, but the pick of the Hawera horses apears to be Patriotic. The latter ran brilliantly at Otaki and at Wanganui, and is said to stay well. Sir Knox's form last week was very poor, but Theodore ran well, but unluckily, in Sydney. Huskavne is eaid to be a brilliant three-year-old and he is likely to run prominently, and of the light-weights Obligant, Ladrone and Brown Trout have recent good form to recommend them. Patriotic, Haskayne and Equitas are sure to carry a heap of money to-day. A slippery crowd figure in the Shorts Handicap, five furlongs. If Equitas is reserved for this race she may have to be reckoned with even with 10.4. Naumai appears to be on the down-grade and Gipsy Belle has not raced for some time. Gladiolc Teads better in the Stewards' Handicap at Riccarton, but Blue Lake, Crown Pearl and Piriwai have all been runnig well lately. Prosper has been taken a risk with, and this scribe cannot accept the horse's poor form at Wanganui as coircct. Allurement and . Lpapuki are a pair of well-treated lightweigths:. The Wainui Handicap should prove a good pipe-opening gallop for a quintette of New Zealand Cup horses, and as there are no penalties attached to a victory in this race the finish should be interesting. U.mlecided is so fit that he is sure to • make a good showing. Patronale promises to be one of the best-backed ones in the Rimutaka Handicap, and on the Wanganui form the New Plymouth horse looks nicely handicapped with Bst. Semaphore, Avaunce and Black Lupin have been running well at the spring meetings. Hawick is a strong order for the Hack Steeple, and with the exception of Kelp the others will have to show very much improved form to have more than jump- . ers' chances.

Twenty-four sprinters are, carded for the Final Scurry, including such smart ones as Lady Volga, Gay Lawless and .Sanguinary. Aratiatia, Patronale and Exertion look to be leniently treated, but much depends on a good start. The wires were ticking for Loch Maben and Wee Rose on Thursday, and stay-at-home punters in some places are reported to have backed nothing else. Waikehua, who ran without much luck last autumn, got away with a double at the Poverty Bay meeting on Thursday, but the prad's connections must be a long way down the wrong side of the ledger with all that in.

On the strength—or should I say "weakness"—of the Marton reservoir bursting on Thursday evening, down-the-line pickers sorted Reservoir out as a good thing for the Second Hurdles at (lisborne the next day. The net is gradually being drawn about the bloated bookmaker, and his lot in New Zealand is just about as precarious as it is possible to be. The prosecution of distributors of betting charts in Wellington was a big blow, but far more deadly was the conviction in Auckland last week of a firm of printers for running off Tace cards. Soon the pencillers will be seen standing on the corner ('"watching people work," did I hear someone say?) distributing newspapers containing the acceptances. The trail of the "kill-joy" person threatens everything.

Monday will be a holiday.- Labor Day, and no doubt most Taranaki sports will take the opportunity of breathing God's own fresh country air in the vicinity of Waverley. Special trains and excursion fares are advertised, and a good day's sport is promised down the line. Wanganui will send its big contingent, and Monday's gathering promises to be a record one in all respects. Kakama is said to be galloping in good style at Ellerslie and will probably get amongst the winners shortly. Jockey A. McFlynn went down to Gi&borne to ride Dogger Bank on Thursday, but his experience did not prove a happy one. the erractie hurdler jumping the rails when running along nicely. Eudorus, the English-bred horae much boomed in Victoria lately, is a great track performer and recently electrified the touts—if such a lomr-wislied-for thing could really happen—by rattling off a mile in the torrid time of Imin 42V, sec on the sand. The Multiform-Wiglemar colt Berragoon, who captured the Breeders' Plate and Gimcrack Stakes at Randwiek last week is stated to be one of the finest looking youngsters seen out in New South Wales for some time past. Berragoon figures in the Marihymong Plate, to be run at Flemington month. Durin;r bis career Trafalgar contested 50 races, and .his record utands ns fol-lows:—Twenty-four wins. 11 seconds, six thirds, and IS times unpls.-ed. Counting his earnings at the recent Randwiek meetiiiL'. Trafib-Mr won stakis to the value of £2-2.Hi:;.