Sports and Pastimes

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 166, 30 November 1912, Page 7

Sports and Pastimes

SPORTING.

RACING FIXTURES. Nov. 27, 30.—Takapuna Jockey Club. Nov. 30, Dec. 2.—Feilding Jockey Club. Dec. 4, s.—Woodville J.C. Dec. 11, 12.—Rangitikei Racing Club. Dec. 26, 27.—Dunedin J.C. December 26, 27—Taranaki Jockey Club. Dee. 26, 27, 28. —Manawatu R.C. Dec. 26,30, Jan. 1, 2- i -Auckland Racing Club. TURF TOPICS. (By "Moturoa,') Feilding races to-day and Monday. ' The Takapuna meeting will be concluded this afternoon. The ancient Lord Soult is reported to be stepping out briskly as of yore. Sunbonnet has produced a fine foal to San .Fran and will visit Advance this season.

Hawera sports are alleged to be saving up for a punt on The Dodger at Feilding. The erstwhile Taranaki horseman J. Conquest piloted Virtue and, Bluestone to victory at Takapuna on Wednesday. After a short spell the Traquair filly Ventura has been placed in commission again at Hastings. At the recent Grey meeting the lightweight jockey Tapp rode nine winners out of fourteen races on the programme. Sandstream has been galloping brilliantly at Hastings, and reads well in the big race at Feilding with 7st 71bs. A southern scribe reports that an Australian's offer of 1000 guineas for Masterpiece was refused.

Styx was left in the Feilding Stakes in error, and is at present suffering from a severe cold.

Monoplane, who figures in the Auckland Cup, is due back from Sydney to morrow.

Counterfeit has made a good recovery from her Tecent leg troubles, and will probably sport silk again in the autumn. It is stated that B. Deeley will ride San Pluie and Patriotic in their Feilding engagements.

Luke Wilson will pilot Mendip in the St. Andrew's Handicap, and the old horse hag been going really well at Hawera. 'Stralian handicappers have a high opinion of Royal Scotch as a sprinter, and have awarded him top weight, 10.7, in the Belmont Five Hundred, run over 6% furlongs. Darby Paul had bad luck to topple over Seaman on Wednesday, hut mav have better luck to-day. Seaman is generally reckoned the very safest of conveyances, but the best of them make mistakes sometimes.

At Napier the other day a man was had up for stealing a racehorse. Now, why couldn't he buy the horse and not pay for it like any other gentleman? Sleacombe and Prince Eddie have been fencing nicely at Hastings, and will be ridden bv *J. Lvford in their races at Feilding. ' Boxes have been secured at Ellerslie for Clifford's and Watt's teams, and it IB now certain that Masterpiece and Midnight Sun will measure strides in the Auckland Cup. The most promising aspirant for hurdle race honours at Hastings is Chief Marshal, who fences perfectly, and one fflorning last week he made no race of Jjandalero in a mile and a quarter trial over four fences.

Splendid acceptances have been received for the Woodville meeting which take--; place on Wednesday and Thursdav next. Kawinia, Bercola, St. Serf, Master Tupuhi, Royal Simon, Glenfern, Red Lupin and' Crown Pearl figure amongst the acceptors.

Crown Pearl is said to bo in good nick at present and as the sprinters are not too -brilliant at Feilding, the New Plymouth horse should run prominently. 4v. El nu r^l was soHd, y supported" for tne Cheltenham Handicap on Wednesday, butjust failed to pet up at the finish. The bay gelding has been paid np for in the Spring Handicap (one mile) to-day, and his chances look bright At the Waipawa pound the other day Tiraillement, by Mosquetaire from Florence McCarthy, was sold for nine shillings and sixpence. The old horse was own brother to Havoc and half-brother to. the famous Trenton. His sire Mosquetaire was once sold for 2000 guinea* 1 ! alf i ; brother to a New Zealand and Canterbury Cup winner being sold at less than a half-penny a ponud l For wmning the St. Andrew's Handicap at Takapuna on Wednesday La Kema w„i be required to put up 51bs penalty :n the Auckland Cup a nif \ Tace 011 tlle opening v T * ka P nna - but Mar ™" got away baoH and Mas never dangerous " iI! probably" represent the Bidwell stable in the Feilding Slakes to*1" i Cllffonl "'"I start Nightwatch. The field will probably be a small one and the chances of Peronilla Ermengarde and Nightwatch are most discussed. Gladiole has been through good work at Awapuni "but it u doubtful whether she can break (1c two-year-olds at the weights. Heavy-weight horsemen are much in I evidence m Westralia. At Cue the other j day each of the amateur riders in one event carried 4 stone overweight There is a chance fo rthe village publican vet! Manawakaha has been gallop!,,. „- P ,i recently and is sure to catch the in,;, eye very soon. Hawera snorts sav ifc be at Feilding or it mav be at 17 1 rTn i W Tll riJ ,0n ' t 1I p:,t th ® Auckland Cup beyond the neddy's powers! . , this gaming legislation ™ tk W , eUw Ston daily boldly asserted £™v?' m J ° rn ,'"S that th e Midnight !? i en^ura double had been sutmorf ed locally the day before to v n t,e •Aiicklarid Cup and Bailway. Funnv isn't it? " ' »'

tlo rl g^ti u ll bR anion " st the runtld qv, r 5l lter at Takapnna to-dav. The Taranaki horse does not appear to be over-weighted with 8.1. Jockey B. Dceley will ride San Pluie +* g ' v S prad is on the ™prove #nd the guns have been putting in the shekels verv confidently of late. ° Lockwood is expected to run well at the Feilding meeting ™! T ' J ?°? g l as has selected the name of for the two-vear-old geld.ng by San Fran out of Maid of UtlS t rr 1 / y -° Ungster i 3 closel y related to California and Goldfinder, for £? ttm 18 a 1 o if " si^ ter b ? Sir Lancelot, to them, am] San Fran sired both California and Goldfinder. Ambrosia, the winner of the Ascot Thousand, run in Melbourne recently, is a six-year-old gelding by the Williamstown Cup winner St. Ambrose. Ambrosia was bred in New Zealand, "and sent over to D. J. Price, who raced him as a two-year-old; but he was afterwards taken in hand by E. A. Connolly who won a Trial Handicap with him at Williams town in January, 1910. Shortly afterwards he passed into the possession i of Mr. W. T. Howe, who leased him to a trainer and owner of racing ponies named T. Jones, and the later won a race with him at Richmond. He subsequently ran a couple more good races for Jones, in whose name he won the Ascot Thousand. A most unusual occurrence marked the Broken Hill Jockey Club races on Saturday, November 2. The stewards held an enquiry into an accident in the Spring Handicap, and disqualified B. Baven for twelve months for crossing.

Raven had been engaged to ride Simpleton in the following race, and the enquiry lasted so long that the time for scratching had passed when the disqualification was agreed to. The owner of Simpleton (who was being backed) was allowed time to get another jockey, hut failed to do so,, and scratched the horse. For late scratching he was then fined £5, and the stewards called in the bookmakers and advised them to declare all bets on the High-weight Handicap off, and return all the money bagged. This was done, and the race was contested and won by Footline without any wagering.

If the following pen picture, sketched by an Indian correspondent for the London Sporting Times, is even half-true, the abolition of the bookmakers in favor of the totalisator in Western India has been disastrous to owners and the sport generally. He writes:—"As an ownerI have been asked to give my opinion as to the prospects of the coming Poona season. I can say frankly and unreservedly after the first day's racing that the new scheme is doomed to failure. I anticipated in July, when I saw the rows of empty bungalows and stabling existing in the cantonment, which I was begged to take, whereas in the good old days I had to beg from the landlords and pay a prohibitive price. The tradesmen, such as tailoring firms and such like, wring their hands at the mention of the word —all their finances . are slumping. But that terrible First Extra on Saturday! Never lias such a doleful scene been observed on an Indian racecourse. Never mind what the Bombay papers say. I am laying down the facts absolutely as they were in black and white. No one seemed to take the slightest interest im the racing whatever. The big owners, whose hot-weather expenses run into thousands of rupees, lobked as black as thunder. They foresaw the heavy loss on the year, with a prospect of disbanding their stables. They asked each other, as they had often done before, how the racing population on this side of India, which is really infinitesimally small, could ever take' the place of the bookmakers with field money of at least a lakh of rupees on each race. No; not in 50 years." That good old sport "Billy" Williams, of the Grosvenor, who is just back from a trip across the Tasman pond, was much struck with the sporting proclivities of the Sydneyites and the attendance at the various race meelings. Every Saturday there is a meeting at one of the several racecourses, and the same on Wednesday, which day is confined to the pony fry. The courses are crowded on each day. Bookmakers are there by the hundred and do a rattling good biz. There are a couple of tats.' Clubs in the city, one having a membership of a thousand bookies and the other but a hundred or two less. They have a good system, have the bookies, and keep faith invariably with their clients. They have to, whether they like it or not, or they would soon be counted out.

One day "'Billy" had a bet oil a horse in the last race. It won. He was unable to see the bookmaker, but a friend assured him it would be all right if he presented his ticket at the club of the bookie next morning. He went along, and to his surprise saw hundreds of people waiting outside, the services of the police being continually requisitioned to keep the street way cleared. When he reached the enclosure, however, he discovered that he had lost his ticket. His apprehensions were allayed by his friend, who told liim that he would get his money all right. Eventually he saw the bookie himself, and explained the situation. The bookie called his clerk, ■ who said there were one or two amounts that had not been claimed. "Come in in the morning," said the bookie, "and I will fix you up." So "Billy" accordingly looked him up, but meanwhile Mr. Williams had found the missing ticket, but this facj; h e did not make known till the bookie had handed him the amount of his bet. It was this sort of thing, Mr. Williams explained, that made the public so satisfied with the bookmaking system and made them loth to change to the tote.

"Any chance for the tote over there?" quizzed present scribe. "Not if the public alone were consulted," replied Mr. Williams, "but the Government are determined upon its introduction. They see in it a chance of making dollars, and they won't miss the opportunity. But the bookie system, worked as it is at' present, is very satisfactory so far as the public are concerned. I would have had no chance of getting my dividend from the tote if I had lost my ticket as I had thought I had with the bookie." The bookies, as before mentioned, do big* biz. lie instanced the case of . one man who had a couple of assistants on either side of him. and a clerk at the back going like a steam-engine. They paid out no money. They were too busy for that. But to the rear there were another couple of men who did this work. And the bets made were simply astounding to a New Zealander,. A £IOO to 10s bet on a horse was not infrequent. They seemed to have good information about the prospects and form of the horses, and seldom were out in their judgment. Their books were made,to suit. On the whole, the Australians were greater sports than t ! >" Maorilanders, but not as "true"—thai is. as scrupulous—as our people. This i-miliod to bookie and the public alike. •'.Mine host" had a very good time on the other side, meeting quite a lot of old friends, and his health has improved immensely as a result of the trip, which he prescribes as the best medicine for anyone run down in this country,