SPORTING.

Taranaki Daily News, 9 August 1915, Page 7

SPORTING.

AUSTRALIAN lIUUDLKS. Cy Cable—l'ress Association—Copyright. Kcccivcd August 8, 5,5 p.m. Melbourne, August 7. AUSTRALIAN HURDLES.— Uxbridge 10.13 (Gray) 1, Lord Grey 11.5 (Boyd) a, Flavell 0.7 (O'Neill) 3. All the ue-ec-j>tors started, liahony, WiUden, and Jack Rice made the early running. Halt' a mile from home Oxbridge went to the front, followed by .lack llice, Van Ho.iiJ'oigli, Lord Grey, Kaheny, and Flavell. The same order was maintained over the last hurdle, and after a fine finish Ufbridge won by one and a-quarter lengths, a head separatm;? second ami third horses. Time, li.5:P/. WILGOII STEEPLECHASERS' I>'LAT. Piteheree 1, Forest l'riuce CorradSill 3. Won by half a liock. Time, 3.33}. TURF TOPICS. (By "Moturoa.") The final payments received on Friday evening for the principal events at the Grand National meeting are, at iir.--t glance, rather disappointing. Only fifteen remain in the Grand National Steeplechase, and sixteen in the Grand National llnrdles, but the Winter Cup has filled splendidly, a line crowd of twenty-six being paid up for. All three races look fairly open, and the big Hurdles and Winter Cup should be well worth watching. Kiecarton will be the Mecca of most stporta to-morrow, and quite a number of Turanaki-itea will be in evidence there this week.

Jackmau t> li withdrawn from the big | steeplechase —s=V-"S the final payments fell due, ami prastically nothing olse of importance went out ou Friday. Tirohanga's Pahiatua form was not good enough to encourage his party going on with the National engagement, and Naupata ha 3 been unsound of late. The others, Rustic, Prairie Fire, and Stockade, would hardly have got round the country, The fifteen left in include well fancied ones like Tim Roolan, Daylight Bill, Morning, Fagot, Ngatiruanui, anil Sandy Paul, as well as a promising lightweight in the ehapo of Ctiptain Slack j r . The Grand National Hurdles will not trouble punters much until Thursday, but in the interim the running of National candidates in the Trial Uurdles and Jumpers' Flat Races will be. watched with interest. Tragedy King dropped out of the Ifurdlcs ea:!v last week, and whin final payments v.ere ported it \>r>s found that the only defectors were Tho Rover, Waipunoa, Maniaroa, and Moddite,' Possibly Waipunoa had a rough chance, but the others were not favored at all. With Royal Arms, Lconta, Admiral Soult, Sir Donald, Awahou, Multiply, Styrax, Master Lupin, Harbour Light, Hurakia, anil several likely-look-ing lightweights still holding their ground thia should bo the race of the meeting. The Winter Cup is always a punters' puzzle, and with twenty-six engaged tomorrow, the Bolution may not be worked out by many. The chief •withdrawals ore Multiply, Clynelish, Awahou, Master Lupin, and Shaki, and the crowd still sticking to their guns Include dangerous horses like Haskayne, John Barleycorn, Ruapani, Bluestone, Banksia, George, and Glenroy. A close finish is anticipated. The acceptances for Tuesday's minor events are just plain ordinary, Awahou, Plymouth, Vascular, Clemency, a'ld ' Rongora have been allowed to drop out of the Trial Hurdles, leaving Multiply at the head of a field of seven—a pour response for a stake of 250 sovs. Six scratching have reduced the possible starters in the Hunters' Hurdles to a dozen, and only eight figure in (ho Tally--1I» Plate. The Jumpers' Flat Race lias filled better, and much interest will be centred 011 the running of Admiral Soult, Diavolo. Styrax, Sir Donald, Harbour Light, Sam Pan, and Ruatangata in this event. A fair crowd of lesser lights are carded for the F.nfield Steeples, the seventeen acceptors including Bonny, Rustic, Baiulalero, Northern, The Mouse, and others. Twenty horses remain in 1 lie Avonhead Welter, and Nicomar, Toko, Mandoline, Veritas, and others . have all shown fair form this season.

Taranaki stables will be well represented at Riecarton this week. Glenroy, Sandy Paul, Styrax, Fortify, Harbour Light, and Tirohanga are all on the scene of action, and with ordinary luck should pull out a fair portion of the stakes. Arthur Oliver was granted a lieenso on Thursday, and will ride Glenroy in the Winter Cup. 0. McCarten will pilot Fortify. Sid Reid will ride Harbour Light in the Grand National Hurdles. L. Traill was to have ridden Royal Arms, but his license has been suspended by the Hawke's Bay Jockey Club. Cornelian shaped poorly in the big steeplechase at the Pakuranga Hunt meeting, and fell early in the piece. lie is no champion. Encore, who was much boomed by Hawera touts last season, is sprinting in good style at Riecarton just now. Probably J. O'Sliea will ride the Maniapoto gelding there. It is unfortunate that Mr. Gerald Stead's recent importation, Plymouth, has been lain aside through getting in the worst of an argument with that Yankee abomination—a barbed wire fence. He is a great horse, and would have been very unlucky to go through the "National meeting without a win considering how the handicapper overlooked his fine performances on the flat and over sticks in 'Stralia.

Glenroy continues to do all that is asked of him, and the New Plymouth horse must be very fit. He will carry a ton of Taranaki money in the Winter Cup, and may divide favoritism with Blue-stone,

The Urn ml National meeting takes place on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday of this week.