SPORTING.

Taranaki Daily News, 29 March 1916, Page 7

SPORTING.

DONCASTER AND CUP ACCEPTORS. By Cable, Press Association—Copyright Sydney, March 27. lrst acceptors for the Doncaster Handicap include: Traquette, Athenic and. •Sonite. For the Sydney Cup: Carlita, deputation and Ked Signal, TURF TOPICS. (By "Moturoa.") The Pahiatua Racing Club's annual meeting takes placo to-day. The class ot horses engaged is only moderate, but some slight interest may be aroused in the running of improved horses like Maraetotara, Martlet, Black Lupin, and Altercation. Weights for the Thompson Handicap at Trenthain should keep the "pickers" very busy. Chortle appears to have caught it very hot with 0.9, and the 9.2 division, Panmure, Tete-a-Teto and Emperador, should all hold him safe. Nones is well in'with 8.13, and Pursefiller 8 2 Taringamutu 7.12, and Orleans 7,12 are not badly treated. The Railway Handicap is another open event. Tete-aTete is such a great spnnter that little need may be taken of 9.9. Probably strongest opposition may come from the middle-weight division, and Centre, Sweet Corn and Sea.Lord have all shown a liking for the straight six furlongs at Trentham.

. A Wanganui hurdler, which .wis given a run in a flat race at Bulls the other day, puzzled his owner and the public generally by his peculiar antics. He went like the wind for half a mile and then stopped. And the further he went the more frequently he halted. The only conclusion the owner could come to was that the neddy was looking for hurdles! He couldn't tumble to flat racing after being over the sticks for so long. "He just walked in!" How many times have we heard that expression, and with \yhat joy it was received when our coin happened to be on' the easy winner? But "just walking in" doesn't always "go," as a Southern trotting man found out recently. It was at Bengerburn (Otago), and a trotter with the appropriate name.of The Sprinter won the Ellriek Trot so comfortably, that lie was pulled up to a walk before reaching the judge's box. As & result the judge refused to hoist the nag's number, on the ground that he had "walked" past the post. The rules, as framed, mainly hit at "galloping" past the post, but this judge appears to have placed an unique construction on the words, and the whole matter will come before the N.Z. Trotti'ig Association shovtly. Slow Tom, winner of the Grand National of 1904, recently broke a leg and was destroyed. One notable absentee from the Rangi-tikei-meetmg was Mr. Jas. Bull, whose son, Melville, was recently reported killed at the front. The deceased hero was well-known as a successful gentleman rider, and the gameness which characterised his deeds over fences remained with him io the end. The Awapuni Gold Cup promises to prove a big drawing card at the forthcoming meeting. An opportunity of seeing Desert Gold, Nones, Chortle, Balboa, Panmure and J'.ngible measuring strides should not be missed. Inglewood sports will regret to hear that Mr. Eric Julian recently had the misfortune to lose his wife at Palmerston. The sympathy of many friends gbea out to Eric in his sad loss, We hear a terrible lot about the alleged stoppage of horse racing in the Old Country, but recent mails from Home put a very different complexion on affairs. The fact of. the matter is that the English Jockey Club has agreed to the proposition that the stewards, most of whom belong to the nobility, should approach the Government with a view to increasing the ,number of race meetings in war time. The idea is to follow in the footsteps of Australasian racing clubs by running patriotic meetings, and thus helping the Government on the financial side. .The many thousands of pounds which have gone into the coffer s of the New Zealand Government, -or to the various Y.M.C.A., Returned Soldiers', and other Funds, have been mainly gathered from people who would not have contributed otherwise.