SPORTING.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 June 1916, Page 2

SPORTING.

RETURN OF NEW ZEALAND HORSES. By Cable—Press Association—Copyright. Sydney, June 29. Mr. Shearsby will return to New Zealand on Saturday with the jumpers, The Hound and Sleight of Hand. WISHFUL SCRATCHED. Melbourne, June 29. Wishful has been scratched for all engagements. TURF TOPICS. (By "Moturoa.")

The Hawke's Bay Winter meeting takes place to-day and to-morrow. ceptances for the first day are first class, good fields being assured for every race. Amongst those engaged are Craw*ford. Styrax, Nita, and Dood, and the presence of these horses invests the meeting with more than usual interest for Taranaki. Quality will be represented at the gathering by such horses as Tarero, Jackman, Captain Jack, Naupata, Tararu Jack, Styrax, Gladful, Pursefillor, Multiplication, etc., and the racing should be interesting in view of Trentham and Riccarton possibilities later oh.

To-day's racing opens with the Woodlands Hack Steeplechase-(2 miles).'and of the eleven paid up fot The Chief, Paremata, and Nita have been showing fair form lately.

Fourteen remain in tlie. Winter Hack Handicap, a mile and a quarter race put nn for hacks. This move on the part of the .Hawke's Bay Club is one to be commended, being.calculated to sift out useful horses from the usual rubbishy •'hurry, up" hacks which are always so unfairly catered for. Few of those engaged have raced over the. distance, but Fore, Goldenlyte, and Dopi have some pretensions to staying. Tlie Hawke's Bay Hurdles (2 miles), looks an open affair. Tararu .Tack is on the spot, and on Wangamti form should hold the list division fairly safe. Tlie one conundrum of the race is Pursefiller, whose form at Napier cannot bo accepted as correct. Probably it was her off day. Will to-day see a reversal of form ?

The Whakatu Hack Hurdles will probably see ten horses sporting silk.' Bodenham and Gazette have had big following lately, and their track form lias been most promising. One horse engaged in the race is named Loafer, which is probably an example of appropriate nomenclature! The Summit looks head and shoulders above the Bracelet horses as regards quality, but has to be taken on trust for a twelve furlongs race. Atuatoro may be next in favor. Twenty hold their places in the Herotaunga Handicap (CJ furlongs), and amongst the. likely runners are Che'rrv Blossom and Cheloma, both of which ran well at Napier last week. Sea Ind also shaped well, and probably lie will be all the better to-day for his recent efforts. The Hawke's Bay Winter meeting will be concluded to-morrow.