SPORTING.

Taranaki Daily News, 15 June 1918, Page 3

SPORTING.

RAGING FIXTURES. ,j Juno IS —Giisborne R.C. Winter. June 21, 22—Napier 11.C. Winter. June 28 2i9—llawko's Bay j.C. Winter. July 10, 13—Wellington R.C- Winter. TROTTING. ASOBURTON TROTTING MEETING. At tie Ashitmrton Trotting Cluib's meeting £18,676 10s was ,put through the totalisator, against £13,243 10s last year. Results;— TRIAL HANDlCAP.—Rotheliff, scr 1; Malice, ser, 2; Necessity, ser, 3. Won by six lengths. Time, 3min 38 2-ssec. LONG® EACH HANDICAP.—Ben Bell, 12yds behind, 1; Havana, 180 yds, 2; Beeswing, T2yda, 3. Won by two lengths. Time, 3min 50 2-ssec. AiSHBIJIRTON TKOTTJNG COT.—'TriiPointer, 24yds behind, 1; Rundura, scr, 2; Rorke's Drift, scr, 3. Won by two lengths. Time, 4min 37 1-Ssec. AMATEUR HANDICAP.—Verona, scr, 1; Winestra, set, 2; Malice, scr, 8. Won by a length and a-half. Time, 2in in 25sec. ACTOX HANDICAP.— I.opando Dillon, scr, 1; Xavier, scr, 2; Star i-.'ueen, 12yds behind, 3. Won by five lengths. Time, 2min 57 2-ssec-PRESIDENTS HANDICAP .-nßonette, scr,_ 1; Marcouta (? Marietta), 84yds behind, 2; Beeswing, 7i2yds, 3. Won by live lengths. Time, smin 4sec. WINTER HANDlCAP.—®undura, ser 1; Albert Cling, 12yds behind, 2; Pitaroa, 24yds, 3. Won by two lengths. Time. 2mi n 5o 2-ssee. FAREWELL HANDICAP.—legacy, 12yds ibehind, 1; Ohaos, 24yds, 2; Wild Cherry, 12yds, 3. Won by three lengths. Time, 2min 20 2-osec. TURF TOPICS. (By "Moturoa.") Concluding day at Gisfoorne. Napier on Friday and Saturday nest. Pursoiiller paid a great price on Thursday. Hymeona goes to Sydney at IOOOgs. Sandy Paul is set to meet Master Tim! on 111b better terms to-day. If Expedition stands up in the Hack Steeples, he will Mke some beating. Hylatus broke a leg at Otaki this week, and was destroyed. Kauri King fences fairly well, but one mile and three-quarters appears to be the length of his tether. Last year Sandy Paul won the Gis•borne Steeples in smin 59see. On Thursday he was just beaten in 6min 44sec. Owing to having kicked himself Diavolo was not taken_to Gislborne, but the gelding is to race at Greenmeadows next week. Died in Auckland! Tfecently, "'Bill" irn) 7l ' 6 "'' known in Hawera in the 90 s as the owner of Sartoria and other good horses. Irish names are all the "go" now. For those not up in the lingo, it may be explained that "Chappal „Moh" only means 'good horse," while Mahgoloire" stands for "good enough." Of course you all know "Polthogue." The Wangonui trainer, H. Rayner, has returned Dasher Boy to his owner, the chestnut's box now being occupied by Carmol Arch.

Ahika, who won the Final Scurry at Otaki in hollow fashion, is a four-year-old gelding by the Carbine horse Campnre, from Louie, and is trained by F. Carmont. Ahika promises to prove a good advertisement for Campfire next season. There was a big attendance of sporting folk at the funeral of the late George Harper, at Wanganui on Tuesday. The deceased was a papular figure in sporting circles, and was interested in a! number of good horses recently trained b} Alex. Hall.. iHia early and sudden (path came as a shock to & large circlft of friends. Ibex accompanied Kauri King and Co. to Gislborne, but has no engagements there. The erstwhile Wanganui sprinter will race at Napier next week. Joekater Dave CShea, who has been an inmate of a Palmerston hospital since his bad smash there some months ago, was aible to return to Auckland this week. He is one of our'most promising lads, and it is to be hoped that he has used u,p" all the ibad luck that is com* iiig to him for some tkne. You have to get up early in the morning to catsli some fellows. A pal o' mine was discussing to-day's Gisiborne a ceeptances yesterday, and picked out Gazique, at a rise of Slib, as a likely one for his money, and, on consideration, it was reckoned that the son of Gazelle and Paulina would pay little more than evens. My pal then went round to interview a Bar Von, who was just lining off a douible chart on the AVaikanae Handicap and Farewell Handicap at 25 to 1. He took every one of the six horses in the former race with Gazique, and now stands to get a £4 odd dividend Gazique in the Farewell. The Bar Von is still pondering deeply!

The other day the Farmers' Union had something to say about racing in war time, and their hostile remarks cannot be allowed to go without comment. In the first place, the farmers are the biggest profiteers over the war, and what time they aren't adding up their war profits, or choosing a new -benzine waggon, t hoy appear to be appealing for their Patricks and Percivala before the various military boards. The farmers are "getting their load on" at present, and it savors of ."nerve" for them to point the (grimy) finger of scorn at townsfolk who are patronising patriotic race meetings, and answering every call for cash, every day in the week. The farmer is well cleap of the perpetual coll(vt ion-plate, and, it "hurts" when a starts to give advice. Racing'in New Zealand will not affect the war in Europe or anywhere else, and if sportsmen are guilty of a show of indifference to the Empire's interests by patronising racing, perhaps our farmer friends will explain how rt is that soldiers at the front take a keen interest in our sporting fixtures, while returned soldiers and the boys up from camp attend our meetings in full strength. Surely, the returned toys know that there is a war on, and if they see no harm in it, the stay-at-hoane '"cookies" have no need to wax indignant. Taranaki horses were out of luck on Thursday, a trio of heavily-backed ones tasting defeat, Sandy Paul evidently ran a great race in the- Gislbome Stcrnlc, but Master Timi proved too speedy for him ov«r the, distance* Ea.

usually a, good jumper, failed, to get round without mishap, and movement was quite outclassed. Prohalbly their "hackers will go for a recovery today. Puraefiller is easily the best hurdler 011 the ground, and it would take a lot o.f weight to stop her ii site was caught jij a galloping mood '.lisiborne. Cleft' should be suited 'by tlu' shorter distance to-day, and General Stephen and Torchlight should both strip well. Tho failure on the flat usually ends Up at the illegitimate game. This is the. ■fate l of Hopfield, the much-boomed 'Stralian that "ioroke"' nearly every traek tout in Auckland. Hopfield was always a good track horse, and it is not surprising to hear that he is a good jumper. He has the ability, but, as" the religious papers say, "the flesh is weak." The iaii end of a season sees the usual number of "positively last appearances" oi horses on the racecourse, and prominent retirements this year include those good horses Kilhoy and Balboa. Th& writer knows of dozens of others that might be retired, but hope springs eternal in soma owners' breasts! Arch Marella, who was sold to 'Mr. 'Saul Hordern for 1500gs the other day, i 3 a colt by Marble Arch—Seatonella. He was bred in the Auckland district, and was named Marella as a youngster. His 'Stralian owner preferred a double name, and tho colt appears to have turned out one of the speediest of tho Marble Arch brigade to date. Naupata was dead lame when sent to Dunedin, but he took off both hurdle races in easy style, and returned homestill on three legs. What a happy hunting ground the south would foe for a useiful horse liUe Paul Moore!

NORTH TARANAKI HUNT CLUB. A deputation from the above club, consisting of Messrs A. H. Haleombe, B. Chaney, W- T. Hookha'rn, and T. Buchanan, wafted on the committee of the Egmont Racing CMb, Ban-era, on Thurp day evening, the dbject 'being to prefer a request that t ; he Egmont Club might see its way clear to transfer the one-day meeting they are entitled to over to the. Hunt Club. The deputation were very cordially received. The club passed the following resolution:—'That the Egmont Racing Club, having decided to hold' a one-day meeting in September, were unail)le to gTant the request of the deputation but that they offered to make the meeting a combined one allowing three or four hunting events to go on the programme, such events to bs to suit the require-j mcnts of the Hunt Club, and that the two clubs equally divide the proceeds of the meeting." v After a short consultation, the proposal was accepted, and the Egmont committee very heartily thanked for the generous manner in which they had treated the Hunt Cluib. A programme was then discussed and adopted. The meeting will take place at Hawera on September 12. There are to be eight events, three for qualified hunters, a hack hurdle race, two open and two hack events making up the list. In all cases the value of the stakes has been considerably raised, the M*Rae Memorial Stakes being worth £-300, as against £3OO in previous years. Other races have also been considerably raised in value, and as there is to be no spring meeting at Wanganui this year, Egmont should have a successful day.