A RECORD OF SPORT.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 792, 14 July 1877, Page 2

A RECORD OF SPORT.

(Compiled expressly for the Waikato Times.) : Auckland, July 5. The Melbourne Gup weights which appeared on the 13*.h June, have already led to some very heavy speculation iu Australia, and judgih c from the tone of the " Australasian," this famous race bids fair this year to excite quite as much additional interest, in comparison with past years, as ib Ims obtained more numerous entries. Since racing has been an institution in the Southern ,hemisphere, I have nevi»r before riea d of a horse being backed to win £4 ),000 5 - yet lam informed that within a week, of (he publication of the imposts, Mr Power's 3 year-old colt, Tarauaki was supported to this extent. Most of the bees wore booked within a very lew minu es on the 18th ulto, and comprised -uch leviathan wagers us £5.000 to £l5O, £IO,OOO to £3OO, .£IO,OOO to. £SOO, £I.OOO to £uo, &c The. hovai in whose chances of winning such confidence is exhibited, at such *n early eta e is described as a black or grey colt *by Kingstonc-Saphi), and is thus full b> other to tha ceLsbrat d Kingftborougb, so that be comes of a splendid raomg stock, As a two-year-old . be won the Flying Scanes at thi Victoria Racing Oiub Spring Meetiug, but did little besides, so that it mast bo bis . private reputation winch has given him his present prominent position in the quotations and not. bis public performances. These premature favorites rarely pull off the good things for which they are supposed to be certanties, and it will be somewhat remarkable if Savanaka turns out as great a clipper as he is said to be. His weight, 7at 2ib. is a nice handy impost, but it alwayß takes a rattling good thee-year-old to get to the front in this race, as wituess Richmond only seoond with the same weight iu 1875, The next favorite is the Vagabond, 3jrs 6*3& 91b, a stable companion of the Barb. Mr Potty's, grand old horse, himself appears among the entries, and if he should carry 9st 31b—the- top weight—to victory after half a dozen yeara retirement at the stud there will be auoh a scene of entunsiasui us is «eld<>m witnessed on a racecourse, idalia, 3yrs, sst 111bj Hancot, 7at 71b (•—t winner in 1874); Tom Kirk, 6yrs, 7st ,51b; Chester, 3yrs, ,6st 12ib—possibly the best two year-old of last yar—Salesbury, 3yrs, 6st 3.b; Newminster, 4yrs, Bst 3ib ; Filibuster, 4yra, 7tt 2lb are those ranking next in tae present quo rations, but we may expect imp >rtibt changes at any mum nt. In the case of iihe last named a singular discrepancy appears in the handicapping. Filibuster won the A. I elude So Lager beat, iug Pride of tbeHilla at levoi weights. In the Cup the latter has to ooucete no less than 261b to his conqueror. Of couise the presumption is that the winner ol the last Champion Stakes was out oi form at Adelaide, .yet, 2 st all nut 2 lbs seems to be a tremendous difference to make between them. Bnseis, afcer la>t years victory, is let in nn v ry easy terms, wiih only Bst, -and I*m fully, prepared to see her backed at a short price, to repeat, the coup. The Paiuter, another eigbtsconer, is also a liiiely candidate. He has disappoint id his friends up to the present, but he showed in something like his true colours, when he won the 3.A.J.C Handicap, the other day, with 8s& 4ibs up, beating a go.id field. If I were to take tweuty against the field, my choice would be somethin4 like these : - Robinson Crusoe, Bst lOibs; Spark, Bit 361; Newminster, Bst3ib; Paiuter, B<c;8 <c; Uriseis, Bst; Adelaide, Bst; Aldmga, 7st 101b; Haricot, 7st 7:1b; St<uy 7a c 7ib j rtacaplan, 7sc 6lb ; Irish dtew, 7sc slb ; Tom Kirk, 7st 4lb ; 'Filibuster, 7st 21b; Artful Joe, 6st 121b ; Chester, 6st 12lh ; Lockleys, 6st lll'b; Vagabond 6st 9>bj Device, 6st 3lb j Savanaka, 6st 2lb; Lialia, sst 111b. We are remiuded of the New Zealand Campaign of by the fact that nominations for the Canterbury Jockey Ciub Handicap, and the Canterbury Cup, to each of whiob is attached the douceur of £SOO, cloje on the first of August. The Australasian calls at cent ion, to the large stakes which are now being advertised in New Zealand, and it is probable that a few Australian horses will be entered.

Mr James Minaghao, who was training for Mr Delamain, at Ohriatchurch, has returned to New South Wales, where he was jormerly well known as a j .okey, and h*a accepted au engagement to mauage the .Rapid Biy stu<i for Mr F Wentworto. Mr Yt end, well known as ; the owner of King Pnillip and itory O'More, has also left the Uolony. He intends to settle in Hobarc Town, as a trainer.

The shook caused by the death of poor Pilling is pa-sing away, and football is again being played wilh vigour on Saturday afternoons. The slight alteration in the rulos, the insertion of the words ' slinging' «and "butting' in the list of prohibited jjrapbicts, Ins made, practically speaking, no alteration whatever in the

that game. My own i mpresß i oa ig ib would; have been better td da away with .carrying the ball more than a few yaads ; out,, altbousfh,this proposition was. made at vb.e public to consider the rules, it was not carried. The faofc is, that ftintiiog is the stroug ; point of most. of.our beat playem, and theW were all strongly against making an alteration .which.would'have reduced them to the ,comm'»n; kvel; The fd lowing remarks referring to.this practice of carrying the ball arerery well expressed, and exactly , bear out my own ideas on the subj ofc. j t VNo one who has watched Ku«by football during the past 10 years can have failed \ rema ;\ fyw much dropping has yone out of fashion/ « Run as far as you can,' and then drop as far as you can/is an 'Old motto for back players that is sadly neglected now. It is quite the exception for a back or half-back to finish up his run with a long drop; he infinitely precontinue running till he is kiokel or shoved into touoh. This system of incessant carrying by both forwards and backs has led to numberless complaints from spectators, unprejudiced as well as prejudiced, that the game is nothing now but picking up the ball and ruuning with it; and it must be admitted that, in the •' great j maj.rity of maoh*s, the case id as stated, and that the gajpe, of late years, has been robbeol of uiuoii of its neauty aud interest by the general neglect of dropping.' In addition to all fcbis, I believe what danger there is in the game, a3 played by men, lies iu th* running, and, uatil this is discountenanced by the rules, so long will accidents occur. Just fancy ; Auckland trying to revive the buried glories of the P.R. We have ' actually had a prize-fight here during the last few days, aud such a rare event de. serves special notice. The affair was got very quiety, but, still it was not kept quue darn enough to prevent the police knowing all about it. ' Have you got a ticked': I was asked very mysteriously by a knowing young blade, last Saturday. ' lickwt. for what,': I asked, pretending entire ignorance of the whole affair. 'Oh! don't you kuow? Davis aud tlull are going to have a mill for £SO a side, on Monday morning. The start is So b« a(j 5 o'c ook, from .'a, and tha tickets are 7a 6J.' Then I laughed heartily, for, although I had bee.i told some days beforehand that an affair of the kind was iu process of arrangement, yet it was so palpably a 'cross' ihat I had concluded in my own mind the parties concerned would never have the i npud nee ta carry it out. Davis, you must kiow, is an old 'pug,' aud has* earniug a precarious living by ghing lessons in the noble art of self defence at a den in fcC ibs&u-street. tie has not mudi style, but is very effeclive for a little *'un,' "Hull, until now, has beeu considered a respectable yoiuug fellow, and was inteiy a c.erk in one of our wholesale houses. l£e id a pretty spatrer, but at the roil busmjss i would not stand a silo.v with D tvis. vVhafc on earth iudueed him to make su.-U an ass of himself as to lend himself to ihts swindle is hard to dis over. To make tho exhibition wear a legal uspeot, it w.is caded a glo/e-ftght; out it, was industriously put about in order to sustain the ardour of the purchisers of the. tickets, tnat tie gljves ' .vouJd merely consist of * kids 'with the fingers cul off. How, the parties male a show of me ting nearJpox'd Creek on Monda / moruing, <*nd there diUidied about until our two •ictecives, iviio had giveu them noar.y an hour to have their fun, were obliged out of shc'or reapsoc for tuemselves to coma out of tiieir hiding piaje a : ,d tell tue n to clear out; andhjiv they uil clear out j and now aft r/i ards, wuen only three or four of their friends- were present, tiiey (jreteudod to.sewo at in a ibid at the back of Isaac Ghvy line's j and now Davis—commonly called 'the oil 'un,' knocked Hull out of time in aboil, live rounds—how allthisaud uiofe uappe.ied, you have dou itles's read or hoard of; • It give 3 me much pleasure to add tuat the affair as a inoney-in iking vducure wis a decided failure. Only a vtry fe«v tickets were sold, and those who Uougut taeoi richly deserved beujj tuenseives sold, as tucy were, most egregiously. It seems there is a -me piooability of an Australian taam being .together to make a tour round tue colonies, an i then proceed to England for the purpose of trying their strength aguiast the AH Jffiogland Eleven 'at Hornet.' The sscretary of fhe Auckland Uricxefc Oinb has received a letter-f coin .vlr Jo iinGou way of Melbourne,, uskiug vvuut m lucanent eau ba offered them tj co-jieliere. H<* menii >ns ev;?ral :f ih> oeat Known ojiomal pl;v»ra .a likely lo take pu« iu ttiij inp. I ncpa, "■ hoy u-e prepaid to tiu\ o,jjuiieu;,i voiy v idlVouo iroui Liny* hue's team of .usmngtons. Tne p.e.uniaary turn round tue colonies is a capital idea, i.>e it will do a great deal to stre.igtlie.i the team by d.moling the muuibji-s tj wed together. i'n<j is a., pi-eseut m au embryo state, we may expect more anon- Auckland nas gaiue »an acues -ion oi in uogii o iiket andfootbdl Juring the last few days oy th<* arrival of .** >V VV itobius.yii to ren le here for the \ future. Tn.s gautie ua iis sj .vjil known in conaeoi'ion with b >;h departmonts of sport that his virtues need no comment. Tue race between i'rickett an.l Kush turned"Ut a Very one-jidod affur. ACcjr.img to our tel,jgranj, wan. adiouousiy easily, and to another, he was not oilled upon 10 row after the first mile. v Kush and ma partizans according to idl aocmius were comfideut to tae last. tiomj gentlemen in Auckland wre loud in deolariu j thit flush would beui. i'nekett as eisily as Trickett beat da tier, but they wen out in their reckouiug, aui evidently did n>>t tike into accouut tue napoveuieut which L'nckett would snow alter two mouths' tuition u..ckr tlarry a.elly. The fact of tfcush refusiug lo adupi the sliding seat m tue face of its known superiority over the old fixed oentiii, savuurs somewhat of presuinptiou, for it looks as it he hai to himself 'I can give hioi that in, and liok linn.' Tne 'dome Slews' says there are three ineu iu who cm beat Sailer— Higgms and Biiu'ktuau. It holds out hopes oi oae or even two of thitn coming out to try ooaolusious with L'ncKett. . VATBB.