SPORTING NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2300, 7 April 1887, Page 2

SPORTING NOTES.

(KKOM TIIK SYDNEY JIEPEKEE.)

A saddle has been made weighing only Ilbsnz. •-...-

Colonel Prazer intends to send sixteen mares to King-Cole next season.

< .My s all King.wjiH backed to win the .-Sydney Cnp'-for £2000 by his owner."

Thetf: Duke of Westminster has won £73,277 10s in stakes during the last five • years. £2(5 has boen collected by Mr Morris, secretary of Metropolitan Tattersalls, .in aid of the Biilli sufferers.

An old sporting identity of Tasmania, Mr Hartwmid,' has gone the way of all llesh having died at the age of 81.

£290 was paid to the successful owners over the Benalla Coursing Club. The largest winner was Mr M. P. Whitty with £115, having won two handicaps and the Trial Stakes.

Out of-the whole list of matches played by the English Eleven they have only been defeated twice. In the first instance they •played their first match a few hours after landing, and their last game was finished just.a few hours prior to their departure. ■ ' The'inembers of Tattersall's Club have again show their generosity and good feeling. At the. settling over Canterbury Park races a collection took place for the sufferers through .the Bulli disaster, when £220 was collected.

'Niagara, the New Zealand crack threa- • year-old, recently purchased by Mr W. Cooper, :and who is on his way to Sydney, has-been rather freely supported for the next Melbourne Cup and Derby. . The V. :R. C. cpmmittee have under consideration the., advisability of making the Melbourne Cup even more attractive than if "that be possible, by the addition ■"StALGOOpvs., which, with the sweepstakes, will bring its value up to 4000 sovs. Mr. (yxenham and Mr. M. Gallagher, have been very devoted to the cause of collecting;fundsto erect a tablet to the memory of the ;late Edward M'Grade, and it is pleasing to learn that they have raised £2000. It is estimated that £20 will purchase a tablet, and that the remaining £180 will be handed to his mother.

English jockeys are Apt to find it somewhat embrassing to ride for Indian magnates. It is reported that the Nuwab of Bhavvulpore recently presented an English jockey, who was successful in winning a race for him, with, besides his fee, " a quantity of native dresses and two wives." The latter offer was a sore perplexity: to. the jockey, who, however, "managed to decline ithe honour."

William Kirk, the well-known one-legged jockey, in New Zealand,- was brought up at the; Police Court, Queenstowu, 'recently, charged with threatening to shoot Mr John Smith, of Arthur's Point, who had objected to Kirk keeping company with his daughter. Accused was remanded till Friday next, bail being allowed, himself in £50, and two sureties at £25 each.

5 A Cheap Sike and a "Talk."

I cannot help making a remark about a notice I saw the other day in the London Sportsman. I see Ossian serving mares at five guineas each. I saw this horse, when the property of the Duke' of Hamilton, win the St. Leger, at Doncaster, in 18S3, with Watts in the saddle. He is now the property «f "Bob" Howitt, of Woodhoro' Mana, Nottingham. A few cheap sire*'of the Ossiau stamp would pay here. Now for the " tale." The Sunday before the bt. Leger of Ossiau's year I was at Newark, a little browing town not many iniles from Woodboro' itself. Strange to say, the fine old -parish church there tempted me to enter. It was fairly warm, and -.is the preacher proceeded to sermonise, I dosed. Pricking , up suddenly I heard the words " Ossian way at Rome." The first name ;\yas so uncommon that it rang in my ears, and as I left the church, I'thought where I hear it before, and then it struck me it was Ossiau, at about 12 to 1 for the Leger. The coincidence was so singular that I backed him, and stranger still a bit of the money was with a. Woodboro'man. He won, and I blessed that parson, and next day I again took the cake by lumping it.' on Lowland Chief for the Portland Plate, and he romped in.

The Sydney Cup. (By " Eauly Biud," in the Refeiieb, 31st JrIAKCH.) Thk twenty-second Sydney Cup will bo run on Easter Monday, at Rand wick. The "first Cup race was competed for in the year 1806 and won by Yaltendon, followed by Fishhook. Then came The Barb, who placed two successive cups to Mr John Tait's credit, and the next year found his sister Barbelle at the'head of the seventeen starters. Following these in succession" were Mermaid, The Prophet, Vixen, Speculation, Imperial, A.T., : Kingfisher, Democrat, Savanaka, Petrea, Progress, Ounnainulla, Darebin, ' Favo, Norman by, and Cerise and Blue. So far the sires of the winners have "been as follows: —Sir Hercules, 4;- Gemma di Vergy, 2 ; Kingston,?, 2 ; Maribyrnong, 2 ; while Fisherman, King Alfred, New Warrior, Yattendon, iTarragpn, Kelpie, King of the Ring, "Angler, The Peer, The Drummer, and Wilberforce have one each to their credit. • A't *the present time there are thirty-six who have cried content with the ha.ndicapper's estimate, and amongst them are some that will lake a deal of beating before the judge gives , his . verdict!. Such undoubted performers as Nelson,jTotn Brown, Arsenal, Lord Wilton, The Jewel, M6zart, Kitawa, Crossfire and Itivermay, should they start, must lend a lustre to the leading event of the New South Wales turf such as we have never seen before, and consequently the task I have set myself of finding out the winner is by no means a pleasant one, and it is at the same time must difficult.

Nelson heads the list with Ost 121b., or Sib. over weight-for-age. That the New Zealand bull-dog representative is not asked to take up too much must stand as proven from the resolute way in which he has been backed on all sides, but whether he will be a starter or not only time can reveal. Already there are whispered jn certain circles that his owner prefers weight-for-age events, but for the accuracy of ■ these I am not iti a position to vouch. Should Major George decide upon this course it would be well for him to put his horse's many friends out of their misery as soon as possible, and by doing so he will save the public a deal of money that is ready to go on Nelson at the present time, both straight out and in doubles. But should this. excellent animal strip for the occasion, it must be admitted even by the most prejudiced person, that he will be the hardest horse in the race to dispose of.

Tom Brown, with Sat. 91b., or 171b. less, is well in. The son of Kelpie—Happy Thought, is the same age as Nelson, and is only asked to carry half a stone for his brilliant victory in Tattersall's Cup. Remembering the way he left the field on that occasion when called on there need bo little doubt that had he the same weight then as he has in the Cup the verdict would have been exactly the same, and without going any further he must give the top weight more trouble than anything he has to combat with, and on those grounds must bo closely looked after. If Arsenal's run in the Australian Cup was a " square " one, then he might be dismissed. It should not be forgotten, however, that he is suffering from bad feet, and it is more than likely that he will be a nunstarter. Lord Wilton, Sst 71b, is a ringer when " wanted," bat I feel satisfied that the distance is not at all to his fancy, and would advise my friends to let him run. The Jewel, with 31b less, is in fair nick, and the weight should not over-burden him. Honeydew comes next with Sst 21b, but I am not enamoured with his show. ■ -Grace Darling is not a likely starter, while Fraud has been leniently enough treated with 7st 101b, and should he get home on Saturday, will become a warm favourite for the Cup. Blairgowrie is very well, but I fancy two miles is above his cut. TheLevite is about to come over, but from his previous performances, seeing that he has never been the journey, and (he weights carried by him have not exceeded those he is asked to carry on this occasion, he need not.be feared. Kitawa and Mozart are both on the 7st. Gib. mark, and a rosy couple they are, too. I'happen to know thn former likes the journey, while those who " ought toknow" make no secret of the latter's abilities, and the pair must be branded " dangerous." Crossfire is remarkably well, and 7st. 411). would assist her more than a stone less, and those who invest their money on this game little bit of horse-flesh will not regret It. Invermny, should he see the post, and be as well as when he swept the board at Wagga, is another worth watching. It is scarcely likely that the winner can be concealed in the following: Ringmaster,

Cheshatn, Silver King, Sloth, Stanley, Willoroo, Folly. Tamarisk or Agra. Phuon provod that lie could got to the end of tho distance by his fourth in tho Australian Cup, but I fancy he is scarcely brilliant enough to score a win against such horses as he meets . in : the top weights. Sorella is going nicely, and administered a .sound drubbing to her stable companion, Coiobnn, yesterday morning, but there is a vast difference between a mile mid ii-half and two miles, and as the mare does not relish the latter distance, slip may be dismissed without further consideration. The only other horse thought to have a show in anion}; the light weights is Myall King, but he will have to show better form than that exhibited in work, otherwise'the winner will be unsaddled before ho gets home. And having come to the end of my tether it will ba soon that tho half-dozen most likely to produce the winner, in my opinion, are as follows:—Nelson, Tom Brown, Kitawa, Mozaut, Crossfire and iNVEItMAY. Latest Betting. [reuter's telegrams.] (Received April Oth, 12.40 p.m.) Sydney, Wednesday. In the betting on the Cup Nelson has advanced to 100 to ;30, and is firm at that price; Jewel is next in demand at Bto 1. ■ The' English Waterloo coursing this, year was interfered with by frost, as instead of commencing on Wednesday/ ii.s.iunal,, and. concluding on Kritlay, a, postponement of twenty-four horn , . B was necessary. 'The frost was so keen that it was feared acoirimencement could not be made during the' week, in which case the draw 'would 'have been void, as well,as all bets declared off. During the. many years the Waterloo' Cup has existedthere are few instances of postponements through frost. The first was in 18G5, when, ther'e was , a stoppage for a week, and the draw and bets were void. .The winner was Meg, who was not in the first draw. The second postponement was in 1870, when Sea Cone won, and when the' great Master M'Grath suffered his first and only defeat ;■ whilst the third occasion was Misterton's year,. 1879. In both these instances, however, a day's postponement only was. necessary. It is computed that over 30,000 people were.present,on the opening day of this year's Waterloo Cup.