AN SPORTING COLUMN. NOTES BY VIGILANT.

The Melbourne Cup, the Viotorian Derby, the; Canterbury ' Jockey Club Handicap and_Cup — the fonr sporting events whicl have been looked^forward to with the great! »t amohnt of interest for the ; lagt six montis— aS^at lengtli,.decided. ?neach event the 'r'nng" has scored a victory, and back< rs arp^now biting their fingers and recko aing njJ-ways and means for settlingday, i So it- happens time after time,, and go it 1 rill happen till th&end of the chapter, . and ; pet [the victims will come up again smilmg and flatter themielves thatthey will be on the- right side next time. When I coma to reflect upon the present state of thelurf i£ Hew Zealand I am surprised that I the bookmakers can find sufficient dupes to £ fiß their books-wind pockets. Whit horse* are there in the colony to beat Temple^bn, Fishhook, Maritana^ Finfire.lHornbjC Agent, Hilarious, and Co. ? and [yet all these are owned by, or run in the interest of, the bookmakers, who nine timM outr-of ten hold the key to the result of tlhe big "races in their own hands. In the C J C. Handicap this year Ray had Fishhook, Templeton, and Marjtana all favorites ia turn, and although the public getlnotbittg out of bis defeat by an uncertain customer like Chancellor, I am afraid thai they v do not sympathise with* " Bob" in his affliction. Then look at the in and outr unning of Hornby, Templeton, aDd Betrayer during the last few days. The first najhed wins the Derby and Betrayer runs_ last. In the Cup Templeton is a: long way behind Betrayer, who is now able to turn the tables on his Derby conqueror. ""Then in- the- Plate -Templeton witis, and Betrayer, who could run away from the old horse the day before, is only thifd. **And, notwithstanding that such complications as these are common, people are so foolish as to try and win at backing favorites. The running forthe Melbourne Cup, the- particulars of which have now reached tfs, gives us no explanation of how Hecundus got " blocked^ It simply states that he? was right in theruck'until making the beriff for home, when he oame through and made up a lot of ground iti'^Ke straight, without, however, bridging' him up nearer than seventh or eighth at the finish. The details of the Doncastef St. Leger prove what a-falsely run race' the English Derby 'waa this year. 1, Sir Bevys, Palmbearerf and Visconti, the: 'three placed h&rsesjat Epsom, all ran at-Doncaster, and not on,e waafwithin hail of Eayon DOr, ¦vjjho won eaffly by five lengths. Mr. Lorillard rfaj*; evidently been- pleased with the result JoST his venture in-sendibg^Parole to Englaftd^fofr.we now hear that lie has sent eight yearlgigs and^jjhetttwo-year old to Ire trained byj Mr. Geo^Bishop inrEngland. : What a nice little incomejor.a jockey is £/2000* a yeift Thab^Jß Archer's income, vf ithoflfc counting extras. He leaves Lord ITalmd\Uh <fe the end of ihis 'season, and takes \m engagement- with the Duke of Westminster, whose - retainer alone is #000^ Year. " , - " J Th<f sale of the CobharxLStud realised a far larger sum than had been anticipated. The toial was 55,550 guineas. 'Blair Athol only fetohed 4500 guineas. „ It will be remembered that he coat the company 12,500 guineas ; but it must not be supposed that he pftved a bad bargain. > On the contrary^ Ids services are calculated to have turned- in to the stud a profit of 25,000 guineas. ; The Amateur Athletic Club Sports were a success in evervjpther respect than the weaEEer, 'wlich was atrocious. TheYnmiirrg in all the short events was very good, and the Ulub has plenty of very fair sprinters ; but, excepting Berry, who I should think runs three miTes better than one, I do not knowwherfewe are to find long-distance 'representatives in the Wanganui competition on Boxing Day. The weekly handicaps to befrun by the Club members are sure to proVe] popular, and are about the best means that could have been d.evised for bringing out any latent talent that may {exist. ? * J ' ' The Caledonian- Society have arranged jtheirprog^ammefor New. Year.'s Day, and, jas it -contfins a greaterVvariety of sports jthanEthe other athletic programmes, it will j in all probability attract a large concourse jof spectators, in spite of its coming so I close upprf the heels of the contest between i the Wellington and Wanganui Amateur ! Athjetic Olubs 'on-Boxing Day. I should , suggest to/the society that next year they should publish their programme__at least three months befor£*thlF day,"" and "that j they should include, at least two events"-'— \ say, for instance,: a short andalbngdis- < tanoe footrace handicap, with prizes of sufficient valae to at) ract good men from a I distance. '- It migh ; i also be consider- d - whether it, would no; <\je conducive to the I Buccess o|tae gathering to pay a portion , of the expenses of any well-known runners,, who 1 might be willing to come if this ! were done 1 . (Since ¦ the foregoing was ! written, the? society has -arranged to give I £40 in prize* for a ; Caledonian Champion t Handicap; to be run 1 over three distances, namely. jJgOyds, £40yds, and 880 yds. . Prizes of £5, £2, and £1 will be given in each event, and, in addition to these, aggregate prizes of £10, £4, and £2 will be given to the three highest scorers in the * competition. - -FulL particulars will bo ad- ? vertised at once,) , '¦ lam glad tffl see that ''steps are, being ; taken to^arjrattgejthe programme for the ; Annual Regatta on the 22nd of January. ; The meeting held this week may be con- , sidered very satisfactory as a commence- ; ment, and there ia little doubt that next \ week we shall see the fixture properly in , train. The%ug^eafioii made that ffophies < should be given instead of money prizes Is only practicable" in the amateur' rowing races, and possibly in the yacht race 3. *3n the sailing races for trading craf£"tnsr owners are put to considerable expense in fitting up their vessels, and they have to pay their crews, and though they might be willing to be content with the Jjonor and glory for themselves, ancL to distribute the prize money among their., hands, it would be too mncn to expect them to be out of pocket even in the event of their being victorious?-. The yacht races are this year likely- to be well contested. Already I notice the various owners are fitting up their trim little crafts and getting them ready for the season. The Pet has been supplied with a leaden keel weighing Scwt, which should give her a better grip of the water and make her a bit stiffer. Mr. Hill has also given her new rigging, and I notice that the bokks are all secured with wire strops, so that there is little chance of anything, carrying away. She has also received a good eaatingr ot J3ortb,wick's patent mixture on»her'som»m. Mr. Kebble hasalsd ,be«n busy with, the Florence, This, craft has a new false keel, 4in deep, and her' centre-board case has been leaded. She has been supplied with a new- mast, which will carry a gaff topsail and more lower' canvas than the old one ; and as she was rathtr I^hlTy rrlggedr rlgged "Before theTslteYXtions" should improve her. The Contrabandiere has also been thoroughly overhauled, and she will this season carry her ballast lower down. As it is considered she is slightly over-rigged, we believe it is contemplated to cut 2 feet off her mast. Her cabin has been repaired and her gear attended to. |