SPORTING NEWS.

FAR AND WEAR.

(By THE POSSIBLE.)

Those who journeyed out to assist at the •: Aanberley Steeplechase Club's meeting on . > Hursday, spent a very pleasant day. The • weather •was fine, and though the racing ifas not of an exciting' nature, some fair 'sport was witnessed. Proceedings opened ■■■with- the Maiden Hunter^ 1 Steeplechase, for which there were five starters, with Monte fa slightly better favourite than Craigmore. : 'Honle-wfts soon out of court, «s he fell in front of the judge's box the first time. A U little/further on Single Event and Barlock 'ran off, but unfortunately their riders con- " turned on tie course. At th« post and rail c \fence Single . Event came down, breaking ' 'bis ovrn neck and his rider's arm, while Bar- : lock fell at the last jump- This left only • Craigmore and Wi Waka, and the former iron very easily. Scratchings reduced the V fi&W for the Hurdle Handicap to three, and • Mokowhiti was in front alt the way. Plantaganet ran. off, and dislodged his rider six furlongs frdm home. Seven went to the post for the Maiden Hack Race, Taxpayer, a four-y«ar-old fiister\Jo So'cisl Pest, being made favourite. She' began slowly, and though she was running on well at the finish, she had no chance with Pallada and Lobster, the- latter winning comfortably by a length. The winner is by Lakeshell from Cameo's dam, but I do not think that he or any, of the other starters will ever earn much distinction. There were five starters .'for' the Brackenfield Plate Steeplechase, s Craigmore being a strong favourite. He V -was soon out of the contest, as he fell at the ,-. post and rail fence the first time. Monte '•; also came down at this obstacle and broke him back. Bellbird, Paringa and Wil<| Bill were in clcrae company till Hearing Borne, when Paringa and Wild Bill drew out, at>d scored an easy win. Reduction was made a hot favourite -for the Pony Handicap, and she easily defeated the three moderates that opposed "her. Nine went to the post for the Hunters' Flat Handicap. Oyster, the favourite, was first away, and he had the race in safe keeping all the road. There, was a good finish for second place. Nikola just beating Herd Laddie in the! last stride. In the Final Steeplechase Handicap Gnat was selected as favourite, but the <gouth Canterbury horse was never dangerous. Moko•whiti soon established a strong lead, and his opponents never being able to extend him, he won without an effort. The field for the , Farmers' Hack Race numbered eight. Orkan wa« quickest to move, and she was . never caught, winning easily. /Income Tax finished very fast, and justb^at Shellfireipr . second place. Carlo, who had a strong fol.lowihg, ehaped very badly, and, never ; looked dangerous. He has the reputation of being a good track horse, but his public form suggest* that he is of little account. The racing st^ the Wanganui Spring Meeting invariably attracts a lot of attention,, in view of its bearing on important events later in the season. The meeting io be held at the end of this month pro- \ mises to be quite as interesting as aay of its predecessors. Good nominations have ; been received for ail the events. Among j| those with engagements are several New |; Zealand Cup horses in Halberdier, Black ■f r Rejnard, Convoy, Inglewood, Ghoorka, ff;Full Cry, Beau Seaton and General Aver^ J|ag», and come light will be thrown, on chances for the two mile handicap v '-|j»f the form at Wanganui. More than th? ?wul number of thTce-year-olds will be .:%» out at the meeting i anci considerable^

interest will attach to the running of Stronghold, Signalman, Tessera, Novgorod, Valois, Beau Seaton and General Average, as they represent pretty good class. The hack races have filled particularly well, and altogether the prospects for the meeting are very good.

There should -be a lot of interesting racing' in Canterbury during. the present month. After we get through with the Timaru meeting this week, there will be i..c Ashburton fixture next weeKj and & fortnight later Geraldine will be the centre of attraction. The nominations for both places are very satisfactory, and successful gatherings are assured. Several Xew Zealand Cup candidates claim engagements. At Asbburton Secret Society, Speculate. Oblivion 11. , Rose Shield, Beau Seaton and Calibre are among those entered, while at Geraldine, Cup candidates may be seen oat in Calibre, Malakoff, Oblivion 11., Sandy and Lady Lillian. In addition to .those mentioned there are plenty of horses engaged in ail the events to provide first-class contests. ...••...

Xews to hand by 'jUie last English mail bring 3 particulars reginding the decision oi the Prince of Wales' to go- in for racing. He will not buy yearlings and pufc them into training ; rother will he acquire older horses for this purpose. He intends to •breed every horse he runs, and will breed' for racing purposes only and not for sale. A start has already been made "with three brood mares,' which are now quartered at Lord Marcus Beresford's. stud farm at Newmarket. These mares are Gold Paste, by Altkotas-^Maccaronea-,. Lily. Palmer, by Gigahteum-— Helen Palmer ; and Luscious, by Harpende'n or Royal Hampton — Alveole. Gold Paste has a filly foal at foot by Persimmon, and has been to the same sire \gaih. It is hoped that Lily Palmer and' ,uscioua are in foal to Persimmon. Oth«r nares are soon to be purchased, and will j;o to swell .the number of candidates for a training stable. Bang Edward has given the, Prince a «ouple of yearlings, and there is every chanoa of their making an appearance next season. One is a colt by Persimmon; the. other a filly .by *Plorizel 11. With these imp exceptions, however, it is improbable tHat the Prince's colours will be seen before 1906. ' The question of oolours is not yet definitely decided, but the Prince's colours will be modelled on the Royal livery, as ara his Majesty's, with the exception that there will be more scarlet—or royal red — in (the jacket and cap. Although it is early yet to speculate as to whom the Prince will choose as trainer, it may be taken as practically certain that the' horsesAvill go to Efrerton House. Newmarket, and be under the care. of Richard Marsh, the King's trainer.

The Doncaster St Leger, which will be decided to-day, has been looked forward to for several months as the race of the year. As a rule, the form of tie three-year-old? has been pretty well disclosed before this, but circumstances have combined to- invest to-day's contest with unusual interest. Last season Pretty Polly was easily the best two-year-old in England, 'but unfortunately she was not engaged in the Two Thousand Guineas or Derby, so that she ha* not mefc the colts as a tihree-year-old. That she has retained "her brilliant form, however, she has amply demonstrated <by the manner in which she has won ail 3ier races this season. It & claimed that St Amant has improved" a lot since Pretty Polly defeabed him sus a. two-year-old, but he will jhave need for all his improvement if he is to turn the tables on Major Loder's flying filly. In addition to tiae Derby winner John o' Gaunt hag plenty of friends, and tbere seems reason for the belief that he will yet prove' the best of this year's three-year-old colts. Added interest is given to the St Leger by the probability of the field including the French colt Ajax, the unbeaten, son of Flying Fox. M. Blanc was unsuccessful in sii« attempt, to capture the Derby with Gouvemant, who, however, is a good deal inferior to Ajax.* If the latter takes pact in to-day's race it should be one

of the most exciting St Legera -witnessed for many years.

The last mail from Melbourne brought particulars of the Three and Four-year-old Handicap, the race which Gladsome' won at Flemington on August 20. The New Zealand bred mare, who carried lOst 51b, was opposed by a- fair field, including Corroboree, 4yrs, 9st 101 b; Czaroviteh, 4yrs, Bsfc 101 b; Billingsgate, 3yrs, Bst 7Jb ; Position, 3yrs, Bst 71b ; Ballark, 3yrs, Bst 51b ; and Harvest Home, 3yrs, 6st 71b. Gladsome started favourite at 5 to 4 against. Corroboree mada all the running, but after passing the distance Gladsome, under the whip, commenced to overhaul him, and getting on terms a hundred yards from borne, she won easily by a length and t* biilf, Harvest Home being three lengths away third. The performance was in every way satisfactory, as though the opposition was not particularly strong, Gladsome was not thoroughly wound up, and her running suggested that sl^ would have to be seriously reckoned with, in the big events later i on. A few days after taking part in this race she left for Sydney, whei'e she is engaged in the for age events to be decided at the Australian Jockey Club's meeting this month.

At the Hosehill meeting on August 20,! great interest centred in the- Spring Stakes, ; weight for age, with penalties and allow- ' ances, run over a mile and a iurlong. Though only endowed with £60, it attracted a very strong field, including Abundance 9st 41b, Patronage 9st 41b, Sir Leo- ; nard 9sb 41b, Lord Cardigan 9st, Playaway | Bsfc 101 b and" three-year-olds, ' Koopan 7st 81b, Lord Fitzroy "7st 81b, i Truce 7st 81b, Jim Dorset 6at 121 b and lan j 6st 81b. Koopan was favourite at 5t02, f Lord Cardigan being quoted at 7 to 2, Jiui ! Dorset and lan 8 to 1, and Abundance 10 j to 1. Sir Leonard led into the straight, i but a little further on Jim Dorset was in ! front. At the half distance* Abundance and I Lord Cardigan^closed on him, but the three- ! year-old lasted long enough to win by a head from Abundance, who was a head in front of Lord Cardigan. The two lasti i named were galloping in brilliant style at j th& finish, bub the distance was too shore i to enable them -to make up the lead gained ' by Jim Dorsfit. Both the older horses ; pulled up well, and they leok like playing! an important part, in the weight for age/ races at Randwick this month. Jim Dorset is a thwe-yearrold "geldicg by Courage, a son of Trenton. He is not in the- Derby, I but is engaged in the Epsom, Handicap at [ 7st 41b. Of the Derby colts that started in the Spring Stakes the best showing was ; given by Truce,. a big colt, by Graftbn— Olive Branch, who \vas somewhat backward in condition. Kodpaa and Fitzroy, both $tro»g Derby fancies, performed moderateJt-- - ■..-' - . . The Australian Jockey Club's Spring Meeting will be commenced at Randwick on Saturday, and from presant indications it should be unusually interesting. Ths weight for age events, in particular, should furnish some good racing. With Abundance, Lord Cardigan, Fitz Graf ton, Cruciform, Martian, Gladsome, Emir, Sweet Nell and Sir Leonard opposed to the three; year-olds, the /weight for age contest should be better than for many years past. On the first day the field for the Spring Stakes will hob include many three-year-olds, as the best of th«m will be engaged ia" th«

Derby, but there should be a fin» race between the older cracks. Abundance and Lord Cardigan; are both in good fettle, anf they are certain to be hard to beat. Fitz Grafton is spoken of. as one of the best horses ever seen in Queensland, so that- he may have to be- seriously reckoned "with, la "New Zealand special interest -will 'bs taken in the doings of Crttcifbrm, Martian and Gladsome, who have a big contract in front of them. Cruciform has been doing good work on the tracks* and according to the critics she must be very nearly wound up by now. Martian has not been going so well, bufc he wa« , galloping in more attractive fashion a day or two before the mail left, so that Mr Stead's pair will probably be very dangerous before tha meeting ■is over. As to the other events on tha first day, the^ Derby looks very open afc present. On* last, season's form Koopan, Lord Fitzroy and Sylvanite appeared to have the best chances, but while the lastt named' has Eot raced sinca the autumn, the recent form of the other pair is the reverse of encouraging. The Queensland colts, Optiliust and Tiuce, are well spoken of, as are Warroo and Zythos.. but the race is "admittedly very open: The' Epson* Handicap is' always hard to win, and this year promises to be no exception to the rule. Orand Kap'ids and Martian are both engaged, and whichever starts may run well. So much depends,^ however, in securing a good position at the start that a good deal of luck is nepded to ensure succees. 'Of the others in the race Chere Amie, Contest, -Famous and Haloya are most fancied. Contest and Famous are both good performers. ,but recent form rloes not point stronjlv to anything. In the Metropolitpn Handicap Mr J. A. Buckland supplies the favourite in Zenda, who has only to maintain her form to be vory hard to bsnt. Abundance. Lord C>rdigan. Emir. Sweet Nell. Fitz Graftrn, Grand Ea-pida and Martian are all in this event, and if they go to the post they' 6hould keep their opponents very busy.