SPORT ABROAD.

Auckland Star, Volume XLV, Issue 296, 12 December 1914, Page 21 (Supplement)

SPORT ABROAD.

TH3 TDK.F. (From Our Special Correspondent.) LONDON, October 10. Kaeing of verr considerable importance (our correspondent Contain- writPSl has been taking plu-e in Kngiand =>in?c la-t I wrote. Thus lift iveek-enil the Kempton Park authorities brought oil" what in normal timer is one of the most important race meetings uf the autumn. Jt vras successful this time, all things considered. On the opening day the Imperial Produce Stake* was the chief event. It was °' tne - ,!SS vjllle of £3.000. and that being m>. it was surprising to find only four runners for it. This is'the race which Tne Tetrarch should tare run for. hut the day before he hit himself in the #r ot which ultimately dried his racing career. On thin oecagion the runner.- were Mr. Williamson's jjnj Priam, who has been regarded by jnanyas the best two-year old of the seaeon.Mr. S. B. Joel'o Pommern. who had wjn when hut seen ou: at Mr. L. Neumann's Snow .Marten, and Colonel Hall Walkers Follow l"p. King Priam had to give Sib to Pammern. and 181b to Sno«* Marten. Nevertheless, lie started an equal favourite with Snow Marten, while there *.i- a fair demand for Pommern. The race, however, was dominated hy the last-nanied. The son of Polvmeluc led from end to end. and •Ron. easily, with King Priam beating Follow Up by a head for third pla.ee. King Priam's jockey reported that, hio horse ran without any dash, and it is probaNe. that for some reason he wan far iram icing himself. At any rate, this is notshis form. Porcmern U entitled to M credit for his win. He has grown into a fine eoft. with a wonderful lot of quality and liberty. Ho should make a three-year-old, and the pleasure of his owner is surely added to by the fact that he bred. him. Neither colt runs again thi? year, v-u that the question as between them is not likely to be determined in the mc*t favourable circumstances before next Derby Day.

On the second day the Duke of York Stakes, a handicap wfth an interesting history, occupied a prominent p!aoe on t'ae card. It only brought out seven ninEers. which is the smallest number in the history of the race. Nevertheless, the event was interesting, if only because it possessed an open character. Favouritism finally rested with Lord D'Ahemon's Diadumenos. a iorse formerly trained by the Hon. George Lamhton. but now in the care of the Australian trainer. E. de ifestre. B was quite evident that this son of Orby had given full satisfaction in a trial, and as his friends were disappointed that he trot no nearer than possible that he did not run np'fri his trial. The race provided a tremendous finish between Mr. George Edwardes , Nassau and Mr. E. Hulton's Green Falcon. The former was greatly iapcied.by lus trainer. P. Hart. ; <ran. and it Trfe'lus good fortune jo see the liorse squeeze home in the last few strides, and •*in by a short head. The winner was

bred by ifoe Duke of Portland, and was soH out of the Kingselere stable to Mr. Edwardes for .£BOO. ~ There was an idea then that the horse was gone in his wind, especially as he came from roarinz stock, but iie has gone the right way ever tinee ■the change of stables occurred. Mr. George Edwardes is still a prisoner at Bad Mauheim. which mean- that he is Bierejy "detained" at the German health resort, where he happened to be when war broke out. Since then his horses have been in great form, and h.ive altogether iron abaoi £6.000 in stakes.

The Newmarket Second October Meeting opened on Tuesday, the feature of the day being the three victories credited to Sir Ernest Casse!. One doubtr- whether tbis owner, who ha- spent very laree sums on breeding ana racing. ha.~ ever won three races before in a day. Tie yon the Newmarket Oaks with ' Flying Bridge, though the public nionev waJ ail on his other candidate. Yokohama, whose tragic fat* it was to V,e beaten by a nock V 3as stable companion. Theri Hapstmrg. second in the Derby, and the winner of the Eclipse Stakes." won him the Champion Ktikes. after :i pretty race ]f-th a solitary opponent—Mr. \V. M. Singer's Sir The third winner for •irErnest ("asset i\a- Mater, who won the_ Apprentice Handicap. # Nothing succeed.- like success in racing. Once get on the crest of a wave and you can be carried fir. whether you are owner, trainer, or joekev. Thus Sir Ernest Cassel had tile so'nd fortune on we second day of the mmm? to win the Cesarewitch with a three year-old named Troubadour. The fa-.-t th.it the rtartins Pnce was 06 to 1 is more than evidence that he w-w ab-oluteiv unfam-M. and *s easy victory therefore creite.-l an its tomshed feelina. Arda finally started .favourite, and rtnWned third, but Princess Uorne, Grave Greek, and Fitz Yama ran tadly. Green Falcon, to whom reference !s_mide above, would have won with the dinner out of the way. It vtm not by aay mean; a popular resuH. FEATURES OK' FOOTBALL. aiaochftter City still unbeaten. CnelSfa win their Sr<t match! Those were *« first thoughts on surveyin- the res.ults of the First Leapue matches. But £!* M *J « likply that the London dub With all their expensive plavere co p-'evnuslv disappointing on the field, will nave to struggle desperately to ™J;e any substantial advance.' one 'eels that Manchester Citv'p occunancv of the first place in the table is only temporary. For the team are m »t fioo'd «noußh to remain there. The defence excelled, bnt the . forwards have only scrambled to success with luck oil then- side. The rear division men averted defeat against NVw.-a-tle United. W they were a sadly overworked band ™ !' a '- n - uls - an <i «>uid not have eue«eaed in their minion had the opposition 6 h o t ordinarily well after taking ™ c ball into favourable shooting position*. So W ac Manchester City reunbeaten at the top of the 'cornPetition it is not likely that the forwards vrill be changed", hut this fact *r* not remove the necessity for cnanue '^nnn Fc,Otban have spent —uuoo in fostering amateur football ™ the continent, and at the moment it -?ein 3 to have i, eeu a colossal piece of extravagance, for the pun." in those " nnt n« >" which they have shown enterprise has I.ten 'wrecked in the Prtes of war. n erc ~„,, tllcre ]low . "■we find representatives of thefie nations who have benefited V the help afforded them. One is Nils

Middelboe. a young Dane, who lias the distinction of captaining Chelsea Standing lift 4in, he is a remarkable footballer, with striking natural talents. He is playing as an amateur, and did not cost Chelsea a penny, but now lu> is keeping Abrams out of the team, and it lv,ls A bra ire for whom. £1,000 wan paid to the Heart of Midlothian Club last -May. Chelsea showed slight improvement against Liverpool, but not sufficient w> cause one to think that all was it last well with the side.

There has been serious trouble with the .Manchester United players owing to the suspension of "Sandy" Turnbull, who has been with the club cix years, and had a benefit which brought' him about ttir>o. The bother began ut Burnley on the occasion of a Lancashire Cup tie. Turnbull insulting Mr. J. ,). Bentley, the old president of the Football League] ■snd now manager of .Manchester I'nited. If Turnbull had been in business, and had acted in the same way to his employer as he did to -Mr. Bentley, he would have been dismissed on the spot. As it was, he was suspended for a fortnight, -which really meant a fine of £10. representing two weeks' wages. The ot-her United players threatened to strike if TurnbuH's suspension was not removed, but the Club refused to be browbeaten in this way. and practically said to the players. "Well, strike!" Meanwhile, they had the reserves in readiness to travel to Sheffield to play the Wednesday, but the men evidently thought better of their ridiculous threat of mutiny, and all took part in the match, excepting, of course. Turnbull. Possibly the players think the trouble is at an end. but the authorities are not likely to take the same view of what is really a most serious matter. This is not the time for footballers to at tem-pt to diet-ate and assert rights that cannot be justified.

There is one outstanding individual success on Saturday. Fox. the Bradford City inside-right, scoring all his side's three goals against Aston Villa. Generally there was a 'big drop in the scoring, but there was an exception at Sunderland, where Holton Wanderers accomplished the rare feat for a visiting side of obtaining three goals, and still losing. Similarly at Tottenham, owing to disastrous blunders on defence by the Hotspur. Middlesbrough erored three times, and only drew. In this wee there was the further remarkable feat that the visitors held the lead three times.

The Highbury district of London is proving an Xl "Dorado for the Arsenal. Much gold is flowing into the club's purse. There were 30,000 spectators of their match with Clapton Orient, representing receipts of over £12.000, and not only have the Arsenal had the best gates in London, but very few First League clubs in the country can equal their average. There is certainly no need for the Arsenal to I stop paying their players full wages, but ' the reduction was to be conipulsorv and for the general well-being of all the "clubs. No better phrase than the hackneyed one that success begets success can be used to describe their good fortune. They are prospering in a playing sense, they are at the-top of the tuble, and no team have better prospects of gaining promotion.There was an echo of last seuson during the match with Orient. A year ago the Arsenal took a two goals lead and then lost it. dropping a point that would have ensured their ■wing up to the Finst League. Last Saturday they were also two goals in front, and then, after having one negatived, were in grave danger of losing all their advantage. It was a most thrilling struggle, grim and earnest, and the fine show of the Orient against opponents who were measurably superior lent a piquant interest that the big crowd enjoyed. The Arsenal are finding it most difficult to get away from their rivals on the table. Huddersfield. the "surprise" side in the competition, are hanging on most tenaciously, and the only gain which the Lordon club can be said to have made after beating the Orient came about through the unexpected setback of Bury against Barnsley. Though only a shadow of their former greatness—only Downs, the back, and Tufnell. the forward, remain of tiie famous tup teams of a few years ago—the Yorkshire club still retain that special qualification for defeating opponents better than themselves. They continue to play that type of football "which is more fonvful than clever, and Bury were knocked off their balance.

Fortune has been most unkin-d to Fulham. Just when the outlook appeared so favourable their players w-ere battered and injuned in the hurly-burly of .the game with Derby county, three weeks ago. Since then all sorts of experiments luve had to be made to fill up fhe gaps, ami in the circumstances the draw at tiriinsby wai, most creditable. One of the rttrajigeet results of all \va= the failure of Birmingham on their own ground. On the previous week at Fulham they had L'h'en a truly great display. In comparison against Stockport County l:i*t Aeek tlicy played like a third-rate side. It was another illustration of the human error creeping into a frame we would be pleased to .have mechanical. IX THE RINTi. Mat Wells in one of the very few amateurs to have any real success as a professional boxer. He very quickly bridged over the two c!a*seis of the sport. So quickly, in fact, as to win the lightweight champiiin-hip from Fred Welsh, the present chnmpion of the world, and, though he has now joined the middleiveights. he is still winning , .- >le took part in the first contest since his return from Australia this week, when lie ruet Voting Nipper (Charlie Wood) in 15 rounds, and, by a display of forceful hitting that was also extremely clever, gained a decisiive victory on points. He wins every possible point he can from the first round to the last. Whether he iis winninß easily or not. makes no difference. With every blow he seems to say to his opponent: "If you don't like this sort of thing, you had better give in." These were his tactics agaiinst Young Nipper, a man as strong an liinwerfj but lacking the same speed -and resource. Nipper went down twice in the fourth rouiul. and then the Jinish seemed near, but with great courage he struggled on, not"witstanriing heavy punishment, and staved to the end of the fifteen rounde. I In "almost every round Wells scored the maximum points, and has victory was most decisive. All that one was left to admire was the pluck of the vanquished man. This match may be β-aid to mark the opening of the winter boxing season in London. The sport begins at the National Sporting Club next 'Monday, when the chief contest will be between the Welshman, PcrQ- .lonre and 'fancy Lee. the Scotsman, ofr the flyweight championship and the Lord Lonsdale belt. This wiJl be the frnst occasion Jones has been called on to ffefend his title since he gained it by defeating

Ladbury last i-eason. In the meantime, however, lie has twice been beaten, by the Frenchman Eugene Criqui, and by loiing Symonds. ][ c was knocked out 'V the latter at Plymouth, but the war has knocked out the real interest in lioxing in .London. CJ-love fighting is fine exercise, and grand trniwinjl. lmt, when the T e*il thing is afoot, surely every fighting man who is wortli his salt :.s following Carpentier's example, and helping to batter the Germans back into their own corner? >Not only are most of the boxers, amateur and professional, away at the front, and all thp Army boxers, who have done so very well in the ring at tho U.S.C. before they were called into the arena at Europe but most of the patrons of the ring are"gone too. ' NOVELTY IX BILLIARDS. The billiard season opens on Monday with the start of the Burroughs and Watts tournament, and the conditions haw been so altered that the matches will be something of a novelty. Previously the heats have been i), 000 up, extending over a week. This time they will be only 4.000. juid there will be two games a week. There will also be only one session, with a brief interval. This means that there will be no play at night. »y these changes it is hoped to create a fresh interest and bring about an improvement in thy attendances. .Six players make up the competition, rtnd the hiHulicap has ju.-t been announced. A> was expected, 11. A\". Stevenson. <;eo. Cray and T. Ueeee have been placed on the -cratch mark. The two young men, T. .Newman and W. Smith." have each been given 300 start, ami K. Digulc getri .")(10. It would ap-pcar that Newman and Smith have been lather harshly tre;ite<l. A year ago, when Newman was successful without dropping a point he received 2.0(10 in n.OOO. The start he'has now , been allotted is equivalent to (iT.i in [1.000, so he has been penalised 1.:i"2.> for his victory of a year ago. Xewmati was. of course, expected to he pulled back, but hardly to that extent. If this is the correct planing of Newman, the authorities were bound to put his rival Smith on the same mark, for the latter was the only man to bent Newman last reason, and he accomplished the feat three times I