SPORTING NOTES.

Press, Volume XLIV, Issue 6878, 10 October 1887, Page 2

SPORTING NOTES.

K. Ddntttt rjafcurned from. AratralU en ruesdajrlapt..,^ Old Arid, who will be well' aemesabcrea >y racecourse frequeatero both in the forth and South Islands,, m 4 who was .he hero of many contents, Including one seosatioaaUGanterburg-Cup, lias been purchased tt Mt Donnelly, of Napier, the owner 6* Slaogtibone and Ovrhaoko, and will bemused as a stallion. Mr Donnelly could handier havo picked upon a horse more likely to be the sire of jumpers than the sobs of Tflhftnty Ariel and Una. . It appears after iui itJia&fch» time for the race for the Raac&Kick .Plate, which resulted in the defeat off Trident by the Australian-Peer,, wa& Smia and this would make 1& appear as If the Hon. J. White's cha»pioe> was a " bit off" on, ! the day ot theaenisefcC E. Cutis tells mc that Trident urill make a face with anything, and tha£the-is.evideatly a very hand nag to get t©.lfa*ro- hla horses inaemeU field. Tho fcem-is. pmbably incorrect, oad theeharpfeUQftrewhjQyon th.eetireagthofft&e plucky rictosy. obtained by Barebin's eon, rushed to back him for the Melbourne Gup, may,- Ond; before the day that they have none-the beet of the deal. The N*w Racing Clufc have issued theic programme for a meeting to be held oft October 18th. There *a+ seven events en the card, and the eu»o/£&35 wMt)«dta&ri amongst ttowinseis. The Avon Handicap of Si) sots, about one mile and a quarter,. Iβ the principal ewnt, and there of 49 sows each, a Selfiag-Surdle Bece and Nov«l Baee of' 30 gam each, and a Flying Handicap of 2fi aoro* So many alterations and improvements have been made by tho Grab to tht stand and the course, that its may now rank with tho very best at suburban race {rounds, and given fine weather a pleasant lay's outing may be calculated on Octobei 18th, My Napier correapoadent telegraph; concerning the first day's racing at Has blngs:—" Theatteedaeee ©n the Hasting! course was small, as it woe anticipate that the races would be postponed untl Monday. The course was heavy in parts but the racing was good. Proceedings com menced with the Free Handicap, to which six faced the starter. Pearl an< Strenuous were the most fancied, and th< mare won by a length. The match betweei Hurricane and Dhudcen was a holio\> affair. Hurricane winning aa he liked. Al the horses coloured o» the card faced fch< starter for the Maiden Hurdles, the victo: turning up in Chemist, who paid backer £10 3s, the best dividend of the day Great interest wan evinced Iβ the race foi the Guineas, and Lady Florin was a warn favorite, but could neve* jjet en terms witi Maxim, who won rathe* easily by foui lengths. He also appropriated the Flyinj after a (dashing raoß with Bangle, who had all the best of the start. The Selling Ra« furnished a close contest between Dβ Celver and Kitty Totara, the former win n!ng by a head. The old laird secured the Post Stakes Mr Stead's Maxim has commenced hk . (hree-year-old career in great form, having swept the board at fche Hawke'sßay meet ing for all three evedte iot which he was entered, and sofiur'aa"we ere- informed by "telegraph without being fully ci tended in any one of them. The weather woe all that'could be de sired for the Geraldlne Bace Meeting, am the attendance of visitors was slightly li advance of that of previous years so far ai the Ohristchurch sports were eoneerned but there were certainly less vehiclei lining the course than we have been ac customed to see. Owing to the late heavj rains the running ground was heavy am the time recorded in fche different event* was in excess of what is usually made there. Sport commenced wlfch the Maiden Hurdle Bace for which Daddy oa the etrengtll of bU running at Dunedin, was installed favourite, with Mexico and Bredonhiil next in demand. The favourite, who was a candidate fox Grand National honours some two yearn ago, waltzed away in front of bia flold soon after the etart, and fencing quickly and well, never left the result in doubt, and won In a canter several lengths in front of Mexico, and Golden Butterfly and Bredonhiil fought for third place as far behind the grey. The winner has fair pace, and is an exceptional ! jumper, and, with a bit more condition on him, should give a good account of himself in better company than he. met at Geraldlne. Mr Goodman's Miss Webster is nothing much to look at, bub ehe was the only one in the Selling Bace that showed condition, and on this account was installed favourite, and she just got home in front of tJrland, but with nothing to spare, the latter running very game, and disputing the lead with her all down the straight. Next came the race of the day— the Geraldine Cup—for which the whole nine on the card came to the ecratch. Since Mr Dowse adjusted the weights for this race, Snapshot scored a couple of victories at Dunedin, and Patrician a rather easy win at Plumpton, and consequently these two were in most request for the Cup, the former having the call in the betting. Bepose also had a fair following, and being wonderfully quick on her legs, led them away at a merry pace, followed by Derwenter and Wairuna, for six furlongs, but she had run herself out then, and Snapshot, coming past them as if they were standing still, romped home the easiest of winners by ten or twelve lengths. Patrician was never with them, and ran last the whole way. The County Plate, for three-year-olds, introduced us to three colts of Betrayer's get which are the first of his that have stripped in public. There was no mistaking the parentage In any one of them, and although tho progeny of mares without any pretension to thoroughbred pedigree, they showed a great amount of quality. The likeness which the winner, Betrayed, bore to his sire in size, color, shape and action was so close as to be almost ridiculous, but at the same time it was noticeable that they all three possessed more substance than he did at the same age. Another point of resemblance was the game way in which they finished under the whip. They bore very slight traces of condition, and the winner had evident marks of sore shins, but indifferently bred as he is on the dam's side, I think he may yet give a fair account of himself. The start for the Welter Handicap was so very uneven that It afforded no line as to Snapshot's powers as a sprinter, for he was left a long way behind and Bepose darting away at top on the fall of the flag spreadeagled her field and vroa in a canter.

On the second day proceedings commenced with the Handicap Hurdle Race for which there were nine starters, Borderman and Kahikatea being the only absentee, and I regretted to hear that the former had broken down so badly as to render it unlikely that he would ever

again appear on a racecourse. There was a great run on Kingask for this event and Effigy also had a good following, and with the exception of the winner on whom there were only three tickets, all the others received fair support, noticeably Secretary, Mainboom, and Ravenswood. This latter, who seems to have taken a new lease of his Life, Looked in rare good buckle and ran in front with Mainboom and Panic for half the distance, when he ran off, and Panic secured a slight lead of the mare, and in spite of Bishop's determined riding, held it to the finish, and won all out by a short neck. None of the others ever showed prominently in the race. This was the sensational race of the meeting, both as to the desperate nature of the finish, and the size of the dividend, which amounted to £77 14s. Although Mr Dowse, for his win in .he Cup, rated Snapshot 161b

in Handicap, it did not frighten mpwMifteU Un, and he won with jual a nraebt. ease a» on the previous day, ompiOft home twenty lengths in root, •Cγ his tteld, and then bolted rlfcb. hid. rider a couple of time* oond* the course before he could eetafigflfL So far as I could judge, £b» Odge'e verdict would have been the .labia tad he beea carrying Wet, and had hebeee. •ogagpd Iα th» New Zealand Cup, and -reatodas leukntiy as the Genildiue Cv» [ think, thla sueetiug would hare expoawl inothex New Zealand Cup winner, aa> ifc tww.samany times dove before. On ttt& occasion Patrician,althoughcarrylng mud? . hhfl-afta«> weight ai be did In the Cup, perfocued very differently, and onlj; Imfc second money by a short half length from MlaJxuua. The Sire's Induce Stakes. %»» a chapter of tiasooe, drab one bolting and fcken another and finally resulting.ln. awbk for FUxuigel, another of the BetEnyer family. Any odda were laid on Mr Burr's Repoee for the Flying bui Rhe was fairly beaten on her merits by Mr Boyle's Vanity l'alr. Th* start was a good one and Repose- at once shot to the front aud hell her own; to within a hundred yards of noma. wUeaeh* shut np as quickly as she began and : Vanity Fair won at the finish with a Wk Ito spare. Wakatipu ansL Pcesto were evea favourites for the Cowolatloa Handicap and the public chaice,proved tho truo ton* for they finished flrsVand second, Mr Itft brow's colt gaining, She verdict by a length. The results of thi> GeraWluo Meeting gtt . to show that Smvpuhotfa dual victory: »i Dunedin wasna.il.uke* and that he la Sβ tor a good horse, that he la aomd atoneer two better ttawitao; torse that iraas. there, but that that would make him fc tiptopper, I do noo say, for tho company he met those was a long way off flrafcclass. Ab*> that Repose Is a really smart sprloter, biit that she \» no wel^dit-carrier k an/ under the moat favourable citsOia« etancea tour* or at> the most tlvo furl<tng% is the extent oC her tether. ~'\\~ " Augur" says—" Moat of tho the third day's racing at Kandwide was.fct , centred In the Second Foal Stakes, and the half atone difference In weigßVt* the advantage of the New Zealand colt Niagara brought the pair result being a dead-heat. They meetJaowever, in the V.1t.0. Derby on oven MfniSt and, both tit and well on the day, AwQsortt must have tho bent of tho mllo and a Jialf struggle at Flemmgton. Trident w%s Ogau> to the fore in the Craven Plat*, ajuj will always beat Dunloo at weigh! so* ~ Nous verrtms. "Bapler,"in tho London Spurting and Dramatic Netca, has tho foUonlng:—j'.'One of the most uuaccoantable. nhonomwa n contemporary racing la the >tjta interest that is taken in Mr. Bejnonv proceedings. ' What did (he plunger da on that racof is aboat the commonest question now asked, and Iμ constantly put to mc, but I am invariably unable to reply. What does it matter'! If it were before the race, and Mr lienzon were a» extraordinarily good Judge of tho sport, one could understand the cariosity; bat what can it tignUf, except to Mr Benzon os.hia immediate ?rlend&—and of course .the i bookmaker~whecher he has won or lost: aud ia either case, what tho flgurea are? Is' It not auuudng that all this curiosity and excitement should be awakened by the mere fact of a young man with 4S80.00» coming to England. Oqo friend of fflht. who goes ractng fogularly, and ownsftß* rides norsee, has, I oelleve, four times Mr Benzon's fortune, bet his j>rocoedtng» are not thus canvassed and discussed. X presume the duel between Mr Benzon and the ring excites Interest, but I do not ««• why It should do so, for the remilt is quite Inevitable. The ring will bo certain w> have very much the best of It In the' long run; it always Is so, and always will be. for they have a hundred chances ana accidence in their favour, and the odds are euro to beat the backers. A few very singularly astute persons, good judges of horses and of men, wary, alert, and extraordinarily patient, do make, money by backing horses; but they aw; very few indeed, and with all their advaavj tages they have runs of luck— -It we may call It lack—against them. One ot the keenest of the limited little circle to which I refer told mc hist week that he had iiad a very bad-year." Mr Benzon,.along with Mr Ablngtoa (the owner of Merry Hampton) and Mr Childwiok, were " up' for admission to the Southdown Club, an aristocratic racing institution, with Its headquarters at Lewes. They were all " pilled," ltdwever, and one paper, refering to Mr Abingtoa'e rejection, assigns tho reason that h* would, if elected, " win all the races." The Marquis of Abergavenny, the owner of the racecourse at Lewes, the lease of which expires next year, threatens not to renew the lease. Lewoe was always reckoned as one of tho worse racecourses in England, so that if tho lease is not renewed there will not be any great loss. Meanwhile there ia an incident that cropped up at this same Lewes meeting that should bo me' tloned. Mr E. M. Owen a well known einan rider, rode • horse called Arfaasb.n in the Merabevae' Cup, and being last all the way, he was summoned before the stewards on returning to scale. The judgment was ac follows:— "His explanation not being considered thoroughly satisfactory, he wna cautioned as to his riding n the future." I see in an Australian paper that the Sh Leger winner, Kilwarlin, was purchased by Lord Bodney for £7000 a few days prloi to the departure of the last mail. The English sporting writers do not appear to have formed a very high estimate of bit ability. This is how one of the contributors to the Sporting Life summed U( his St. Leger chance :—" His beet performance has hitherto been associated with the T. Y. C, and I cannot at present allow myself to entertain for a moment the idea that even Captain Machell cai transform him into a stayer any more than he could, vice versa, convert a snail into a Stewards' Cup winner." This reads funaj on the top of the cablegram announcing Kilwarlin s victory.