SPORTING.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 9834, 6 August 1900, Page 5

SPORTING.

An exchange is responsible for the followiog story : —"There is a clergyman at Mount Perry (N.S.W.) who evidently has heard of, or previously experienced, the well-known generosity of the bookmaking fraternity in cases of distress, for we read in a Bundaberg paper that, on account of the second day's racing being postponed, the bookmakers were all congregated in a sporting resort, when the reverend gentleman approached one of the layers, and said —' I've got a man ill five minutes away from this place, and want to raise a little money for him. Will you start with a shilling?' 'Yes,' was the reply; 'I will give you half-a-crown, and more than that will go round to the lot with you, as I know them a'l.' With the result that their joint efforts were rewarded in a few minutes with nearly £10, much to the gratification of the clergyman and the invalid." When the Australian-bred Patron was sold in England a few weeks ago for 4100g5., he excited pretty keen competition. Bidding started at IOOOgs., and quickly rose to the figure mentioned, when Patron became the property of Mr J. E. Platt. At the same sale a yearling colt, by Trenton from Polly Kccles, brought 600gs. Of Ascot it may be said that it stands alone in England in the amount of prize money, and yet the condition ©f its course is described as disgraceful. The four days' meeting held last month had associated with it prize money to the extent of £37,000, and still the ground was so hard as to make the French champion Perth 11. crack up. The validity of the entry of Merman for the Ascot Gold Cup, though it ledto considerable discussion, wus not questioned, and " Mr Jersey" got the stakes. The nomination was made, as usual, by the trainer through an amanuensis, as it was for the Gold Vase, but while the Messrs Weathecby refused it on that account for the latter race, they allowed the entry to stand for the Cup. Opinion was pretty generally against the action of the authorities in refusing the nomination, and one Writer in making mention of the case, said: "A letter does not eeap.e to be my letter because I employ a shorthand clerk and typewriter, whom I may, if in a hurry, tell to sign my name 'per proc' Therefore, I think that 'Mr Jersey' has a serious cause of complaint against the noble lord who was mainly instrumental in deterring Robinson from running Merman to-day, and also against the stewards of the Jockey Club for not vouchsafing to advise him on the subject. A Melbourne cable states that Redeemer (10 12) won the Victorian Grand National Huniles on Saturday, with Bear, Brummel. and Delusion in the places. Accumulator and Aquarius made the running, but Delusion looked like a winner at the last hurdle, where Redeemer came with a late run and won by a length and a half. Aquarius fell at the second hurdle from home. Time, 7.5|.