SPORTING.

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 52, 2 March 1908, Page 3

SPORTING.

o VICTORIAN RACING CLUB MEETING. SCOTLAND WINS THE NEWMARKET..

By Telegraph.— Press Aanofation.— Copyright MELBOURNE, 29th February. The autumn meeting of the Victoria Racing Club opened this afternoon in. dull showery weather. The State Governor and Lady Talbot were present. The attendance was equal to last year. The racing was excellent. Tha Gaming Act was not respected, the betting ring doing extra business because there was no betting elsewhere. A good field turned out for ths opening race, and excepting a spill at tho first jump, in front of the grandstand, a good lace resulted. Portcullis, who fell, broko one of his shoulders, and had to be shot. Ths St. L e g er did not create much excitemtnt, the result being a foregone conclusion for Mountain King, who was in fine fettle. Twenty-nine starters went to the post for the Newmarket Handicap. A sharp shower fell as the horses came out. Details: — Pines Hurdle Race ; two miles. — Sustain, 9.0, 1 ; Coronation, 10.3, 2 ; Paraloch, 10.8, 3. Time, 3min 47sec. ST. LEGER STAKES. A sweepstake of 20 soys, with 500 soys added ; for three-year-olds ; colts or peldings 8.10, fillies 8.7 ; one mile and three-quarters. ' J. M'Donald's eh c Mountain King, by Wallace — Bonnie Rosette, 8.10 1 Hon. A. 'Wynne's b c Peru, by Grafton—Silver Coin, 8.10 2 C. L. Maccionald's br f Lady Ryletone, by Grafton — Lady Trenton, 8.7 3 Mountain King jumped off from Peru and Lady Rylstone, all pulling. Mountain King passed the stand two lengths ahead of Peru. Lady Rylstono four lengths away. At the far side Mountain King led by several lengths, P«ru half a length in front of Lady Rylstone. Approaching the straight, Lady Rylstone spurted, but Mountain King ran. away and entered the straight unextended. He won by four lengtfis. Time, 3mm 62sec. NEWMARKET HANDICAP. A sweepstake of 25 soys each, with 1000 soys added ; the owner of the second horso to receive 200, and third 100 soys from the stake. Six furlongs. J. Brcnnan's b h Scotland, by Wallace— Key, syrs, 8.4 (Hood) 1 W. Kennedy's br g Grenadier, by Soult— Hotchsrina, syrs, 7.12 (King) 2 W. A. Filsjit's br g Akim Foo, by Bobadil— Alice, 4yrs, 6.7 (Bolton) 3 Also started — Collarit 9.10, Antonio 9.6, North Head 9.0, Sten Out 9.0, Melodrama 8.13, Munjeefc 8.13, Ebullition 8.13, True Scott 8.10, Traquair 8.8, Decollette 8.5, Knox 8.4, Tangaroa 8.4, ■Dusky Morn 8.3, Miss Bobby 8.3, Master Footo 8.2, Curtain Lecture 7.9, Lord Carlyon 7.8, Lord Cecil 7.4, Captain Shannon 7.2, Fill© Fogi 7.1, Verenice 6.13, Currandooley 6.12, Bright Steel 612, Munus 6.11, Send Off 6.11, Sokinsha 6.9. Traquair, Miss Bobby, Currandooley, and Scotland wero the first to show from Antonio, Dusky Morn, and Tangaroa. After a furlong Traquair was leading from North Head, Step-out, and Fille Fogi. Passing the tan, Fillc Fogi, Dusky Morn, Currandooley, Scotland, and Tangaroa were prominent. In the course proper Scotland led from Dusky Morn. Scotland then run across the track of the New Zealand horse, which made way for Grenadier -and Akira Foo. Munjeet and Traquair were laet. Won by two lengths, three-quavers of a length between socond 'and third. Time, lmin. 14|secs. Sires' Produce Stakes ; six furlongs — Mother Goose, 8.7, 1 ; The Brewer, 8.10, 2; Kuban, 8.7, 3. Won by a head, a neck between second and third. Time, 1 lmin. 14£secs. Essendon Stakes ; 1^ miles — Apologue, 9.3, 1 ; Tulkeroo, 9.3, 2 ; Booran, 9.0, 3. Time, 2min. 57:jsecs. i Brunswick Stakes ; li miles — Sivori, 7.11, 1 ; Lady Esme, 7.7, 2 ; Lancastcrite, 7.4, 3. Time, 2min. 9£ sees. Scotland, who won the Newmarket so casiiy, was foaled in 1902. He is a very j lengthy bay horse, with splendid even action, and was right in the front rank as a two-year-old. Scotlaud is by Wallace — Carbine's greatest son — from Key, by Padlock, an English hors>e by Wenlock, from Governess, by Lecturer. The stable is credited with winning £15,000 in wagers over the Newmarket, and it was pretty generally known that Scotland at level weights had easily, boaten the Bourke and Doncaster victress, Istii.i, in a. trial. Istria was allotted 9.2 in the Nowmarket, so Scotland at 8.4 was, r.s his trainer, the clever "Dick" O'Connor, frequently declared, baT accidents a certainty. Scotland was the mysterious horse who on the morning before the Futurity Stakes wae decided ran a mile at Cauifiold in lmin 40isec — the fastest track gallop over that distance ever clocked in Australia. O:ie of tho best performances credited to Scotland was when j as a three-year-old he ran Gladsome — then at tho top of her form — to a head in the Flying Stakes at Flemington. Scotland had 8.0, and Glaosoms 8.11. Amongst the starters were such first-night-ers as Maniapoto, Charles Stuart, Step Out, and Oreillet. Arthur Hood, who rode Scotlnnd, is a "Sloaner," and one of the best judges of pace in Australia. ) The crowd behind '"Dick" O'Connor includes two or three of tho biggest and pluckiest punters in the game, and with Ponda-nt, Istria, and Scotland they have won, a fortune. Grenadier is the Aucklaand-bred son of Soulb and Hotcheriua. One of tho handsomest horses in training, he is more or less unsound', and his trainer can only get a couple of races out of him in a season. To act as runner-up in two big bettins; events like the Oakleigh Plato and Newmarket is indeed hard luck. Akim Foo is by Bobadil, and he has won half a dozen races lately. .It shows how class tells when a horse, that has carried 9.0 and upwards in socond-rat© fields is unable to win a Newmarket with 7.0, including 71b penalty, Scotland presenting him with 181b and Grenadier with illb. The Now Zeaknders failed, but Dusky Mom showedi groat dash for half tho journey, and if given «. chanco of getting acclimatised the big Sou-w ester will win a decent handicap there — preferably a mile. The meeting will be continued tomorrow. The Australian Cup and Bourko Handicap are tho chief events.