SPORTING.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XXXI, Issue 3208, 7 January 1896, Page 2

SPORTING.

Notes by Sentinel. t . The reports of the many racemeel- t ings that have taken place recently i occupied all the available space for sporting in the columns of the Stab, ; and brevity was of necessity my watchword. It's rather late in the day to wish my readers a happy New Year ; [if it is too late then I wish them dividends — big ones — and many of 'em. Had a backer played Chinaman with the totalisator at the Opunake meeting, the result would have been most profitable. £1 invested on every starter would have returned £29 Is. Though this " system " has come out trumps this time, it is too often inclined to get out of gear. For a right jolly crowd give me the assemblage I saw at the Opunake races last "Wednesday. Everyone was out for the day, and endeavored to get all the enjoyment there was on hand. On the morning of the races Mr Grazier didn't leave home under the pretext of looking; round fcKa cattle in ike back paddock, and then slip ■ out through the far gate and ride off to the races all by himself. Not he. It was all done fair and above board. The dogcart was driven to the door, his wife and family comfortably seated, and away they rattled. And, despite the dust, a right enjoyable day it was too. At the recent Reefton meeting, Gloire de Dijon (who was purchased from Mr Corrigan, Hawera, by Mr Corcoran, the well-known West Coast cattle dealer) won the Hack Race and paid the handsome dividend of j£l7 6s. Tonganui, who won a Maiden Plate at Eltham last year, was a starter in the same race. Langley the Devil, who won the Hurdles at the winter meeting of the Egmont Racing Club, has run his last race. At the Reefton meeting last week he was running in the Hurdles, and fell at the second last fence, injuring himself internally. It was found necessary to destroy the son of Leos. Considering the curtailment of hack meetings this season, one would have thought that there would be a great number of hacks in the hack events at the big meetings. Such, however, is not the case with the Wellington Racing Club's hack events, Dummy being the only representative from Taranaki. It cannot be that the company is too good, for we have hacks around these precincts as' well bred as need be. I notice that Steel King (Gipsy King — Torori) is in the big hurdles at the "Wellington meeting on the 23rd and 24th inst. i Mr C. H. Chavannes has been elected a life member of the Waverley-Wii-totara R.C. At the Opunake meeting the other day a Manaia sportsman drew my attention to the grandstand, and pointed out that stairs should be at the back as well as the front. Just as the gentleman was speaking the cry " They're off " was heard, and the stairs were in an instant blocked, though there was plenty of room on the stand. , . Horses of Mr R. H. Nolan's breeding ! have been showing to the fore lately. ; Irish Twist's half sister, Richmond | Gem, won the Taranaki Hack Derby, Steel King and Bush Girl have been in winning vein down the coast, whilst Arawa (St Leger — Vacillation) has proved himself a clipper over short journeys by winning three races during the past fortnight. It is a pity for the sake of the Hawera breeder's establish ment that Irish Twist is not himself. It only requires " the Twist " well to do credit to any establishment, but as will be seen by the foregoing, others are upholding Mr Nolan's prestige. Man-o'-War, Pauline, and Conscript left to-day for the Warrengate Meeting. There was a large attendance at the sale of the Wellington Park yearlings at Auckland last Friday. The average for the 39 lots was 109£gs, the highest price being for a brown colt by St Leger from Sapphire, who fell to the nod of Mr T. P. Lowry for 510gs. I notice that Mr Hirschberg, of Stratford, purchased a bay filly by St Leger — Musket Maid, the price being lOOgs. May he have one as good as Waiuku. Mr R. Lusk, Stratford, purchased a brown colt by HotcbJriss — Queen Cole, for 25gs. Messrs Hirschberg and Lusk were the only purchasers from this quarter. At the sale of Major George's racing stock at Auckland, Pegasus, by Nelson — Tenambra, was sold to Mr J. Eean for lOOgs. Fabulist, the Auckland Derby winner, cost his owner' the modest sum of i-25. The colt has also won the Auckland Guineas and the Christmas Handicap,.so he has been a profitable investment. Melas was one of the disappointments at the T.J.G. Meeting, and it is evident that he is not the Melas of old. He may, however, come on before the end of the season, as I am told he is not thoroughly wound up yet. The Stratford weights have given turfites something to discuss, and on the whole Mr Henry has made a good handicap out of difficult material. In the cup, however, Man-o'-War has been allotted a stiff load,- and Pyroxylin seems too far below him. Both horses fit and well Man-o'-War could not concede 91bs to Pyroxylin. Nugget is leniently dealt with in the hurdles. Running over the weights for the Midhirst Handicap all the candidates seem well in, and it is hard to pick the probable winner. The Opunake R.C.s prizes were well distributed — Hawera, Manaia, Opunake and New Plymouth each appropriating events. It is hardly necessary to again remind owners that nominations for the Egmont R.C.s Summer Meeting are due on Friday nightOn Saturday entries close for the Ngaire Stakes, Selling Race, and Toko Handicap to be decided at the forthcoming Stratford R.C. Meeting; acceptances are also due on Saturday for the Hurdles, Cup, Pony Race, and Midhirst Handicap. Dan O'Brien's invalid, Bob Ray, is doing very well, but the log looks ugly, and the gelding will be kept idle for another six months. On the morning of the Opunake races, Charlie, the hurdler, broke away from his trainer, and. did five miles at top on his own account. He was caught, and brought back to the course, running a good race until he blundered. Warrengate races next Thursday. Flying Shot (Foul Shot— Flirt) has won the Ladies Purse at the Manawaiu R.C. Meeting two years in succession, We have had the Chinese punter for some time, and now the Chinese owner has turned up in Queensland. A Bananaland exchange says :—": — " At the Palnier River Races, North Queensland, held on the 13th November, an item in the 1 programme was a Chows' Race, ouce round, £3, catchweigbts, which resulted as follows : — All Long's Nigger (Ah Long), 1 ; Ah Sam's Pussy (Ah Sam)* 2 ; Ah Sack's Paddy (Ah G), S. Itavili be seen that the celestial gentleman who owned aud rode , the winner boasts a good Australian racing name, while the second's family cognomen is the ' front ' name of one of the most popular owners on the Viotorian turf. One can sympathise with tho owner of the third horse, mid imagine him vainly repeating his own name in appealing to his mount for an effort. Possibly the fact of the third horse being the only oue of the three not ridden by its owner may suggest^o the suspicious wind that Ah Sack was ' in the bag !" A lady had the luck to back First Result at Ashurst the other day. The second result was that a thief came along and bagged her purs&,dividend and all. A Sydney evening paper states that four mouths ago a working man at Redfern dreamed that he saw a horse called Auroria win the -Melbourne Cup, and that before the race was won he, the dreamer, died. He had faith in his dream to such an extent that he backed it, at long odds, for w£2oo. At this time he was quite in his usual health, but shortly afterwards took ill and died. He gave the betting tickets to his wife. A number of his neighbours who^heard the story also made bets on the strength

of the dream, which had so far turned out in so sadly remarkable a manner. The widow of the man who dreamed the dream is now richer by £200, and one neighbour is £50 in pocket. Particulars of the Ashurst Guineas, 1896, will be found in another column.