SPORTING.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LIII, Issue LIII, 15 April 1908, Page 6

SPORTING.

RACING FIXTURES. April'2o— Patea Hack Meeting. April 20, 21— Wairarapa R.C. April 20, 21— Feilding J.C. • NOTES BY "OBSERVER." The Waimate Plains Trotting Club's meeting is announced to take place on Mr J. D. Mitchell's private course on Wednesday, May 6. The programme, containing seven events for harness or saddle, received a long list of nominations, giving the club promise of a successful fixture. The prize list aggregates the respectable sum of £140, which; in addition to the encouragement given towards the sport, is likely to be the means of a change in the breeding of district roadsters, which at present are a class open to considerable improvement. . . The Patea meeting on Monday next, if favored with fine weather, is sure to attract a large, attendance, arid the course is reported to be in splendid order. , „ Mr R. E. Mcßae's- adjustments for the handicap events at the 'Patea annual meeting appear as nearly as possible free from adverse criticism, so as a natural sequence large acceptances may be expected to follow. In the endeavor of following the handicapper's reasonings in his weight distributions for the several events tt seems a difficult task to find any cases that individual exception can be taken to, and although opinions may differ upon this point it will be quite safe to infer that the weights are fully consistent with public form, and demonstrate the care in detail which proves the producer to be well abreast of his- work. I have to acknowledge a neatly-got-np programme containing the 1908 fixtures of the Egmont-Wanganui Hunt Club, whose season opens on the 29th inst., at "Hayes 1 ," Waverley. • Three days' racing at Auckland and two at Christchiirch, Feilding, and Wairarapa will prove the means of subdivision in the list of crack handicap horses at Easter time, and although each centre appears ably represented, Auckland has proved successful in attracting the lion's share. J The Egmont Racing Club's fixture,' which follows close on the heels of Pa-, tea, assists towards keeping the rotary wheel of racing in actual movement, in accompaniment to which the training tracks continue to show that an unflagging interest follows in the wake of the meetings. On Saturday morning a full muster assembled at the training rendezvous. Maharanui, who has been an absentee since last October, looked refreshed and sound after his long spell, and showed that he still retains' the knack of galloping by losing his companion, - Glen Kettles, . at the end of a couple of furlongs, and maintaining a sound pace over a circuit and a quarter of the plough by himself. Overtime still continues with half-pace work. This gelding is a free and even mover, and should improve quickly, for although some months off the scene he ,has all along been subjeoted to useful hacking exercise. Compass," Mudgee and Black Squall were associated in a round over the hurdles, in which the trio exhibited a rather weak display of jumping. Mudgee, tiring at half way, ran the flight down, and jumped the guiding fence into the sand track, terminating a rehearsal that was expected to be interesting. An attendant presenting a very attractive appearance is Tiptoe, who is a beautifully free-actioned horse that improves with each gallop, and promises to be in sufficiently" forward condition to prove his efficiency for the racecourse by the time" the -winter meeting comes around. The Australian-bred Alfala is rapidly brightening up in appearance, and her companion, The Apostle, although continuing to bear the rough appearance of paddock training, shapes improvdngly in his exercise. ' Jackson's teanv consisting of Red Star, the chestnut St. Clements gelding, and Inaha each appear in forward racing condition. The last-named, who struck herself severely at the Manaia meeting, has recovered from the lameness and remains nothing the worse' for the accident. * After winning over r a-mile 'at the New Plymouth meeting on the second day Somali returned to the bird-cage without a hair turned, presenting herself as one of the best-conditioned animals at the meeting. The six-year-old black daughter of Sylvia Park now jumps from hacks to Feilding Cup company. Another horse that is engaged in the same event with the minimum impost is the locally trained Mallet, who is undergoing a satisfactory preparation, and as he has evinced an inclination to stay well cannot be counted out of a chance in the mile and a half race, for which T. Goddard has the brown halfhrother to Maharanui looking welltightened up ( . Claremont seems to be an unlucky horse, for apparently having everything beaten on the second day at Wanganui last month, the brilliant Maui came with a la£e run and snatched the victory from him by a head. His next essay was at Palmeraton on Tuesday last, where he appeared to have the Hokowhitu Hurdles practically won, when Gold Dust put in a fast rattle in the last furlong and beat the St. Cyr gelding by a head on the post, and on the second day was again the only one of the field to defeat him. In the chestnut s,on of Sylvia Park and Madame Cole (tho paddock-trained Silver Lead), however, R. Brough- furnished one who well repaid him for the trip, for, although running unplaced on the first day, he. displayed improvement by the racing by running second to Lethean in the; Hack Flying on the second day and afterwards defeating Truganini and five others in the Farewell Welter of a mile. Ballarat showed her retention of form at the meeting by leading all the way in the Borough Handicap from King Billy and six other prominent sprinters. v Both Gold .Dust and Showman upset the handicajiper's calculations in the hurdle races by each annexing a double win. The two-year-old Truganihi showed consistency of form by gaining a first and two seconds out of, her three starts. Mr "W. Barleymaii's • brace of thoroughbreds, the three-year-old Miss Advance and four-year-old Tarina, which

now are on lease to the Hon. J. Carroll, made a good showing at the Manawatu autumn meeting of last week in the Telegraph Stakes of six furlongs, which was cut out in the fast time of 1.14 1-5. Tarina ran second to Gold Thread, leaving behind her such good ones as Ballarat, Gauze, De Witte and Chicane, while Miss Advance confirmed all the good things said of her by outclassing the field engaged in the Maiden Hack Race of five furlongs. Ramanui, who has been added to T. Goddard's strirfg, is spoken of as a likely candidate for the pony ranks.