SPORTING.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXI, Issue LXII, 18 June 1912, Page 2

SPORTING.

(By SIR SINGLE.)

The only loeally : trained horses that claim engagements at the Hawke's Jbay winter meeting this week are.St. Toney and BismarkV a,nd J. Fryer left ioi castings on Thursday with this pan-. Manawakaha went sore whilst at Auckland prior to the Great iNortiiern meeting and was not started there at all. There was, however, nothing seriously wrong viitli the Uordon nouge gelding and he is practically all nguc again now. Olemocs, another of Brough's charges, who has been but since he went wrong at Feilding, is stated to have made a good recovery and as he has been led all along wni inobably be put into active commission again shortly. St. Serf, who was tired for hock troubles in the summer and turned out, is once more among the busy brigade as a member of J. J;Tver's team, and on present indications appears likely to stand another preparation for rackig. It was certainiy hard lack for the local hurdle horseman s W. H. Copesfcake, to break his coiiarbone through a fall from Coronetted at Auckland just as he had made a reappearance in the saddle at the conclusion of the three mouths' suspension meeted out to him by the Taranaki Jockey Club, as tiie mishap wni prevent him for some time from doing the hurdle riding for J: layer's staole, to which he is attached. ±me dividend paid by Katua in tue race in which he ran second at Otaki was sensational, being about haX. as large again as that paid by Koyal biinon when he ran second at the Waverley meeting last October. Apropos of Katua's dividend it is stated that a well-known dairy iactory manager in this district entrusted a friend who was going to Otaki, with a couple of sovereigns to put on the Obligado ge'iding in a race in which he was not placed. It seems however that tLe iriend forgot to make the original investment and instead put the £2 on the Katua in the race in which he even- . tually finished second, wwth the result tha-fe the surprised and lucky factory manager in clue course received a very substantial sum a* ttie result of his investment. Avaunce is an the easy lnst at present but is still in feed and J. Fryer will probably put the daughter of Advance into work again shortly. Draft broke down badly through slipping whilst doing a preliminary at the Great Northern meeting and has been turned out for a twelve months' spell. His owner, Mr George Smith, of Stratford, tells me there is no truth in tho report that he gave the Maniapoto gelding away after the mishap occurred.

Visitors to the Waneanui May meeting had a good word for tke manner in which Golden Loon shaped in his hurdle essay there, and such being the case the son of Lupin should not be dear at 250 guineas, which is stated to have been the figure at which Mr A. F. Douglas acquired him. Plantation, who went a bit sore at Atickland and was only started once at the Great Northern meeting, is on the easy list at present and enjoys the run of a paddock in the daytime when the weather is fine. The black fellow was doing great woi-k on the Ellerslie tracks prior to the meeting and in his only public essay there was within half a length of tho leader at the turn, though he never actually got to the front. Smilax was putting up good times on the tracks at Ellerslie prior to the Great Northern meeting, but failed to distinguish himself in his races. The going on race days there was bad, and J. Brown tells me the Obligado gelding was all at sea on it and appeared quite unable to handle himself properly.

Royal Marine has been spelling of late, but O. Cox intends to set the chestnut going again very shortly.

After the Wanganui Cup meeting Jargon was lightly blistered and treated to a spell, but Cox has now had him in work again for about a week. The Cordon Rouge ooifc has been fed right along and is in nice trim to begin on again. Sam Pan, who was brought in again by Cox about a couple of months ago, has come on well since, but in all probability will not race again until the spring. A colt by Sylvia Park from Clemora's dam, who occupies a box at Cox's, must, now that Coronetted has gone, be one of the biggest horsese in work at Hawera. The colt, who like his sire is a chestnut in color, is now two off, but stands little short of 17 hands in height. He is owned by Mr M. J. Goodson. The St. Paul mare Princess Flo is still in work as one of Cox's team, and judging by • her creditable showing at the last Hawera meeting, when she had only been up a few months, she should pick up a race or two next season. Local trainers complain that the sand track (upon which they are practically dependent in wet weather) at the Hawera course needs some renewal, as in places the clay is working up through the sand. At the Hawera tracks on Saturday morning R. Brough had out Opeke and a full brother to Coronetted: R. J. Milne, Queensland, and a young one; O. Cox, Princess Flo, Sam Pan and the Sylvia Park —Ora colt; j. Brown, Smiiax and his half-brcther; P. Coffey, Haydn Park, Compass, Darby Paul and ; Ngatirauanui; T. Goddard, Silva, Mulga I Bill and Patriotic (who is now a gelding) ; and»,J. Goodwin, Topic. During his recent visit to England, Mr A. W. Rutherford visited the King's stables, and did not think much of either the horses or the manner in which they were kept. Indeed, he goes pretty near lese-majeste in saying that with few. exceptions they were a lot of son-y-look-ing old crocks. "Many of them are over twenty years of age. Most of them never had been any good. One of th« exceptions was the late King's hackj a fine type of the short-legged weight carrier, oldish, but with a good hack action and a fine intelligent head. The ladies' hacks would fetch about a tenn«r each in New Zealand." The famous cream-colored and black horses used on State occasions, "at close quarters are sour-headed, ugly brutes." One of several men entombed by a fall of earth in a coal scan near Sheffield shouted, when he heard the res-' cuers' picks: "What won the Grand National ?" Jerry M's victory brought this man £100, as he had a'"double" on the Lincolnshire Handicap and the Grand National. Although it was some houvs before he could be dug out, his spirits during his imprisonment were remarkably good. As evidence of the interest ta"ken ii\ racing matters in Auckland, it is 3tated that over. 1000 people were out every morning watching the gallops prior to the Great Northern Steeplechase meeting.

A Sydney cablegram states that the Flying Handicap at the Canterbury Park meeting was won by the ex-New Zealamler Sunburnt '.(Multiform— Drought), with George Gunn second, and Yarrum third. Sunbjagfct Avon by a neck. Fourteen horses started. Time, lmin 15£ sec, « At the Canterbury Park meeting (N.S.W.), on Saturday, the New Zea~-land-bred Fugue won the Stewards' Mile. '

. At Mooc.ee Valley races on Saturday the Welter was won by the ex-New Zealander Zealand. Gold Braid, another New Zealander, was ciecond, and Recalled third.