SPORTING NOTES.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXXVI, Issue 9489, 11 August 1891, Page 6

SPORTING NOTES.

{FROM THE CANTERBURY TIMES.) [BY CASTOIi.] The Southland Hunt Club purposes giving away £220 in prize money at the race meeting to be held on Oct. 7. A sporting barber in England is re* ported to have won .£35,000 odd over the win of Common in the Derby. The Sporting Review reports that Yard-. man has broken down so badly that it is doubtful if ho will ever race again. Tartar, by Musket from Steppe, is to be used as a station sirs in South Australia. T. Lyford will probably have the mount on Sentinel in the Grand National Steeplechase. Sixty-nine nominations have been sent in for the five events on the programme of the Green Island Trotting Club’s inaugural meeting. The Vagabond, a good performer when a young horse, and who has been doing stud duty in South Australia for several years, was destroyed a few days ago. Mr D. O’Brien has disposed of the filly Reflection, by Tasman from Moonray, to G. Matthews, the figure given being 150 gs. After the Sockburn Meeting Mr Q. Murray-Aynsley purchased the gelding Begorrah. Begorrah was bred in the Auckland Provincial District, and is by Woolbroker. Mr Pasketb, of Eeefton, has sold the black gelding Captain Abram, now in Stewart’s hands, to W. Brown, the wellknown jockey. The Deniliquin Jockey Club bad to postpone its Winter Meeting owing to the floods. It is eighteen years since the fixture had to be pub off for a similar reason. Nearly all the principal business houses in Christchurch have agreed to close their offices at noon on the day of the Grand National Meeting. The Banks will be closed all day. Messrs Hobbs Bros., of Timaru, have the St George—Pair Nell colt in work, and ha is progressing favourably. The colt will, all going well, sport silk at the November Meeting of the Canterbury Jockey Clnb. Mr Henry Driver has been re-elected to, and has accepted, the post of Starter to the Dunedin Jockey Club. If the Club is very persistent in forcing an incompetent official on horse-owners and the public, the official himself shows a total disregard for public feeling in accepting the position. One or two trifling errors appear in the advance copies of the Canterbury Jockey Club’s book programmes for the present season. The most important, perhaps, is in the table of winners of the New Zealand Cup, where Ray, instead of Thomas, is credited with riding Wolverine to victory last year. Sooner or later the Canterbury Jockey Club will have to erect additional boxes on the course. With the large number of horses now daily being exercised, the want of accommodation is very much felt, and there is no reason why the necessary work should be delayed. Mr J. Stuart Allan, of Wellington, has executed some very clever sketches of the now famous *' stag hunt,” which are accompanied by an amusing parody on the “ Lady of the Lake,” and make a very creditable addition to the published work of this enterprising young artist. I regret to learn that Mr Stead adheres to his determination to retire from racing as early as possible. Of the team he sent to Australia, Scots Grey and Silver Knight have already been sold, and he hopes to dispose of, during the season, his ether horses in training. Mr Stead will retain the breeding establishment at Yaldhurst, and with Maxim and a choice collection of mares should produce another race of great winners. The grand total put through the totalisators m New Zealand last season, according to the Sporting Review, amounted to £650,000. It was estimated that the net profits from this to the various Clubs was .£48,750, the balance of the 10 per cent., ,£16,250 being absorbed in working the machine, the latter estimate being based on a 2\ per cent reckoning. The member for Waitotara, who introduced the Gaming and Lotteries Bill, which has passed the House of Representatives, received what seems to be reliable information from Sydney to the effect that in four years prior to 1889 no leas than £260,000 was sent from New Zealand to Australia as subscriptions to consultations, and out of that only £37,000 came back in prizes. At a special meeting of the Nelson Jockey Club it was resolved that the annual races should take place in the first week in February next, the changing of the date of the fixture being due to the fact that the jubilee of the Province was to be celebrated in February of next year. The amount of prize money to be given away is £SOO. f The Napier Telegraph says:—The winner of the High-weight Handicap, at Wellington, the other day, Mr D. Scally’s Rufus, is a peculiar tempered animal, and can gallop when he likes. This is the horse who last year, while running in a race, stopped when he came to a piece of soft ground, went slowly through it, and afterwards galloped on, winning as he liked. In response to the resolutions passed at the meeting of local Racing Clubs held in Oamaru, the Dunedin Jockey Club states that in common with other Metropolitan Clubs steps had been takpn to secure a reduction of the proposed totalisator tax, which steps they had reason to believe would be successful. A conference of all the Racing Clubs in the provincial district has been called for Sept. 11. By his principal victory at Sockburn on Saturday, Freeman incurs a 51b penalty in the Grand National Steeplechase, which brings his weight to 9st 121 b. The impost is not a crushing one, and with a good horseman on his back—the horse’s trainer, T. Stewart, is to ride Ahua—the South Canterbury owned gelding has more than an outside show.

A truly splendid acceptance has been received for the Melbourne Cup, only 28 of the original 163 entered having dropped out. The only New Zealand owned horse that has retired is Merrie England, but the ex-Maorilanders Sultan and Union Flag are among the absentees. The injuries received by the horse Takapau and his rider Collins in the Fossil ill Steeplechase, were not so bad as at first supposed. The horse turned a complete somersault, and threw Collins fully twenty yards away. Horse and jockey were badly shaken, hut are progressing favourably. “Buff and Black/’ of the Napier Telegraph, doubts the ability of Darnley to win the Grand National Steeplechase, hut thinks that whatever beats Tauraekaitai will win. The same writer says Mr Gollan expects to win the Grand National Hurdle Face.

The annual meeting of the Hawke’s Bay Jockey Club was held recently The income for the year was in round figures £7050, and although a small increase had been made in the stakes given, and lesser fees for nominations and acceptances demanded from horse owners, the Bank overdraft had been substantially reduced. It now stands at .£920. The assets of the Club are set down at ,£11,031 15s, which leaves a balance over liabilities of ,£4058 11s 4d. Captain Eussoll, was unanimously re-elected President and Mr A. C; Lang Treasurer. The retiring Committee was likewise re-elected.

The handicapper for the Australian Jockey Club has formed an exalted opinion of Medallion and Scots Grey, both these horses being in the first half-dozen in the Metropolitan Stakes, the winner of our last Derby being placed only 101 b below Highborn, the top weight. If the distance were half a mile shorter Scots Grey might have a show, but over a two-mile course neither of the New Zealanders can be supposed to have much of a chance. Silver Knight, at 6st 71b, reads bettor than either of the other representatives from this Colony. Tho following is from the Tasmanian Mail :—The management of the Melbourne Waxworks have added another “attraction” in the form of a hairless horse, ]usb imported from New Zealand, and said to be n animal of high breeding and extra-

ordinary beauty. This animal is stated to have been bred at Strath Taieri, and war imported to Victoria by Mr T. It stands sixteen hands high, is four year* old, and can, it is said, trot a mile in four minutes. An American exchange says that the Sit Modted filly, Mary Stone, grew three inches and a half from August to April. Wyndham Walden says he never knew of| but one case of more rapid growth. That was in the case of the Duke of Magenta., This colt as a two-year-old ■ measured' fifteen hands under standard. In one; winter he grew four inches, and as a three-year-old came out full sixteen hands. At, two he was cobby and " punched ” up, but; at three he .became transformed into a horse of great length. The Southland Stud Company, which started last year, had a successful season,; the profit shown being equal to 9£ per, canton the paid-up capital. The horses Lorraine and Ike had given satisfactions and a third entire is to be purchased, the | present lists being nearly full. During the; coming season shareholders will be charged. £3 3s for the services of the stallions, and! non-shareholders £5 ss.

To give some idea of what the recent disqualifications of jockeys in England j mean to them, the following is taken from! an exchange :—" Sam Loates, the arch' offender, rode chiefly for Mr Abington. Last year he had 383 mounts, of which! 83 were wins, 65 seconds, and 58 thirds,, while in 1889 he won 167 races. Among; Sam Loates’ wins may be mentioned his : ride on Harvester, when he ran a dead, heat with Sc Gatien, with Charles Wood in i the saddle, for the Derby of 1884. T.; Loates last year had 650 mounts, out of' which he scored 147 wins, 120 seconds,'! and 90 thirds, while in 1889 he rode 167 j winners, T. J. Calder had 354 mounts,! scoring 64 wins, 62 seconds, and 89 thirds ;i and Arthur White, 273 mounts, 43 wins,: 43 seconds, and 43 thirds. T. Loates rode ‘ Donovan for the Duke of Portland when be; won the Darby in 1889. These fashionable * jockeys have been riding for the crack; stables, and each of them had large re-" tainingfees. There must have been very strong grounds for such severe action by the JockeyiClub.”