SPORTING RBEVITIES.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCVII, Issue 11188, 9 February 1897, Page 3

SPORTING RBEVITIES.

[“ Canterbury Times.”] The brood mare Virginia Water is dead. • Ruby Twist has been turned out owing to soreness. St Elmo is to be placed in W. Davies’s hands to train. Old Swivel won two events at the Vincent Meeting, Nestor will, in all likelihood, be nominated for the Sydney Cup. Big Fellow is the name of an English seventeen hand three-year-old. Craig Millar, winner of the St Leger in 1875, recently died in Hungary. Local papers do not speak very highly of the starting at the Gore meeting. A two-year-old filly by Escutcheon from Diploma was recently sold in Perth for 21gs. Mr L. Caselberg.has resigned his position as a member of the Masterton Racing Club. The Boxing Day meeting of the Victoria Amateur Turf Club resulted in a profit of £IBO. Grandmaster appears among the winning sires in England with £2820 opposite his name. Velasquez and Galtee More have each been supported at 6 to 1 to win the next Derby. Mr Morrin has twenty-one foals at Wellington Park, twelve colts and nine fillies. Latest Australian training notes state that Bloodshot was being restricted to easy pacing. Errington is reported to be throwing off the lameness caused through injuring his fetlock. Mr W. T. Jones, writing to a friend, says that an offer of £BOOO for Newhaven was refused. The Cheviot Racing Club made a profit of £35 over its annual New Year’s Meeting. Merry Maid puts up a 71b penalty in the Takapnna Cup, bringing her weight up to 7st. Snapshot, winner of the Perth Cup, is a son of Paris and Bull’s Eye, the dam of Straightshot. Mousquetaire and Sternchaser, owned by Mr S. H. Gollan, are for sale in England as stud horses.

The Australian mare Quiver won the Viceroy’s Cup, Fortunatus second and Courallie third. A dividend of £6l 12s was paid to the winner of the Hurdle Race at Adelaide on New Year’s Day. Persimmon has joined H. Fletcher’s stable at the Hutfc, and Kinglake has been taken in hand again. Horses, the property of one owner, will bo bracketed on the totalisator at the Takapuna meeting. Marino has been bought by Mr A. Seftou. Something like £3OO is stated to have been the price paid. St Simon’s stock won £59,219 10s in England last year. The progeny of Stockwell won £66,000 in 1866. It is considered that the Cheviot meeting was one of the most successful gatherings ever held in tho Amuri. Mahaki was to have been sold in Auckland last week under a bill of sale, but the matter was otherwise settled.

A Carbine filly named Chokebore ran unsuccessfully at Mooney Valley meeting. She is stated to be backward. It is estimated that the Auckland Racing Club will have made a profit of £2OOO over its recent meeting. The new Cheviot course is being laid down in grass, and promises to be in firstclass order for the club’s next meeting. Sir Blundell Maple was offered _ 10,000 guineas for his stud horse, Childwick, lor the French market, but declined to sell. It is stated that A. Robertson will retire from the control of Mr Rathbone’s horses, and his place be taken by T. Quinlivan. At the last Caulfield meeting the name of each horse was posted on the stall occupied by the animal in the saddling paddock. The Neckersgat colt Tarquin is considered the best two-year-old in West Australia. He cost 155 gs at the last Morphetville sale. . Mr J. E. Henry, in acknowledging tho receipt of fees from the Masterton Racing Club, sent a donation of £5 5s towards the club’s funds. It may bo mentioned that tho £4OO paid for Culzeau, whoso future destination is

India, is the same amount as that paid for Fortunatus. Eed Lancer, who won a double at the Gore Meeting, is out of the well-known St George mare. Red Ensign, by the Musket horse St Clair. During the past season twenty-three English-bred horses won sixty-seven races in America, their winnings amounting to nearly £ 22,000. A gelding rejoicing in the name of Waachteenbeeche, won a Maiden Plate at the meeting of the Garrick Club,Tasmania, on Boxing Day. Previous to winning the November Handicap at the Manchester meeting. Telescope had been badly defeated no less than sixteen times. The Wanganui Jockey Club has received splendid nominations for its autumn meeting ; comprising some of the best horses in training in the colony. The two-year-old by Lebel, from Fishwife, owned by Mr T. Elliott, of Waitara, is reported to lie a fine youngster. He is engaged in the Taranaki Hack Derby. Prank Monk (the nominator) and the chestnut gelding Hard Case have been disqualified for two years by the Cheviot Racing Club on the ground of wrongful entry. W. C. Yuille and Co. recently sold Emblason, two years (by Escutcheon, from Emblematic), for 32-Jgs; and Happy Jack, aged (by Welcome Jack, from Yictorine), for lOgs. It was nearly eight o’clock before the last race was run on the first day of.the Gore meeting, and then the settlement of the District Hack Race had to stand over till the next dav.

The Gore handicappers evidently forgot that according to Rule 38 no horse can carry less than fist 71b in a handicap on the flat. They weighted four horses in the Flying at fist 51b. The Woodville District Jockey Club has received splendid nominations for its summer meeting. The Cup is endowed with 150 sovs, whilst the Midsummer Handicap is worth 100 sovs.

Manilla won the double of Farmers’ Plate and Welter Handicap at the recent Hororata meeting, thus repeating her successes at the fixture two years ago, when she captured the same two races. At the meeting of the Wairarapa Racing Club, a suggestion was. made that it would probably be in the interests of the club if a one day race meeting were held in future instead of the customary two days.

Victim and Emmeline ran the full distance in the Flying Handicap at Gore, hut it was declared a false start, and the totalisator opened as for a new race. Eed Lancer won, and paid £5 10s and £2 4s. Patent reins for pulling horses were used on Ehla, a bad puller and borer, at the Sonepore Meeting. It is said the horse went quietly. We have had reins of thife description in New Zealand for many years.

The Ch eviot Racing Club intends applying for the first spare totalisator permit, and in the event of obtaining it, will put forth a first-class programme. The Cheviot Cup will be raised to a sweepstake of £1 each, with 25gs added. The light-weight jockey, Castleton, rode Merry Maid at Gisborne when she paid £47 8s; Mantle, at Auckland, dividend £139 10s; Quickfiro, at the same place, dividend £l7 Ss. Donovan, also at Auckland, dividend £23 2s. Not a bad record.

A jockey in America, who went out without a whip, found that his mount needed some such instrument and, riding close to another jockey, snatched his whip from him and used it on his horse to such good effect that he won the stake. At the Gore meeting the stewards disqualified Saunterer for one month for inconsistent running in the Hurdle Race on the first day, and Rae, who had the mount on Stimulant in the Flying Handicap, for the meeting, for disobedience at the post. The French Jockey Club, out of totalisator profits, have given £6OOO towards building a hospital for jockeys and other professionals who meet with accidents connected with the turf. When completed they will give £4OOO towards endowing it. In their work for the Viceroy’s Cup, Robinson each morning rode Quiver, while Trahan was up on Courallie, and Vinall on Fortunatus. Of the three horses, Courallie pleased the touts most; but “ Quiver came in for unfavourable comments.”

J. Leek, the Caulfield jockey, recently in one day rode the winners of three races, finished second once, and rode one dead heat for third place. A few days afterwards he was’successful on three occasions, and secondonc e. In the last event he was cautioned for foul riding. The Waimate, which arrived at Port Chalmers on Jan. 17, had on board Mr P. Campbell’s colt Sandhurst, by Bendigo— Engagement, in charge of Mr H. Pranks, senr. The colt is reported to have had a splendid trip. Sandhurst will probably be placed in quarantine at Lyttelton. Mousqueton, the gelding by Mousquetaire —Miss Dargon, and the colt Wakelyn, by Dreadnought Lady Florin, are to be nominated by Mr S. H. Gollan for the Britannia Steeplechase and Hurdle Race, of 5000 sovs each, to be run at the Warwick (England) Spring Meeting in April, 1900.

A buggy horse at the Mount Bolton races broke away from its tether, and when running over the racing track collided with M.M., who was at the time running in the Hack Race. The collision was so severe that both horses died from the effect, while Goodie, the rider of M.M., was badly shaken. St Kilda, who has been on the retired list ever since he contested the Welter Handicap at Riccarton in August last, is still in the paddock; and his stable mate, St Regel, who developed symptoms of lameness shortly before the commencement of the Auckland Racing Club’s Summer Meeting, is also being treated to a rest.

At the Ballarat Miners’ Turf Club Meeting a jockey named Wooster was asked to explain to the stewards, who were of opinion that he had pulled his mount, the horse’s unsatisfactory performance. Wooster stated that he had not intentionally pulled the horses, and that if he had done so it was the result of inexperience. The stewards disqualified him for six months. Precaution, by Martini-Henry—Pretoria, put up a record of Imin 13?jsec for the six furlongs, when she won the Carrington Stakes on New Year’s Day. She carried 7st, and won easily, starting at an outside price. A strong south-west gale assisted the mare. The time is just Iseo better than the previous record, held by Vanitas, who won the Carrington Stakes in 1895, Volcano and several others.

Our West Coast correspondent writes:'— The racehorse Tutanekai broke a bone in the fetlock, and will not race again. At Hokitika the hurdler Minerva fell, her jockey sustaining very serious injurious. Ho is, however, now in a fair way towards recovery. A promising three-year-old fell on the Grey course and had to be destroyed, the jockey receiving some nasty wounds. He is now in the hospital, in a fair way to recovery. The following notice, posted up in a conspicuous place by the stewards of the Morris Park Jockey Club, explains itself: —“ The stewards of the Jockey Club desire all trainers, jockeys aud stable employes to assemble in the large hall»adjoining the secretary’s office at 12.30 o’clock. A representative of the stewards will address you on the subject of the racing rules. All trainers, jockeys and stable employes are expected to be present.” At the last Kyneton races a rider in one of the events was, it is alleged, approached and offered certain, inducements to “ pull” his horse. He refused to seriously consider

the matter, but the story goes he was made “ safe ” in another way, as, in the course of the race, his horse was so badly interfered with that he came down. An affidavit has been made to this effect, and witnesses have been called by*the Victoria Racing Club Committee. A message from Auckland, dated Jan. 18, says that during the races at Kaikohe the racehorse Clinch broke bis neck during the second round of the Commercial Travellers’ Handicap. He was forcing the pace close behind Belmont, and, striking that horse’s hind legs, he came down with the above result. The rider, D. Wright, was seriously hurt. . Previous to the accident Clinch had succeeded in winning the double of the Whangarei Cup and Kaikohe Cup. Concerning the Ngunguru races on Boxing Day the Northern Advocate states:— "An amusing spectacle took place during the interval between the. Hack Race and Pony Cup. Two gentlemen.had previously matched their horses one against the other for ill a side, distance once round the course, the race taking place during the interval mentioned. Charlie finished first, but his owner, as they flashed past the post, challenged the owner of Snooks to-another round, which resulted in his defeat, Snooks taking the money.” A terrible disaster, says the Leader, occurred at Clermont, a town hundred miles west of Rockhampton. Pour bosses fell in one . race, and Daniel Hannant, the rider of one horse, was', killed,' his slndl being fractured in two places,' his,neick broken and bis lung . ruptured. ’ Qninlan, the rider of a local horse named Glenloth, had his skull fractured, and is now in a critical condition. Glenloth broke his neck. Jennings, another jockey,' had his collar bone broken in three places. The jockey riding Swift was badly shaken.