SPORTING NOTES.

Mataura Ensign, 22 June 1915, Page 2

SPORTING NOTES.

By " Starter,” Readers will join with the writer in extending sympathy to Mr W. N. Wilson and family in the sad death of Mrs Wilson, which occurred last week. The funeral was held ou Thursday last and. the high esteem in which tlie deceased lady was held was shown by . Hie largo man her of handsome wreaths received. These included one from (lie (fore Racing Club, of which Mr Wilson is a* member of the committoe. The Wintou Trotting Club, which hits btibii .griintetl diih of the . new totalisator permits, purposes racing so'iilf time "in December and there is every prospect of a programme of £SOO be)lg arranged for. If the- was b'-'h I , just before the Gore Trotting Club's meeting oh Rdxiiig Day. there would be a good circuit of fixtures ini' owners of trotters, as at Wyndham there are -two trot's on the programme oji New Year’s Day, four at the Southland meeting of January 2 1 and 3, and til’d itt WftlfrO a fortnight later. Mr W. N. Wilson is hi prosent breaking in a couple of youngsters by Pallas aiid Glenculloch for Mr Geo. Henry. Cromstall. of which so much was recently heard, has been «ent to M. I'Mwards’ stable at New Brighton to lie pfepilreti: fdf future events.- Another testimony to the ekceilent training- traek-3 available in SoxttWarid? At a meeting of the Clifden uM'irig Club held last week a discussion ettued. according to the ‘Times,’ as to when the first totalisator meeting slidU 1(1 be .held, and the, voting was even on the question lIS to whether Boxing Day or March 17 siiotiM be applied for, the chairman- deciding Jr) favor of the latter. It is just as well that this was so, as there could hardly have been a possible chance of the club being allowed to race cm Boxing Day. When the GorO Trotting . Club was granted Boxing Day for its llbtiual meeting all sorts of objections iveffe’ raised by the Dunedin Jockey Club. How much stronger these would be in regarcl t,o a racing permit can be well imagined, more especially when it is remembered the excellent support

corded meetings at Wingatui -by Southland stables. By the way, it may be noted here that- the Gore Racing Club’s application to race on March It this year was declined) as Waimate had prior claims to that date. • Sir Geo. Clifford’s three-year-old gelding First Flight died suddenly last week just after finishing work on the tracks The New Zealand Trotting Clip will be decided in November. The stake is .£2*500, with a silver cup presented by Hon. G. Ixmisson, and the race is open to horses that have done dm iff, 97sbcs dr better, in -a ruqe at a meeting held by a club recognised by the New Zealand Trotting Association. Nominations’ close on August 18, so _ that horses will have an opportunity of qualifying for the_ race at the August meeting. It will be remembered thab .Win Boqn, ifist years Wiffder of the Oiip, tiUhliliea. /fir tllff rScS St the National meeting in August. At Sandown (England) on April 23. a dead-heat between throe took place in the Walton Two-yea Sol ling Plato. A division followed, according to racing law, and when ike three juveniles’ were submitted to aijctiOji the tiwner of one of them allowed . Ills colt to go for 370gns, bub bought the other two for 360gus and SOOgiis. /The question of appointing stipendiary stewards will again Claim the attention of the Trotting Conference at its annual convention nest month. Notice of, motion has been given by ilie New Brighton Trotting Club to the following effect: “That the executive of the conference shall have power to select and appoint: mot less than two persons to act as stipendiary stewards, on such, termss, ami. with such powers, and subject to cmeh conditione, act the executive may, by by-laws' or regulations, prescribe.” The same club is also moving to alter rule 3-19 to read:

—“All horses in which the -same owner, has any interest, and all horses trained in the same stable, shall be bracketed on the _ iota lisa tor, and the" stewards may. it' they think lit, order any two or more horses in a race to be bracketed,” In the opinion of tlm chief sliphiidiary steward, Mr J. McMahon, I some of the riding at the recent Auckland meeting was poor in the extreme, and a word of advice was tendered by that official to several horsemen. Naxborg, winner of the Adelaide Cup, was sold after the race for 3000 guineas,, the biggest price ever paid for a horse in that State. The Melbourne ‘Herald’ states": “Owing to the high price of horse, feed and the increased cost of living, trainers find it almost impossible to make ends meet at the ordinary training fee. and two prominent Flemington trainers have submitted an increased scale of charges to their patrons, the fee in one ease being raised to_ £3 10s a week for each horse. The ordinary fee for some time has ranged from £2 10s to £3 35.” Of “TattersallV’ three sweeps on the Adelaide Cup, two first prizes cam© to New Zealand, and the other went to New South Wales. This month, on the Exposition race track, the richest harness meeting ever staged Will begin. Soino 225,000d01. nurses will he ’distributed among the sulky stars, and the fastest harness animals in the country arc situated on Californian tracks, preparing for the big meeting. Two 20,000d01. pacing stakes for 2.6 pacers, and two 20,000c101. trotting stakes for 2.10 trotters will he the feature events.

There will be two meets, a Spring and Fall meeting, the stakes being divided between them. The nominations ..for the Caulfield Cup total 24-7, or one less than last year; while the 253 in the Melbourne Cup fall short of last year’s total, by seven. The record number of starters for the Melbourne Cup stands at 39, wheii Cartiine won in 1890, and for the Caulfield Cup 41, in 1885, that being the occasion when Grace Darling won, and there was a big smash-up in the race. For the Epson the record number of starters stands at 38, in 1913 (Aleconner’s year), and for the Metropolitan 33, when Cagou won. The Metropolitan Trotting Club for some years held its Fester meeting on 'the Wednesday and (Saturday after the Easter holidays. Last year the club changed its dates and raced the day before Good Friday and' on Easter Saturday. The change was not a success. and the club is applying for April 26 and 29 for its Easter meeting next season, which is a return to the old dates. ' Just prior to ,the start of a race at the recent Cup meeting at Adelaide a wellrknown rider named J. Killorn fainted just after being weighed out and another rider had to be found lor his mount. Mr Gerald Stead (who is in Melbourne) won a conpl© of races at a suburban meeting there with The Pole and Sauci. This would be at the Aspendale Park meeting, held on Wednesday, at which The Pole was engaged in the Steeplechase, about two miles, and Sauci in the Aspendale Park Handicap, one mile.

Cyklon,, vAio&e naffle figures in all the important spring handicaps in Australia for next season, is an imported horse by Carbine's great sou Spearmint, from Cyaiioan, a- mare by Cyilene. Cyklon cost 500 guineas in ThigJantl, but changed hands recently in ] Australia at a figure in the neighborhood of 2000 guineas, his ucav owner being one of -the fail- sex. That there is a lot-of money to he made but of a good performer on the trotting track is proved in The Schoolgirl, Avhich up to date has Avon over .01000 in stakes, according to a Christchurch writer. Probably in-the history of horse-rac-ing in any form in any part ot Australia there has never been more .'marked progress made as has characterised trotting in Western Australia, (states the TleVerce’). It is not five years fihnv six enthusiasts held a preliminary meeting in Perth to consider the matte*' of forming an association to foster

trotting. Throe months later a. first meeting was held. _ Thirty-five horses, soffit 1 taken from city cabs, were- entered. 'The stakes amounted to 100 so vs., put up by the 10 enthusiasts who formed the committee. The meeting was a financial failure, and so iverc many, others during the following two or three years. This was mainly because of the somcAvhat strenuous opposition by those having proprietary .interests in other forms of racing, and by the fact that the public refused to patronise a sport made notorious ni earlier days Avhen an occasional trot 'wa* conducted at a-galloping -meetui". Later on .tlie .club got a suitable ground close to the -city ami laid down an vip-t(f-ci»te.track composed of shell taken from the river which flows alongside. Trotting is held at night Line. In appointments some thousands of pounds have been spent. There are grandstands,' saddling paddocks, total isatov buildings, different enclosures and conveniences.' The scene on one of those balmy .nights'that--.Perth is famous for is little short of entrancing. The track is -lit with hundreds of.electric lamps of 1000 candle power each. All the stands and enclosures and the various buildings are beautifully illuminated. Lights of varying" colors are used for signalling, and on the green sAvard, Avhioh thewhifce track rings, there are collapsible screens upon which all the information that the public desire is .pro-

iectecf by powerful lanterns. , Stipendiary stewards-control the racing, and their system is claimed to be of the most perfect nature, Book-makers call the odds alongside the totes. .During last- year owners bad 12,00030vs divided among them. This year- they 'will have . 2a,OOOsovs distributed among them. Foi' tho next Christmas carnival {JOOOsovs have been sot aside, anti there are other fixtures before- them that will cany greater stakes than the 2*sosovs ■t'btft arc provided Qa-y* Jar meeting. Jt is an afctonisiung assertion that there, are registered witn the Western Australian Trotting Association close upon 600 horses- Nearly half of that number are being actively trained. What must surely bo a record for any Similar body in Australasia- is that for t-JiO half-dozen events conducted on the night of May 29 wenentered no fewer than 138 pacers and trotters, The total nominations wore 139, iso febat- only ono horse was entered for mdf« than one event. On the previous Saturday flight there acre sent on to the track 105 horses. An idea of the progress! voucss can be gauged after a perusal of those figures bv flit knowledge that at the last meeting-in May of. last year there were 70 horses nominated, , -'■• At..'a meeting of the com nil I. tec ot the South Garner bury Trotting Glint encouraging repents wore presented regarding .the• .preparation» tor the- race meeting on July 8> The Owners and Trainers*' Association in Gbnst-cluirch has been asked to assist the club- in

securing -sfle'di!] Irani -arrangements. I There will be a special pas,senger ream I from the city, and it is expected tigtl | the association will be able to help in | arranging for die conveyance of horses. I Air W. F. James has been appointed | to kike charge of the totalusator. The g Trotting Association is being asked to g appoint ,an advisory steward, and the | committee has appt/iilted four judicial | stewards, Messrs J. Role, lb Fast, W. I L. Grant and J. W. Kelly (late of | Gore), The six furlongs track at the | Wasbdvke course lias boon. graded and I levelled, and expert' observers .speak g very well of it. I flic annual conference of represent- I .natives of trotting clubs will be held | in Wellhigkm mi July 13. . I There, are -iuuv 2b trotting chiJi'S in g life Dominion which have t;:tal sator | permits. I The Provident Fund, of the Now I Zealand Trotting As-odatinu for' the yeai- ended May 31 shoes die receipts to have been £so2' ss, and the disbursement* on account of accidents', wo., 197. The lincis imposed during ihe year amounted to £.123, the Greymouth Trotting C'lu'b heading' the list with £2l. The present value of the | Provident Fund is £2lOl 17s Tld. | In conversation i-eeently with a I Cbi'isteliureli writer LVli. Edwards stated I that be had no intention of nominat- g iug the Australian-bred pacer Denver | Huon, for the New Zealand Trotting; I Gup. The absence from the field of the two-mile record holder will rub the race of, some of its interest, but as it s proposed to send Denver Huoa to the stud the decision net to nominate him is a wise cue.

The-racing ami trdtting chibs of the Dominion have done their part, well since the war began in the direction of contributing to various patriotic funds. ' The committee of the Otalmhu Trotting Club recently took up the case of the maimed and wounded, when the following resolution was passed: “That, as the committee- of this club is of opinion that provision should be made for the wounded and maimed heroes from New Zealand who are defending our independence and that of the Empire at the front, it is our duty to create a fund - for the benefit of the men and their dependents after the war is over. In furtherance of this object- we therefore determine to subscribe the sum of, £IOO from the club’s funds for tjiis purpose, and also agree to vote a further sum of £lO monthly, until the conclusion of the war. And, also that the secretary of this club suggest to all trotting dubs'in New Zealand that they fall into line with this resolution, as far as their funds will permit.” A copy of this resolution has been posted to all the racing and trotting clubs in New Zealand.