SPORTING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7353, 13 June 1885, Page 6

SPORTING.

RACING FIXTURES. Jane 25—Hawke's Bay J.C. Steeplechase Masting. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. Query.—Monte Christo and TJrulla were both got by Ukester.' *' " J. B.—The English rale of betting Is that any race postponed over a Sunday nullifies all Irani actions. F. W. B.— Hermit win the Derby In a enowstorm. 2. Nannie 8. trotted a mile in November last in 2mln. »l?.ec». 3. Robert the Devil was sold at the clos* of his racing career for 8800 guineas. Thunderbolt wis sot offered by auction as a yearling. He was bought privately. Derringer was not bred by the N.Z. Stud Company, bat by Mr. Xavanagh. Waock.— has ridden the winner of ihe Dunedin Cup on two occasions, viz, In 1877 on Fishhook, and in 1886 on Vanguard. Derritt is under a two year*' engagement to the Hon. W. Robinson, and will ride for that gentleman in Australia. Harry Mount was imported from Wanganui to Auckland by Mr. F. Kitchen, and afterwards purchased out of a Selling Race, ran at Ell-.'ilia, by Mr. S. C Caulton, , ; a whose naow he ran sev tisi races, and he afterwards became the property of Sfir. M. Gallagher. Harry Mount was g tby Havens worth. NOTES BY PHAETON. Though the attendance of the public at the A.R.C. Meeting, on Saturday last, could not by any means be called bad, there is no disguising the fact that it was much below ( what was expected. Various reasons may *&9 cited for the falling off in the attendance, but the one in whioh I think the true causes may be found is that the publio had been treated to such a plethora of sport, of late that they did not buckle up with the saarpest of appetites to the bill of fare placed before them by the A.R.C. However, taken altogether, the meeting must be considered a suocess, for everything in connection therewith went off in a most satisfactory manner; and it was only by an accident that Auoklanders were robbed of having one of the greatest finishes for their big event ever fought out on a New Zealand racecourse in a race of a like description. The programme opened with the Maiden Steeplechase, for which King was thought a perfect moral, but he never got round, and St. Danstan, jumping in most finished style, won. King first misbehaved himself at the water, and being nt last got over that obstacle, he jumped everything first-class until coming to the double, when, to the surprise of everyone, he again stuck up. The style in which be went at these two jumps was nothing like his autumn form ; but I don't think his refusing may be set down to his having turned rogue, for I fancy that the crowd who were congregated round these jumps, had a good deal to do with bringing about his disgrace. The Novel Hurdle Raoe would, as matters turned out, have certainly been better left out of the programme, for it only brought out three miserable screws; but the splendid field of eleven that went to the post for the Great Northern Steeplechasmore than made up for the miserable exhibition that the public were treated to in the preceding race. On looking over the various candidates prior to the start, there was none that took my fancy so much as old New Year, who certainly never stripped so well Binoe that ever-memorable day when he had both Canard and Clarence in trouble as they came over the last stone wall in the Auckland Steeplechase of 1882. Macaroni, on the other hand, looked terribly fineon it; and as I cast my eyes towards Mr. Crowther's paddock and there beheld a heavy plough, I bethought, , " Old fellow, that twelve stone must stop you 1 to-day." As we all now know, the raoe fell to the top weight; and though Ido not wish to detract in any way from the great victory gained by the son of Gladiator, I am yet far from convinced that he should have been returned the winner, But before indulging in any remarks in his case, lot us first try and find out what led up to the defeat of the favourite, New Year. It was indeed very early on the journey that Munn had his .horse in front, and the first time round at the water he was racing almost at his top with the leaders, Fair Play and Quilp, whioh must have taken a deal out of him, and his run with Ngata up the back of the course had also much to do with effectually Bottling the old fellow off. These, of course, may have been the instructions issued to Mann ; but it appears to me, and I think also to many others, that had different tactics been pursued, neither New Year's fall at the last hurdle nor Maoaroni's victory would have been recorded on Saturday las*. Some think, however, that had New Year . got over the hurdle he would have beaten Macaroni ; but, though the old fellow made up his ground well in the straight, , I think he was fairly done when he ! came down, for he never rose at the obstacle. Macaroni was handled thonghout in a most artistic manner by ford, and .to his skilful horsemanship may in a great measure be attributed the son of Gladiator's victory. Though kept well behind, Lyford never allowed the leaders to steal too far away from the creamy; but after the last postand.rail had been passed he rattled him along, with a result that we all now know. Ngata ran a right down good horse, considering that he had only been up a short time, and the excellent manner in which he performed until running round his last fence proved unmistakably that had he met hia opponents under different conditions he would have been a hard nut for the best of them to crack. Quilp ran very kindly the i first time round, but after that distance had been traversed his ill-temper showed itself on several occasions. If Rae could only have have run a great race, for there can be no question that be is possessed of a heap of foot. Revenge also disgraoed himself by baulking, but it was quite patent that the horse was not himself. The Hurdle Raoe only drew out a field of four, and it fell an easy prey to the favourite, Alfred, who fenced in most finished Btyle, and got through his task in a most satisfactory manner. The Selling Steeplechase fell to St* Danstan ; but it/ was only by a fluke that he was returned the winner, owing to Farrell on Seagull steering a wrong course, which put him entirely out of it. This event brought the meeting to a close, and though, as I said before, the attendance was hardly up to expectations, the club have every reason to be pleased with the success of the gathering. While " the boys " were still warm over the Great Northern, decidea at Ellerslie on Saturday last, the big steeplechase to be run at Hawke's Bay on the 25th instant was introduced to their notioe by an offer on the part of Mr. Profitt to take 500 to 100 in one pop about Claude ; and when accommodated by Mr. Lyons (on behalf of the local ring), to the surprise of not a few, the backer offered to again take the same wager about the son of Day Dawn winning, but he was only aouommodated to the extent of another 100 to 20. Claude, the medium of the above speculations, will be remembered as figuring at several country meetings up this way, but probably his best performance here was second to Director in the Hurdle Raoe run at the A.R.C. Autumn Meeting. He snowed a good turn of foot in that raoe, for it was not until the last hurdle was reaohed that the grey son of Papapa may be said to have had him fairly in trouble; but few regarded him as being likely to develop into a cross-country animal of much merit. After Claude's second to Direotor he was purchased by a Napier sport, and, as the party in whose hands he is at present in, are by no means novioes at the game, the move in his favour for the Napier raoe should not therefore be disregarded. The old trouble of the publio crowding round the water jump and double during the running of the steeplechases was again most rampant on Saturday last, and it is certainly high time that the club took some steps to check this ever increasing source of annoyance. To those on the lower stand both jumps are almost completely hid from view, but this is as nothing when we come to consider the case of jockeys having to ride a horse lined to be a bit shifty at a jump surrounded by a crowd of people. There are cot a few who think that to the crowd of people stationed at these jumps may be attributed King's stickiag-up when competing j for the Maiden Steeplechase, and when we I come to consider that the horse took every i other jump in first-class style bar those two, it seem-) % fair conclusion to come to. I hope, therefore, that some mesas will be devised on the mailing of the next steeplechase, so that eh'? horses m&y not be interfered with, and those ok tba stand have a fair view of the jumps,

The Macaroni party could not have been very sanguine of the creamy's ability to win ■m Saturday last, for they allowed him to start altogether unbacked with the ring, but I understood, they had about £50 on him in the machine, which investment returned tlom a nice little div., for £5 17a was paid on each pound. Ngata was quietly backed; but the only horse that appeared to go down in. the paddook was New Year. The run on him could not however have bean very great, for the metallioians were offering 3's to 1 about him up till the fall of the flag. It now transpires that the non-appearance of Welcome Jack's name in the list of horses nominated for the Melbourne Cup,

was owing to the entry being declared informal. _ Mr. Pilbrow cabled to Melbourne concerning the matter, and was informed as stated above, and also that the matter was to be brought before the committee of the V.R.C.; but whether that body decided to receive the nomination or refuse it. has not, up to the time of writing, transpired. I may remark that Walcome Jack's name appears in the list of those engaged in the Metropolitan Stakes, and ft therefore seems most inexplicable bow his entry for the Melbourne Cup comes under the head of informal, for I presume all the horses' entries were made by the same person. A day or two will no doubt sot the matter finally at rest as to what action the V.R.C. have taken in the matter.

One of the most discussed questions in Auckland sporting circles at the present time is the weight Thunderbolt is likely to be asked to carry in the Melbourne Cup. Some think that the colt will get from 7st 121ba to B*t, and they base that view on the fact that the V.R.C. handioapper, as a rule, always takes care of well-performed two year olds, as witness the imposts' pat on Archie, Warwick, and Dirk Hatterrack in the Cop of 1883. It should, however, be borne in mind when considering this question, that the 68t 71bs minimum whioh was in force in the two previous years, has now been abolished, and the handicap will this year go down to 6it. I fanoy, therefore, that when the handicap for the Cop is placed before us we will find Thunderbolt with an impost of 7st 51bs, or thereabouts, opposite his name. A general meeting of the members of the Pakuranga Hunt Club was held yesterday in the racing club's offices, • Mr. W. McLaughlin, Master of the Hunt, presiding. The minutes of the last meetincr were confirmed. It was agreed to send the bounds to Waikato on the 6th July, and bring them back on the 16th, in order to afford members residing there an opportunity to qualify their horses to compete in the club race meeting. Several new members were proposed. A. conversation then took place regarding the number of non-subscribers who attended the hunts, and the damage whioh they caused to the property over which they hunted. The following resolution was agreed to :—" That an advertisement be inserted in the papers, that this club be a subscription pack, no one be permitted to hunt with the hounds unless he is a subscriber of at least three guineas. This has been forced on the club on acoount of the numerous complaints of owners of properties against the number attending the meets, who are in no way responsible for damages, or the support of the hounds." Notwithstanding that the course was much heavier on Saturday last than when he scored his victory in the Autumn Steeplechase, Macaroni surpassed his performance in point of time in that race. In the Autumn Steeplechase the three miles- and a-half took 9uiin. 46' sees, to cover, while he got over the same distance on Saturday in 9mins. 19secs., or 27secs. faster than in the race ran in the autumn ; and with 121bs. more in the saddle.

The appearance of the weights for the New Zealand Cup has (says the Referee) created some slight stir in the betting world, and a great change in the prices of the various candidates has been the result. Captain Webster, who is chosen by all as the pick of the handicap, has been installed first favourite, and, after being backed to win £1000 at 100 to 9, he now stands at 100 to 10. Trenton, on the other hand, has beat a retreat, and whereas 100 to 8 would have been taken last week, 100 to 5 can now be obtained. July also has gone back, 100 to 8 being on offer. Lochiel, after being backed for all the obtainable money at 100 to 5, is now quoted at 100 to 7. Nelson and Wapiti are each amongst the 100 to 5 division, as also is Take Miss, who is backed to win a few hundreds at a point longer. The Canterbury Derby has also been the medium of some slight business. iStoneyburst is very firm, and is backed with the favourites in the Cup to win good stakes at prices ranging from 100 to 4 to 100 to 1. Hanlaa is next best favourite, the two Hanlans being a favourite double with baokers, 500 to 15 and smaller wagers at the same rate having been booked, and 400 to 4 is now the offered price. Double books ranging from £500 to £2000 are in the market, and mixed goods are on offer from 100 to 3to 1000 to 3. The following may be said to be the state of the odds on the Cup :— 100 to 10 agst Captain Webster (tk and off) 100— 8 — July(tk) 100— 7 — Lochi»l ( lc and off), Hanlam (off) 100— 6 — Ike(tkir) 100 — 5 — Lady Emma (tk), Trenton (off), Fusileer (off), Wapiti (tk and wtd), Nelson (off). lake Miss (off). Alpine Rose (off) 100— 4 — Foreiunner (off); Our local sportsman, Mr. Joe Chadwick, has certainly no cause to retain any very pleasant recollections of Mr. Profitt anil his creamy Macaroni, for on three separate ocoa* sions has the latter flopped up and spoilt what was supposed to be a real good thing. In the Hurdle Race, run at our Summer Meeting, Mr. Chadwiok had Exchange backed to win fully a thousand, and Macaroni did him. Then followed New Year's head defeat in the Autumn Steeplechase, at the hands of the creamy; while on Saturday last the son of Gladiator- again proved victorious.

Now that Thunderbolt has left our shores for those of Australia, people are beginning to talk about Foul Shot as the colt upon whioh Auckland will have to depend next season to uphold her credit. The son of Musket, it will be remembered, received a severe gruelling at the Auckland Summer Meeting, and his owner thought it desirable to at once throw him out of work for the rest of the season. He has now, I understand, fully recovered, and French has him looking big and well. The steeplechasers Ngata, Macaroni, King, and St. Dunstan were passengers yesterday by the s.s. Waihora, for the purpose of fulfilling their respective engagements at the Hawke's Bay Meeting, to be held on the 25th instant. I understand New Year, Whalebone, and Quilp will probably leave for the same place by next Thursday's steamer.

It is not Mr. Walt era's intention to again race Fishwoman and Fishgirl. The former is in foal to Leolinus, and Fishgirl will be put to the son of Caterer next season.

The total amount of money passed through the totalisators at the Steeplechase meeting, held at Elleralie on Saturday last, was £2929.

Captain Russell has struck both Leonora and Tigredia out of the New Zealand Cup, so that we may presume from the aot that the Napier sportsman was dissatisfied with the weight* allotted to them. * Mr. Profitt, the owner of Scrutineer and Macaroni, on Saturday ltuM laid 200 to 50 that both of the horses named beat Ngata in the forthcoming Steeplechase at Napier, the wager being accepted by Mr. Enko. I learn from a private source that Thunderbolt was landed safe and sound at Sydney, and without having received a scratch on the voyage. Ngata may be said' to be favourite in Anckknd for the Hawke's Bay Steeplechase, 4 to 1 being the best price obtainable at present about him. Claude comes next in point of favour at a point longer, James Laing, who received such severe injuries by Chandler falling with him while competing in the Hurdle Race at Papakura, is now about again ; but I regret to say that this promising young horseman is yet far from sound, and some time must elapse ere he is completely himself. The Grand Prix de Paris will be run tomorrow. The Derby winner Melton is not engaged, but I notice that the names of both Paradox and Royal Hampton, who finished second and third to Melton, appear in the list.

Mr. Greenwood's colt;, by Cadogan — Naiad, who has been receiving his education in George Wright's hands, has gone home to his owner's place. This colt rejoices in having a crooked leg, and, so far as raoing 18 concerned, he may, I think, be regarded as dead to the turf. It is a great pity that he is so malformed, for he is not by any means a bad looking or bad shaped youngster. Some parties connected with the filly Cinderella were, I understand, very anxious to make a match for a hundred to ran Castashore, the winner of the Birthday Handicap, but Mr. McKinnon, the owner of the colt, declined to entertain the mattar. Mr. R. C. Greenwood has decided on the following names for his two yearlings :—JFilly by Musket—Madcap, Ophelia; filly by Musket—Moonlight, T&mora. Mr. "Hewitt" has named his filly by Five—Lyra Flverole. Captain Webster is regarded in the South as the best treated horse in the New Zealand Cup, and 10's to 1 are now freely taken about the son of St. Albans winning. The steeplechaser Te Whetumaramara, who will be remembered as having won the Auckland Autumn Steepleohaae in 1882, was knocked down yesterday at auction for £29. The New Year party were very sanguine about' his chance for the Great Northern, and just before the start Mr. Chadwick declined to save fk modest "fifty" with the owner of Macaroni.