SPORTING NOTES.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1200, 1 March 1895, Page 24

SPORTING NOTES.

By Gipsy King. Handicaps are due on March 2nd for the Sandon Hack Meeting, and acceptances and general entries on the following Saturday, March 9th. The Hutt-trained hurdle horse Austral is likely to be taken to the west coast of the South Island for the autumn meetings. ET The imported stallion, Seaton Delaval, is described as a bay (with white spots on his ribs), standing about 15h 3in, stylish in action, with good qiiarters, and legs well set on, but is a trifle heavy in the shoulder. The Hawera Star says :—At the meeting of the committee of the Trotting Club on Saturday evening it was decided in the matter of the Post Stakes to hand the money to Whakahihi. The protests in the Normanby Handicap and the Pace ; Bace were not decided. They were gone into at considerable length, but as not only the stakes but the money of the public invested in the totalisator are in abeyance, the committee are exceedingly anxious to avoid all future complications which might eventuate should a hasty decision, found subsequently to be faulty, be given. These cases were therefore postponed for further consideration, when more information has been obtained. The next meeting of the club is expected to be fixed for May 24th, the Queen's Birthday. Everything is being done to ensure a successful meeting, full advantage being taken of the knowledge

gained by experience of past events. The course has been ploughed, harrowed, levelled, and sown with suitable grasses. Another committee meeting will be held shortly, when further information will be forthcoming. •

Superstitious people say that it is unlucky that the purchase of Carbine by the Duke of Portland should have been completed on a Friday and the amount, 1300 guineas, is an unlucky number. It is further stated that Carbine is to be shipped to England on April 13th.

The hurdle horse Bonovoree (by The Mute —Maid of All Work) has been purchased by Mr H. Hayr, of Auckland, for ,£l2O.

The starting machine at the six-furlong peg on the local course was worked on Friday afternoon in the presence of a representative gathering, in which were included several stewards. Mr, Ellis amply showed that the machine is - the correct thing, several despatches with as many as twelve horses being made, and on each occasion the horses got off on, even terms. At the third trial Clifton bolted with his rider, and, as there were wires across the straight to prevent horses working on the course proper, it looked as if a serious accident was impending, but Mr J. J. Eussell, with a lot of discretion, galloped across on Union Jack and got-one* wire&bwhi but perceiving he could not get the other away in time he waited for the bolter, and catching hold of his bridle pulled him up. Mr Russell's prompt action is much to be commended. — (Taranaki Herald.)

The death of the fashionably-bred horse Tartar, by the famous Musket fiom Steppe (dam of such good horses as Too Soon, Stepniak, Stepfeldt, Mahaki, &c), is reported,., f com Casino (Richmond River disThe cause of death is attributed to intestinal inflammatijpjijcaused by eating his bedding, which consisted of musty hay. The loss to Mr Sheppard, who owned the horse, is a serious one, as the animal was uninsured, and the district generally suffers by the death of such an' aristocratic stallion. About three years ago Mr Sheppard met with a similar loss by the death of Musketeer, by Musket from Madcap, and from a similar cause. •;

Langar (by St. Clair-—Southern Chief mare), who ran second to Moa in the Handicap Maiden Hqardles at Ashurst on 28th December last, is now owned by a Wellington resident," Who formerly owned the steeplechaser Mikado 11. The charge against H. Wilmore for laying totalisators odds at the-Wairarapa Racing Club's Summer Meeting was dismissed. The prosecution failed to jprove that he was laying" tote" odds. ';;■'•.■ \ ■. , Day, stud-groohi to has left England, and will accptnpany Carbine to his new home. It is safe to bet that the first thing Day does to'thg noble brute will be to bang his tail in ireaj. " old Hinglish" style, to match his own shaven upper lip, the badge, of mentality -in that land of the free. If ever the.writer sees a portrait of Carbine in the English sporting papers with b chopped-off tail, making him look like a heavy-rumped hack, he'll go straight " 'Ome" with the sole end and aim of murdering the perpetrator of the horrid outrage.— (Bulletin). .

Racing men have been asking each other how it is that the. D-tynedin Cup is one mile and three-quartersi and'. 132 yards, and the President's, Handicap, at Manawatu, one mile and." a-quarter less one chain ? They argue tlmtkf or: gauging the speed of a horse on the time test? -tjjese/; distances are confusing. •■; • . ■"* ~i../* N *'* , * r * r ■'■*■''■■'' ■ *•' "* *" The "patent number board" belonging to the Egmont Club is quite an ingenious affair, and is worthy of adoption by other racing clubs, if the " royalty " or " patent rights " are not too costly. There appears to be a diversity of opinion as to who is the patentee, but I understand Mr Wanklyn, of the C.J.C., claims to be the sole inventor.

From Perth comes word of a peculiar police court case, in which our old equine friend Torpedo (by,The Australian) figures prominently. This was in regard to a claim made by Joseph Robson, a Victorian jockey, for wages from his employer, Tom Lees. The claim was resisted on the ground that Robson had deliberately pulled Torpedo in the Epsom Plate. ' According to the defendant his horse, having been let in for this race at 9st, was a moral. The horse was going well at the turn, when he was pulled out by Robson. Being pushed, in cross-examination, the jockey admitted that he had pulled the horse out wide in coming round the turn so as to lose the race, but urged that he was acting under instructions. This was repudiated by Lees. The names of several.Fremantle men were* mentioned as havmg Vf '>«tiffened " the jockey. It is well known that Lees' party, although not overburdened with cash, backed the horse for as much as they could afford. The race in question was won by the West Australian horse Carbine, carrying lOst 51b. An Australian friend writes me that Bessie Macarthy, Newmarket Handicap, and Sternchaser, Australian Cup, is a real good double. He informs me both are very forward in their preparation. Referring to Bessie he says i " You know the Ingomars are having an innings this season." "Hidalgo," the American turf correspondent, has an article in one of the U.S.A. Christmas productions on " The Shakespeare of the Turf," whom he declares was the late Australian poet Lindsay Gordon. The dead rider richly deserves the compliment. Gordon's strength in his horse verses lay in the fact that be had lived as a rider and felt the wild excitement of a

race. Who but a man who had ridden could fill his lines with an imagery so strong as his description of the horses breaking off together as occurs in his rhyme of the Melbourne Cup:— The flap: is lowered ! They're off !! They're off ! ! ! Thesquadron is sweeping on ; There's a sway in the crowd, a murmuring They're here! They're past! ! They're gone!!! They came with the rush of the Southern surf On the bar of the storm girt bay ' lake muffled drums on the sounding turf ineir hoof-strokes echo away

Gale is the name selected by Miss Watt for a foal by Wapiti—Spray (by Hippocampus— Jfoara). I may mention this name has been appropriated by Mr J. Scally of Wanganui, for a filly by Sou-Wester, whom he nominated, I. think, for the Maiden Race at the Marton meeting last autumn.

Monroe Salisbury, the great American trainer, states that his secret in training horses is to "keep them in the stable until they feel like kicking the door open and then put them back before they forget the notion." He never works his. horses when they don't feel like it and does, not keep them at it untjrl they are tired. There are some funny pictures of Carbine appearing in the A ustra lian weeklies; Some of the sketches wouldn't even be recognised by Mr Wallace, his late owner. The Indian Planters' Gazette is responsible for the statement that a board of veterinary surgeons will hold a consultation on Highborn 's leg, and that his trainer believes that it may be possible to put it as right as ever it was. The Otaki Racing Club sent a batch of names for the Unpaid Forfeit List, which appeared in our last issue. The. following horses are affected :—Pilgrim, Slip, Otakapau, Maddie, Tongakai, Challenge, Splitlink, Campaspe (who competed at Egmont), Nihilist, Empress and Ekui.

" Jerry" Wilson, of Feilding, is now handling a smart looking filly named Wild Vixen (by Sou'-Wester—Little Vixen, by Leolinus). Re the annual gift by host Beynolds, of Melbourne, of a 50-guinea whip to the winning jockey of Melbourne Cup, more than one of these whips has been stripped and sold for old gold. One was lately in pawn in a pub. for a beer score, and several of the others are not accounted for. The Wellington - Metropolitan Club has removed the disqualification passed on the horses, owners, trainers and jockeys 1 that took part in the Ohau-Manakau Race Meeting on Boxing Day. As this is the second time the Metropolitan Club has goodnaturedly performed this duty, those connected with the meeting have been informed that if any more meetings are held without submitting the programme to the Metro- * politan Club, the disqualification will not be removed, so that owners in this district had better ascertain if the meeting is permitted, before nominating in future.

The latest betting 6cbeme in the United States is one that has come to the surface under the style of a "Horse Kacing Stock Exchange." This plan is, brieflyyto transform racing stables intp 6tock companies, issue shares in small amounts, and buy and sell these shares on the course while races are in progress. The necessary fluctuations in values to form a market would come about, so the originator of the plan suggests, through the chances of stable representatives in the various races. This scheme would be impracticable for.many reasons, and aside from weightier objections would Be the fact that very few owners would be willing to assume the. risk involved. If.they converted their stables ; into ~ stock companies and allowed their |Btbck"»to .be made a medium for betting i ransactions,*ihey would run: the risk of a loss .of cbntrbl in theiir own property, not to speak of other undesirable complications.— Sporting Review. J*

The Wellington Metropolitan.. Club have passed the programme %>r, the WhakatakiCastlepoint ( Blast Coast) $ eetihg* on March 2nd. No totaiisator will be used. Bandmaster Higham, of the Hawera brass band, which played some capital selections at the Egmont Races, must have anticipated Monte Carlo winning the Egmont Cup. As the horse was beiug led in as the winner of that race the band struck up the well-known air, "The Man That Bivke the Hank at Monte Carlo." The Hawke's Bay Herald says :—" The Maori race meeting at Umauu vesterday was, we believe, a great success. The prizes were bags of oats and other produce, and the majority of races were keenly contested and witnessed with considerable excitement by a large assemblage, which was comprised mostly of natives. Several casualties occurred, Mick Lawson, the jockey, sustaining a fracture of the small bone of one of his arms, a Maori boy having his collar-bone broken, and another severely injuring his leg. A collision between two men on horseback caused a sensation, and one of the horses was stunned for a time, but recovered subsequently. The proceedings wound up with a dance. ! • • • , ; I have to thank the publisher, Mr R. Hurren, of Melbourne, for a copy of " Centaur's" Index of the performances of the horses engaged in the Newmarket Handicap and Australian Cup. The performances are given up to January 31sfc.

The following programme has been arranged by the Masterton-Opaki Jockey Club for the Meeting to be held on Thursday, 14th March :—Hack Hurdle Handicap, of 30 govs one mile and a half ; Maiden Hack Race of 25sovs, one mile; St. Patrick's Handicap, of 60 6ovo, one mile and a quarter ; Handicap

Hack Race, cf 35 sovs, one mile and a quarter; Flying Handicap, of 45 sovs, threequarters of a mile ; Selling Hack Race, of 15 sovs, one mile ; Flying Hack Handicap of 30 ■o?s, three-quarters of a mile. At the Egmont Meeting the visiting bookmakers were charged £5 per day for permission to book " straight-out" wagers. Seven bookmakers paid up, including two or three who were betting outside "to silver." The latter were calling out ihe odds so energetically that it quite reminded us of the Australian race meetings. I hear, however, that those who paid the license fee complain that business was not over bright. The public evidently preferred the totalisator odds, judging by the increase of investments on the machine as compared with last year. Carbine will be shipped for England about the middle of April next. He has been insured for £IO,OOO, at an annual premism of £7OO. Correspondents to the Melbourne papers suggest that the horse should be placed on exhibition (and admission charged) before he leaves for the Old Country. The last Australasian has a capital picture of Carbine, from a photograph of the horse takea just recently.

Adhering to the characters in the favourite comic opera of " Les Cloches de Corneville," Mr Andrews, of Shannon, has bestowed the name of Gobo on his chestnut colt by Natator —Germaine (dam of Gaspard and The Miser), The Woodville District Jockey Club hold an Autumn Hack Race Meeting on April 3rd. Nominations close on March 13th. Following is a list of winning owners at the recent Egmont Meeting :—Messrs E. Calthrop. L 455 ; Williamson, L 170; Glassford, L 145 ; Nopere, Ll2O ; Paul, LIGS ; Keith. L 75 ; Standish, L7O ; J. George, L 65; Bis Sop. nominator of sire of winner in Sires Hack Produce Stakes, L 4 5; J. A. Goodson, W. J. Croaier, F. McGovern, L4O ; W. A. Bleiinerhassett, L 35 ; GK H. Gibson, L2O ; J.W.Scott, F. Watson, LIS; W. Douglas, W. V; Young, LlO ; A. Peters, L 5. The Melbourne correspondent of the Otago Witness, writing anent the sale of Carbine, remarks :4-" One morning in 1889 I was yarning with Walter Hickenbotham on the training track at Flemington, and in the course of conversation I remarked, ' Now, your ©pinion ought to .be worth something in this matter, Walter; so tell me which you consider the better racehorse of the twain, both fit and well—Abercorn or Carbine.' 'Well,' was' the response, after a bit of thought, "* seeing that I train "old Jack*' (Carbine's stable appellation) I may naturally be supposed to have a little prejudice id his favour. But they are both great racehorses, and it would be very hard to judge between them. Honestly, though, I consider that both fit and well, up to say a mile and a quarter, Abercorn would be certain almost to down Carbine ; at a mile and a quarter it would be a terrible struggle, with Carbine just a shade the* best of it ; but after ' I got him over "*' and a quarter the farther we went the farther I would beat him.' And kindly please lo remember that -Walter Hickenbotham is not in the/ habit of V talking tbjough his neck,' as the saying : goes." I have to acknowledge with thanks receipt of a complimentary ticket for the Sandon Meeting on M arch 18th. I hear that a well-known breeder of thoroughbreds in the Manawatu district is going to take proceedings against a wellknown up-coast studmaster for having neglected to take proper or reasonable care of the mares he sent to a certain stallion. The mares were sent away to the horse in the pink of condition, and when returned were so debilitated that they had the appearance of having been fed on flies, and had to catch them themselves. The Waipawa County Racing Club are out with the programme for their Autumn Meeting, which will be held at Kaikora North on April 10th. Nominations close on March 23rd. The V. B.C. Autumn Meeting commences on Saturday, 2nd March. The Newmarket Handicap is decided on March 2nd, the Australian Cup on Tuesday, March sth, the Champion Stakes oh Thursday, March 7th, and the V.R.C. Steeplechase on Saturday, March 9th. ■' Mr " Orchard," of Hawera, has exchanged Rex (bj Monarch—Waitangi's dam) for Waverley (by Tekoa) with a Canterbury sportsman. ••.'v;J •-' » • The Auckland Sporting Eeview and Weekly Standard is now known as the Sporting Review and Licensed Victuallers' Gazette. • •'Teddy''' Barnes i« now training Mr D. Bariy's colt Voltigeur, by Tim Whiffler— Voltarina (dam of Kecluse), at Momohaki. I wish " Teddy" the same success with Voltigeur as he had with Recluse. The Hawke's Bay Cup is voted a two-horse race, why, I don't know, bub the popular opinion is that the finish will be fought out between North Atlantic and Mahaki. If the former arrives at the post fit and well he should be returned the winner.

Mr J. Stuart Allan, of Wellington, has just published a book of humorous sketches and accompanying verses entitled "Colonial Capers." The r sketches are exceeding clever, and are finished off in his best style, and they only require to be seen to be appreciated. The subjects are " His Cousin is a Duke. Dontcherknow," " An Official Report," " The Lay of the Portugander and Goose," '«The New Chum as Green as Grass " (a tale of a new chum sticking to a buck-jumper), " Game to the Last.* 1 There are some very funny hunting incidents depicted in this sketch, and the consternation caused in the hunting field by a scare crow catching a ridwiew horse wtf W n s * WW*i ultl "

mately coming a cropper over a fence, is real good. The sketches have been photo-litho-graphed by Messrs McKee and Gamble, and the excellent manner in which the work has been performed reflects great credit on their establishment. The book is issued at a very small figure, and should be largely subscribed to by sporting men. Here is a verse from "Colonial Capers, ,v very suggestive of the way in which " new chum mashers" are treated .- , He wandered about andoffered to shout, And did the thing 1 up to Dick. And many a "tug" gOt hold of this "mug," And into his swag the crowd of 'em dug ; And the whole of the " push " they chewed his "lug" Till he hadn't a " bean " in his " kick " ! As the result of judicious advertising the Sandon Racing Club (whose programme appears in another column) has received one hundred and five'nominations for five events. - The Izaak Walton mare, Snowdrop, who fell at the last fence in the First Hack Hurdles at Egmont, rolled right on to her rider, B. Smith, and lay across his legs, but she was apparently so exhausted that she did not struggle to get up.* If she had, Smith was so firmly pinned down that he must have been injured by her kicking. *,' Jimmy " Redmond, who was riding Waverley, dismounted after his horse had jumped the hurdle, and with others rendered assistance to remove Snowdrop from Smith's legs, who was none the worse for the spill. Of the horses that took part in the hurdle events at the Egmont Meeting, 'Tiritea, Rangipai, Belle, Dart and.Egmont will be useful horses for the ensuing steeplechase season. Egmont should have no difficulty in stepping over the big: fences, &s he stands fully I6h 2in, and therefore has a rare sight of a fence. ■' 1

While chatting with M*r Ben Cave of Masterton last week, I learnt that John, Lunn now has charge of his,horses Swordbelt, Miss Massey, Sea Serpent,, and Listener '(Mute —Rumour). ". :\ In addition to the horses in training, Mr Cave has a few well-bfed mares running on his prettily-situated farm at Opaki. Amongst the number are Rumour, who has a two-year-old gelding by Lord Mandeville, a yearling filly (Rose Fisher) by-Piscatorious, a colt foal by Randwick, and'was 1 stinted last season to Artillery. The young mare, Seal, by Piscatorious from Rumour, has a foal at foot to the defunct First King. ; Leander, a four-year-old chestnut gelding by Natator—Queen Margaret (by Traducer), who competed unsuccessfully in the Hack Hurdle Race at the, Egmont meeting, has gone into Mr G. H. Gibson's stables at Hawera. Leander is a trifle inbred for staying purposes, but his half-brother, Marquis of Tewkesbury (by St. Leger), was particularly lively over 1 the small sticks. Tewkesbury is now enjoying a spell on the limestone country at- WhiteclifLS; r near Waitara. : • J ,' " :' ~'"

t Mr F. N. Jones, of Nelson, presents a gold-mounted whip to therider of the winner of the Nelson Cup, to be decided on the 27th March. ,"".• •., The dispersal of the Hon D. S.Wallace's Lerderderg stud takes place to-day (Friday). T. Quinlivan, of* Woodville, has taken in hand the three-year-old colt by Somnus—Fugitive recently purchased by Mr J. R. McMillan, of Foxtbn. . Messrs W. C. Yuille and Co., the wellknown stock salesmen Of Melbourne, have favoured me with five different catalogues of the thoroughbred stock they will submit to ' auction at Lerderderg, Bacchus Marsh oh the Ist March, at Newmarket/on 4th March, and at the Royal Agricultural Show Grounds, on 6th March. For the three days mentioned there are 228 to "come under the hammer, the pick of the thoroughbred stock of Australia. It is a pity that New Zealanders, especially the Wanganui coast and Wairarapa breeders, are hot represented at these sales, as there will be : many bargains in thoroughbred mares and fillies, such as would return a handsome profit when mated with the many high-class .stallions at the stud in the districts mentioned. The two-year-old colt by Natator— Speculation has been named Ngautere.

Eureka, the threc-yeay old gelding by Castoff, that started in the;Sire3 Hack Produce Stakes at Hawera, is owned by a good sport, in «ne sense. The colt had been broken into harness, and prior to the race had been drawing his owner's milk-cart to the local butter factory. In fact, Eureka was harnessed up and driveu down to the Egraont Racing Club's office,. ■ while his owner, who was determined to start the colt, went in and paid the final acceptance. Eureka started in the race,, and, considering his preparation, he did not disgrace himself. Riley, who rode Eureka,: was grinning all over his face as he passed the stand. Sportsmen will learn with regret that the Messrs Nathan have lost the yearling colt by Cuirassier from Ouida, who died on Friday night week. Mr E. D. Halsted made a postmortem examination on Saturday, and found that the cause of death was due to internal haemorrhage consequent on.the rupture of the renal artery. The colt wag \ purchased at the Wellington Park sale last" month by Mr Alfred Nathan for 220 r guineas, and being closely related to the .V.R.C Derby and St. Leger winner Strathmpre he was considered one of the gems of the collection. Mr Jos. Prosser has. just taken in hand a three-year-old filly by Puriri—Barbelle, dam of Slave Girl. A Palmerston North sport has purchased the black filly Hesitation, by Gipsy KingVacillation, from Messrs Nolan, Tonks and I Co., Hawera, and she will be trained by J,

McTaggart. Vacillation is a half-sister to Hippomenes and Sylvia Park. Tiritea, the hurdle horse, as a yearling, was sold by public auction at Feilding for L 9. The three-year-old bay filly Palmistry, by Gipsy King—Sula, has been purchased from Messrs Nolan, Tonks and Co. by Mr Cowper, of Danevirke. Sula is a full sister to Couranto. One Pop, who won the Post Stakes at the Karioi (Inland Patea, near Napier) Meeting, and paid a dividend of L 56 14s, it is said. A was purchased for Ll 4 in Hunterville. and j taken up to the meeting. After winning he was sold for LlB. In addition to disqualifying Lindsay for two months, the Manawatu stewards fined him L2 for-using offensive language to one of the officials, when the latter was leading in the horse which Lindsay rode second in the Maiden Hack Race. Mr P. J. Murtagh, formerly of Lower Hutt, but now a resident of Feilding, has been in Wellington during the last week or so, attending to the construction of his " Patent Portable Starting Machine," which was completed on Monday 1 Briefly stated, the machine consists of two tubular iron pipes, 14ft long, the foundation for these being two planks, through which bolts • are driven into the ground. The posts are kept in position by three guys, and a wire connecting the two posts at the top. The barrier consists of. a cord net two feet wide, which when released flies upward. The power for lifting the net is derived from revolving springs at the bottom of the pipes. Mr Murtagh claims that the machine can be taken down inside five minutes, and removed, by a carriage formed by the foundation planks, to the next distance post in a few minutes. Mr Murtagh has also patented a " judging apparatus " for deciding the winners of horse races. This consists of an electric black tnread, stretched from the winning post to the judge's box. The first horse that touches the thread breaks it, and he claims that from the position of the break it can accurately be stated which horse has won. Mr Murtagh has not provided for a dead heat, as he says such does not actually I occur.