COURSING.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1696, 31 August 1904, Page 66

COURSING.

OFFICIAL CALENDAR. The "New Zealand Mail" is the "Official Calendar" of the New Zealand Coursing Association, and notices appearing under this heading are published for the information of affiliated coursing clubs. FIXTURES* 190.4. Dunedin C.C.—August 27th. Oamaru C.C.—September Ist. NAMES CLAIMED: Victory, by Austral—Molly Wild Barnie, by Barney O’Hea—Mizpak Laddie, by Norma—Belona Daisy Chain, by Renown —'Lady’s Chain. NOTES BY “GO-BYE.” The Welington and Suburban Coursing Club held its final meeting of the season on Saturday last, when a 16-dog Members’ Stake was run. The weather was beautifully fine, but owing to the recent heavy rains the enclosure was pretty sloppy in places. Some good sport was witnessed by about a couple of hundred persons, who had made th 9 journey to WaJlaceville from, the city. Amongst the visitors was Mr R. French, of Oamaru, who was passing through Wellington on his way back from the Wairarapa meeting. The class of dogs competing was not of the very best, and at the draw punters sorted out Fortress (Maxim-C'lementina), Queen of t- Clubs (Kilmainham-Tarana’s Pride), and Day Dawn (Watchman-Young Heyfield's Daughter), as likely to produce the winner.- Their calculations were all upset by Lady Advance (Advance-Lady Retford) beating Day Dawn in the final. Queen of Clubs, who was imported from Australia by Mr J. Byron, only landed in Wellington on the Thursday previous to the coursing, and taking that into consideration, '«he appeared to be the best.

dog engaged in the stake. She ran two beautiful courses and worked her game cleverly, but I should say she is on the slow side a bit. She appeared from my position to have beaten Day Dawn in the semi-final (who had run four courses to the bitch's two), but the judge evidently thought otherwise. Queen of Clubs is by the Waterloo Cup winner Kilmamham, and is a litter sister to Jack of Diamonds, who ran up to Great Heart in tlie New South Wales Grand Challenge Stakes early this season, and also a litter sister to Queen of Diamonds, who was purchased by a Dunedin sport last back end. The system of judging with a clerk to put down the scores as the judge called them out was tried at the meeting, and whether it was the judge or the clerk I know not, but the decisions in a good many cases were bad without doubt. The Wellington Club have experimented a great deal to find a good judge who would give general satisfaction, and there is as far as I can see no chance of them being successful. Taking all the judges out for the past two seasons I must say that Mr J. Mitchell, of Oamaru, is the most consistent, and it would be well if Ihe whole of the clubs could secure his or some other competent judge's sex-vices to take charge of the flags in future. There is nothing that disgusts owners or the public more than to see a wrong decision given, and there is nothing that will kill the sport quicker than bad judging. The slipping at the meeting was done by Mr Len Price, who is a novice at the game, but an enthusiastic member of the club. Under Mr Joe Nicoll’s tuition, Mr Price did very well, and there were indications to prove that lie would beorme as proficient as the best of slippers with practice. A competition that Mr J. A. Pell initiated by donating a silver collar to the owner of the dog winning tlie greatest number of courses on the club's enclosure (open* to members only) was decided at the meeting. Previous to Saturday Mr F, Biel's Fortress was leading by 7 courses, with Mr McGovern’s Lockfoot and Mr H. W. Davies’s Day Dawn (6 each) running him closely. Fortress and Lockfoot were each beaten first course, and as Day Dawn won his first two courses, Mr Davies became the owner of the collar. The following are the details of the meeting: Members’ Stake, sixteen dogs at 10s each; winner £5, runner-up £3; txvo dogs at £1 each. First Round. R. McNab’s Fairy Queen beat J. McCarthy's Marquis. A. K. Boyd’s Noble Lady beat F. J. McGovern’s Duke of Devonsnire. E. Hayes's Daisy Chain beat J. S. Stevens’s Stopbanker. J. S. Stevens’s Lady Advance beat F. Biel’s Fortress. H. W. Davies’s Day Dawn beat W. R. Brown’s The Iron Duke. (2). P. Pudney’s Marvellous beat F. J. McGovern’s Lockfoot. J. Byron’s Queen of Clubs beat J. Wyeth's Weary. T. Toomey’s Leda a bye. Second Round. Noble Lady beat Fairy Queen. Lady Advance beat Daisy Chain. Day Dawn, beat Leda. (1). Queen of Clubs beat Marvellous. Third Round. Lady Advance beat Noble Lady. Day Dawn beat Queen of Clubs. Final. J. S. Stevens’s brd and w b Lady Advance, by Advance—Lady Retford, beat H W. Davies’s r d Day Dawn, by Watchman—Young Heyfield’s Daughter, and ■won tlie stake. Lavender Water, by Merchant-Sweet-water, paid a visit to Oliver Goldsmitn (Goldsmith-The Witch), on Friday last. The Wellington and Suburban Coursing Club, at their last meeting, imposed a substantial fine against T. Smith, of Upper Hutt, for using abusive language towards the club’s officials on July 30th, when- the Novel 'Stake was run. A few fines in this direction would tend to keep the sport more attractive to patrons on rnoie than one enclosure in the colony. The'next meeting of the New Zealand Coursing Association takes place on Wednesday evening at the New Zealander Hotel at 7.31) p.m.