COURSING NOTES.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXIV, Issue 4978, 30 May 1903, Page 6 (Supplement)

COURSING NOTES.

(By "Go-Bye.”) , Tie 'Wellington and Suburban Coursing Club Birthday Stake, to be run at Trentham Park, Plumpton on June 3rd, sth and 6th next, promises to be highly successful. Seventy-four owners made the fifth payment last Monday, and the club expects at least seventy dogs to go to the slips. will bo present from Oaniaru, Hawkes Bay and Auckland, and everything points to a successful gathering. The Wellington Club has had a-bad experience with its hares this season. Altogether ninety have been liberated on the grounds and about sixty have died. The club sent a dead hare to Dr.: Maclaurin. Government analyst, for examination. His report was that he had searched for both mineral and vegetable poisons, but had found no trace of either. The club placed fifty more hares on the grounds last week, and they appear tc be much stronger! At Oamaru at the cnallenge meeting held recently, a representative gathering of members of different clubs was called together and discussed various matters connected with coursing, and the result was that it was decided to hold a conference in August next with a,view to forming a National Coursing Association of New Zealand. This is a step in the right direction, as all clubs will run under the same rules, and there will be a central' body to which disputes may be referred. It will also arrange dates for the different clubs’ meetings, and in that way will avoid such a clashing of dates as was instanced recently. The Dunedin Club had to run its Inaugural Stake a fortnight later than was advertised to avoid clashing with the Oamaru Maiden Stake. The members of the committee of the Wellington and Suburban Coursing Club had before them last week an application from Mr McAuliffe, of Timaru, to remove the disqualification from the dog Austral, imposed by the chib in August of last year. (Austral was disqualified during the pleasure of the club for his nominator running him in the Novice Stake at Petone. The stake was for dogs that had never won any money. After Austral had won two courses, it was discovered that he was ineligible to start. The nominator cculd not give any explanation, with the result that D. ivcarins J. Troy and the dog Austral were disqualified.) It was decided, after hearing Mr McAuliffe, to remove thepenalty from Austral only.

Kennels have been engaged at Tver,; tham Park, Plumpton, by Messrs a. Lopdell and J. Amiaud, Hawke’s Bay, and Mr H. M. O’Connor (Shannon) lor the meeting in June. Two dog puppies by Springwater— Metro arrived in Wellington on the 16tfi iust. to order of Mr Tom Pudney. Mr J. Mitchell, the coursing judge of Oamaru will officiate at the W ellington and Suburban Club’s meeting at Trentham on June 3rd. Mr Tom Morrison, of New South Wales, will act as slipper.