SPORTING NOTES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 3253, 10 July 1872, Page 3

SPORTING NOTES.

, Rcine, the winner of the One Thousand Guineas and the Oaka, is by Monarque, out of the celebrated Fille do lAir, and was purchased at the sale of Count La-

granges stud for 420 guineas. The betting waft 20 to 1 against Reine when she started for the One Thousand. The Saturday Itoviow says :—" Tho real truth ia, that racing has changed handfi. Young England has, for the present at any rate, abandoned it in favour of the cheap and nasty amusement of pigeon-shooting ; and the new owners of race horses are for the moat part men who feel much more at homo at Oroydom or Kingsbury than at Newmarket or Goodwood." > Seventy horses have been nominated for the Melbourne dip.. Victoria nominates* 43 ;Kew South Wales, 20; South Australia, 6 ; while Tasmania will send but one, representative—the game old horse Strop. Amongst the nominations we notice the names of Little Dick, Warrior, Nimblefoot, Glencoe, and Barbelle. Hamlet is first favourite at present, at 100 to 8 ; The Ace and Pyrrhuß being supported at ,100 to 5. Certain inhabitante of Auchterarder have petitioned the House of Common^ against pigeon-shooting. The following contains the substance of the petition :— "In the opinion of your petitioners, the practice- of pigeon-shooting at matches is cruel and unsportsmanlike, and ought to be classed with other barbarous amusements now prohibited by law, and that with a view to its being put down it ought to bo made a criminal offence. May it, therefore, please, your most honourable House to pass an act for the prohibition of said practice, and to render the ollendur liable to criminal prosecution." The first great match of the cricket

season of 1872, United North v. United South, was played at Liverpool on the 29th and 30th April. The ground was very heavy, owing to recent rains, and but few good scores were consequently made. For the South, Mr W. G. Grace ijnade 05, the top score, and Jupp contributed a carefully played 47 for the same side. Daft" ran up 14 and 13, for the North, which was beaten by. an innings a i and 20 ruus. The London cricket season was inaugurated at Prince's Ground on May let, with a match between the Household Brigade and Lords and Commons. Cricket has also commenced at the Universities, and some tall scoring has already been recorded. The celebrated mare Achievement died at Rofford Abbey Stud Farm on the 10th April from a raptured bowel. She had been sent to Parmesan's„. paddocks, and on January 20 dropped a,colt by Gladiateur. From the inJEormation which has reached ub (Sporting' Life) wo learn that she was only discovered to be-suffering about ten hours, before her death.. Her first foal, born in 1873,"by Beadsman, unfortunately died,,and it is rather singular thatjAchievcment should so soon follow her dam Paradigm, and be put under the tflrf she liad so greatly- adorned, Achievcnientfß foal of this year* W diatcur, is' living,' and we understand doing better than at any time during its of dam's life. -. „ The will of Mr. Thomas Butterworth Charles Bayley/ formerly of the Bengal Civil Service, aud late of \Vynberg, near Capets* wn, in,the Colony of the Cape of' Good Hope, who died at Wynberg, Deceraber -29th last, was. proved in London under £35,000 personalty in England, tho acting executor in this country being Mr Daniel Bayley. After various bequests, the testator statjss • that.-he considers the breed'ng of good horses to be of great importance to the future agricultural prosperity of the Colony, ito end Sn he gives'various isUms to prove'their be merits by a trial of strength and mettjeTn of firstly £500,, from which £50 shall be withdrawn annually, as, a donation to the " Breeders' Prize," or produce stakes for colts :and. fillies, three years old, at. the Capetown Annual Races, till the whole amount is expended ; secondly £500, frorii which '£50> to be annually given to the Trial Stakes, for two year old colts and fillies ; next £1000, from wluch anannnal donatfon£iiO he, called "Bayley a Memorial," fceing.a,prize of 100 guineas, to be run for dtthe" aiitumn meeting*,* added to «»i the 1 Sweepstakes of £5 each, for allhowes bred in the Colony; and £560, of which £25 is!to l>e annnall/ given to the'C»ledonianßaces,'attdalso£l)oo,£2saniliuAUy for the Swellendam Races.... • *_?;.■ \ ". . ■*

The Field says :—" Tho cricket field ia becoming every dny on estabbshetd iastitution itt our towns and villag«e». We have dear and distinct testimony that where a strong interest is felt in the local contests at yrickets, where the <jhibs include almost every caste in the Rocial ring of our divided community, beerfever in at its lowest point in the district; and there ia no one who experiences a more direct concern in the affairs of the cricket meeting than tho. rector of tho parish. Healthy athleticism is a foe not only to Vice, but to that, slovenliness, of disposi-. tidn which; quite as often as the stimulus of sensual propensity, sends the village artisan or rustic to the benches of the pot house for amusement, •. We should like to see the fact practically noted by Testries and boards who have invested in them rights over town fields, and who might frequently, with benefit to the community, make a gift within their powers of playgrounds to the p«k>ple. Many cricket clubs are prevented from extension by the assessment of wxsnt, for space. Private liberality does a great deal to smooth away the financial difficulties in the construction of a democratic cricket club. The much-abused land-owners are often far more generous in offering ground for cricket or football than corporations "or vestries, which may happen to be strongly veined vrith tho current radicalism of tho hour. And during the cricket season, in many parta of England, may be 'witnessed scenes over the game suggesting almost the picturesque idealisms of thb poets and painters who san<( of our island in the olden timo, or who placed upon canvas the dance round tho maypole and the figure of Sir Roger superintending the sports of his people. It is no unusual thing, oven in our prosaic times, pi find in the heart of Bucks the cricket field in the very lawn of the squire's residence, and tho game shared in by rich •and poor ; while, as though ia a theatrical group, the old people sit under the shade of the giaut beeches to witness tho combat of ball and bat. Nor ia the good curate's sermon listened to with less attention next Sunday because he defeats, with Etonian vigour, the attempt of honest Hodge upon his wicket, jimi sends a perilous ball skimming. vrith a red-hot twist in it through tho hands of three excited parishioners."

A young billiard player, S. "W. Stanley, now playing in London, equals, if he does not excel, the Champion Cook in the performance of the spot hazard. In a match which he ?layedat Smith's Rooms, Strand, t>n May 3rd, with P. Bennett, for £iio aflide, Stanley scored in seven breaks no less than 950 points, during which he manipulated the spot hazard on 21)3 occasions, the time occupied in playing the 1000 up being one hour and twenty mtuutes, the fastest play ev«r known in a hona jidt match. The balls were set rolling at 8.00, the room being greatly crowded with visitors ; but. there was vary little speculation on the event, Staney was the first to lead with a break of 37 (10 spots), to which Bennett responded with lid (4 spots) and their scores stood — Bennett 52, Stanley 30. From this point the latter took a strong lead, his next instalment being 130 (40 spots), and his second subsequent break was 14$ (40 spots) bringing his total to 333 against 82. Bennett here got in with an all round 27, but the next time Stanley ran together 300 (9G spots), some of tho hazards being made in a most wonderful manner. After this Bennett failed to score twice, and B'tunley in quick succession ran up 39 (9 spots) and 219 (67 spots), and luh score was announced amidst deafening applause as 902, Bennett being only 131. Fora short time-there was a luU in the game, but when Stanley's total wi»s 924-, he landed on the spot after scoring a dozen, and making 22 winning hazards in succession, ran out with an unfinished break of 70 at 10 minutes to 10 o'clock, winniiig the game by 83G points.