NOTES BY BEACON.

Otago Witness, Issue 1751, 13 June 1885, Page 20

NOTES BY BEACON.

At a full meeting of the Committee of the Dunedin Jockey Club, held on Saturday evenir g, it was resolved—" That the resignation of the handicappßrs be accßpted ; that tho Committee thank them for their services in the past, aud regret the causes which led to tbair roaigna- ' The following letter, which upeaka for itae.'f, has been forwarded by the Danodiu Jockey Club to the Benevolent Institution Comcaittes j—~ Dunedi l, June 8. To tho Secretary Benevolent Jna&ifc'ifcio ). Dear Sir,— l be/? herewith to hand sou ohtquo for £103 %3 &d, result of the Totalizator Benevolent G'fi at our May meeting. Thja will make a total of £274 78 8d handed to the Inatifcuro by the Dun .rim Jockey Club durinu the pvoßeao radug ec-ason— viz : Spring mooting. £70 17b 6d ; Autumn meeting, £100 ; M.iy meeting, £103 9a 9d. lam, &c, SYDSay James, Secretary D.J.C. A match nominally for £50 aside, but on which, I beHevw, £5 did not depend, came off at the Forbuey an Wednesday afternoon between Mayboy and fcalla tfookh. The distance was half a-milo on the tftn. L-vlla Jiiokh was ridden by John Kean, Mayboy by Jamee Cotton. An even start was effected, Mayboy on the ineEdfl, and for half the distance the two ran neck and neck ; but at the homo turn Cotton was whipping, and though ridden out Mayboy could witb difficulty keep up with tho mare, who won with a bit ia band by a neck-, Lalla Eookh was the favcunte a* the start, but there was very little betting. There wsro about 200 people present. A trotting horse has just been imported from Victoria by Mr E, Lyona, and is now in the bands of Mr H. Goodman, who will look after his training. The horse'B name is Axe and he is a chestnut geldisg, aged. On the 13th nit. he won, at Elsternwtek Park, the Maidon Selling Trotting Race of fO .bovb, for Mr J. Pieroa, and waa then bought fot ]&r Lyons at £100. There were five competitors in tua rp-ce, all carrying lOst 10lb, and Aye won by fifty yards, in 5 mm. 59| sec. for the two miles. Welcome Jack haH been nominated for the Eawkesbury Handicap, Metropolitan Stakes, and the Caulfield Cnp{ but it is doubtful if he will be able to put in an appearance in the Melbourne Cup. It is said that Mr Pilbrow, bsfore ho left Melbourne three weeks ago, left instructions with a friend to enter the horse for Shat race, and that " friend " appears to have omitted to do bo, or to have in some way made a mofca of it. If so, it ia only the old story of what may be expected from getting someone elss to do a thing that you ought to do youraalf. But tho bfcrange part of the affair is that Welcome Jack's entry ia all right for other race* which closed on the same day. Again, if Mr Pilbrow really wanted to enter the horse iov tfee Cup he could have done «jo at Chriatehurcb on entry day, the conditions of tho vace providing for entries toiug received by Mr Pen fold, secretary to the Canterbury Jockey Club, So far we do not know whether the entry will be wived or j not, the latest news being that the Victorian Racing Club are coaeidering the matter. Woicorne Jaek'a nomination is also absent Grora the Champion Race, ptobably from tho ] came reason. New ZaalaiKl is, however, well ] represented in the big weipht-for ago event of j tbe Australasian Colonies— Vanguard, OudeJo, | Liverpool, Manchester, and Thunderbolt all bailing from this side of the water. These: faorsea are alao ontered for the Caulfield Cup—which is a stake of 1500 bovb, of which tho winner eets 1000 bovb, second horse 300 soys, fchiri 200 soys— and for the principal New South Wales events. If it ba true, as reported, that Thunderbolt has been purchased for £2000 by the Hon. W, HobinHon, and if it be true, as some people tovro averred for a loug time past, that Wel03ma Jack is also his property, tben Mr Jttobinson may be said to have a remarkably strong atrinp; of horses to do battle for him on the other side ; but it will be rather puzzling fir backers, especially on tbja side to know #-hat is going for the respective racps. Waimate Steeplechases appear fco have passed joff most aatisiactorily, the weather and attendance being alike good. In the principal event Moody showed that he is htill in the winning vein, for though he had the top weight of 123t 2lb he won handsomely from his five opponents. Mr Pelham Jones had a bit of luck in pulling .off the Maiden Plato with Coryphee, the two other starters coming to grief. Moody would in all probability have secured the Cup as well aa the big rac9, but when nearing home one of biR shoes came off, and, causing him to stumble, fte suffered defeat by a length. The other events require no particular mention. - ' Mr Clark's b g Rocket, who showed us in Dunedin that he has a good turn of foot, was quite the hero of the Plumpton Park meeting Ust week, for he carried off the Autumn Handicap of 40 boys and the Sprint Handicap of 25 roys, carrying Bat 21b and Bst 101b respectively, and winning in good time. Tim Whiffler (Bst 101b) disappointed a number of backers in fcho former event, ?nd again in tbe Consolation Stakes, which JaWrr event enabled our old friend Billy (late Whitbach) to earn a 'dividend of £9 13s for his pupporters. In tm Hurdle HandJcip Mr P. Butter scored a w;n with Silver King, a useful looking gre^ aud an excellent fencer, which he bouKht dirt 'cheap in Wellington for £40, bnf knowing little of hia capabiitifa, had not a penny pieco '»bnut Him. which must have been' annoying, toeing that be paid an £18 dividend. Puck secured the Woltor Handicap for Mr H. Bradley iv a field of six, and in the TrottWg Race Mr Bufcler'e Daisy confirmed her Dun-

edin (<<3cond day's) form by_ ea-ilv beating 12 others from scratch in 8 mm. 54 sac. for two miles.

The following items are from , " Hippo's ' notes : -By the last number of the Npw Zaaland Referee I see that "Sir Lvuucelot," the sporting writer for that paper, h**B got rather mixed in bi i i ideas when writing of our Steeplechase meeting, for after saying that he believes r.hat, we have received the largest entry that Jias ever baen received f ir a like event in Now Zealand, ho goes on to say that owing to only oao entry having baen rocoivpd for the Ladieo 1 Bracelet, " the programme of the meeting ha? been somewhat altered, Dr Coaaolly having c^onaenfced to waive his entry to facilitate the change. A Consolation Handicap, of 20 soya, has been r.dded in lieu of tbo expunged mcc." This is rathor a alur upon tho H,B, J. Club, And either " Sir Launcelot's " ideas, or the printor'B devils' types must have got boxed up considerably, considering that the entrins for the Bracelet are wot due until the 18ih oi this mouth, and tha". there is alrpady a consolation race in tbe pro^ramrae of 60 bovb. Judgiog from tho number of boraes that are up, both tho Bracelet and Trotting R-ice should fill well —Emir Bey has lately been schooled over hurdles, and I am told ho takes kindly to the work ; should he continue to «o on as ha has commenced, it ia hia owner's intention to g»vo him -* trial at the Maiden Steeplechase.-— There have been some capital schooling fences put up ou tho training track of the Hastings courop ; t/hore is a good gorse fence, al&o a post and rail, bo<ndoß hurdles, 30 that owners have s, better opportunity of schooling their horsos than th^iy had in former yoara. The chief thing that is now v/anted is a water jump, so few of our horHes have Qv*>r had any practice over this kind of obstacle — Out of the 31 nominations tor the Hawke's Bay Steeplechase only eight belong to Hawke's Bay. Out of the whole lot uhore is not; a first tate one, nothing within a «tone or more of what old Clarenon waf.

in the course of an articlo on consultations and bfltting "Senox :> says; — "In putting down £100,000 aa the yearly sum invested in consultation sweeps, 1 am no doubt w-U within the mark (it in likely onough double th.t amount), and I am not awaro that an-; portion of it whatever benati^a ao owner uuleso he uui.s what are tunned blackmailing lacticß. , . . Bufc these sweeps are not only a negative evil, for thoy ongendor a positive one, iufiainueh an unscrupulous men wLo draw horß<-8 r.oioo between tba owner and his jockey and briba the latter Lo rirle contrary to orders. Thifi impsrilu tho disc-iplina of the turf by destroying Mie confidence that should t-xisb between a jortcoy and his employer. It will bo in tho incolleclion of many who fuw the Dunodiu Cup of 1884 how a certain horao waa ridden out to thu bitter end when be had no possible ohovv of winnitig theiace. The jockoy'sordere vero fco win i? be coul^, but uot to punifih tho horan unnecessarily. Tho hoi'Ba wan pnnL-hnd unmercifully, and it was eaid by several who saw tb3 horse return to scale that a moderate push would have capsized him, &■•> cruelly dis I ressed was he. It then transpired that the drawer of the horse in a «woep had laid the jockov £100 if he won, £50 if he was second, knd £25 if third. The la-i vvun the £50, but ihe horse was unfit to atari a^ain at that raeotiDg, or indeed for manj' \voeua afterwards. It may hp said that this ia Jin exceptional rase, but 1 hamper* to know pertonally that it is not. A iirotting match in eulkiaa was (saya tho Pres.') run off on Saturday between Mr Drake's pony Dot and Mr Shnanau's pony Kelney. The match was for £10 a aide, but this had been largely subsidised by bets, Mr Sbeenan having freely backed Kelsey at 3 to % and 5 to 2, which Mr Drake had aB freely taken, Tdo public followed suifc_, and there was probably some £GOO depending on tha result. Tho course selected whs from tho old pub. at the racecourse corner to the Riccarton railway gates. As 3 o'clock approached the road was pretty busy, hor&nmen and voiriclofi of all sorts being represented, and all ihe uporfcs of Cbmlchureb. v;or« pKs:nfc, for it waa knowc fcb»fc there was po "shliptor" element &bout tit 3 luatcb, »s>d th«fr. V, would be run riglit out, on its merits Punctually to time tho two got away on levol i.unue, and tor ohe fiisl 100 yards Kelsey held a shore iesid, but Dot then got on terms with him, and gradually drawing away waa fully 50 yards ahead at Webb's, and Kel«ey being quite unablo lo foot it with him, Dot won in a walk by at least 20 eh ins. Lponora r-nd Tisrridia have been scratched for the New Zealand Cup. A general meeting ot tho members of the North Canterbury Racing Club was hold at the Junction Hotel on Fuday evening. There was a good afcfccndanca ; Captain Parsoas in tbe chair Tho business of tho meeting was to consiclor the question of purchasing a piece of ground for a rai»oe3;.irpe ? ia place of the recrea tion ground used tyt present. Atfcer opnaiderablo discussion, it wjj3 docidpu to qq.ll for tenders for a suitable piecp of lwl within tbrsa miles of Rangiora. The meeting tli9n aHjournsd, to roeot ntfßifi on receipt of tho tenders, in about a fortnight's time.

Mr 15. S. 8011, secretary of the Plumpton Park (Christohurch) Racing Club, has been appointed secretary of the Island Bay Racing Club. The Island Bay Racing Gompauy (Wellington) have decided to hold a race meeting about a week after the Racing Club's Steeplechase meeting at the Hutt. At the Wairarapa Jockey Club meeting the balance sheet and Stewards' report were adopted. The Champagne Stakes next autumn was fixed at £100. Tho Spring meeting is to be held on the 9th of November if the Tauherenikau course cau be obtainad. Ifc waa unanimously resolved to present a chronograph watch to Mr N. Grace in recognition of his valuable past services. A totalizator case was heard at the Napier Resident Magistrate's Court last week before Mr Gr. A. Preeoe, 8..M. The plaintiff, a man named Southworth, alleged that he purchased a totalisator ticket on the Petane racecourse. The dividend on the ticket was £2 14s, but plaintiff did not claim the money till tho day after the race meeting, when Messrs Stock aud Cohen, the ownera ot" the totalistor, refused to pay. Mr Lse, who appeared for the plaintiff, argued that it was not necessary that the ticket should bo presented within a given time, and that if p aintiff did not got his money someone not entitled to it would reap an advantage. For tho defence Mr Lascollea urged that the money was not recoverable, the claim being for what was really a gambling tran saction ; but that if an action would lie at all the defendants were not fche parsons who pbould bo Bued. Tho workiDgr of the totali sfttor was provided for by legislation, the Act providing that every totalipator should bo worked uri'ler the supprviaion of racing club stewards, aud by competent, nersona appointed by B'Joh clubs, Tho plaintiff should have fcivd the Petane Racing Club, when reasonn for the upn paymoul of the mouey would have been bHowo. Plaintiff was nonsuited, with £l la costs. Our telegraphic acoounfc of the Auckland Steeplechase shows that the principal stake waß contested by a good field of 11 horses, but that thetop weight, Macoaroni, waa again equal

to |tho occasion, and wen a good race with a bil i)i hand. The quality ot th<> competitors was, however, no hmg very grand. Mr Porcival reems to have a servicpable cusfcomer ia St. Dunsfan, for he landed both the Maiden SteopluchaßO and the S 4by Sleeplechaae.