SPORTING NOTES FROM VICTORIA.

Otago Witness, Issue 1832, 31 December 1886, Page 25

SPORTING NOTES FROM VICTORIA.

(By Oub Special Melbourne Sporting Correspondent "Olympus.") .

RACING.

Melbourne, December 22.

Boxing Day is generally availed of throughout this colony for holding race meetings, no less than 49 being advertised in the Victorian Racing Calendar to take place on Monday, the 27th inst. New Year's Day has 18, and for the week from Boxing Day till New Year's Day the number totals 71. And yet the metropolitan events have filled splendidly. The Boxing Day fixture of the Victorian Amateur Turf Club at Caul field has attracted large entries, and the V.R.C. New Year's Day meeting promises to be a bigger boom than ever. The weather of late has been very so-so, a meeting at Elsternwick Park last Saturday having to be postponed after the first event— a three-mile trot— had been decided, owing to a continuous downpour of rain. And in this connection some slight confusion was caused by the action of the stewards. Setting had commenced on the second event — a hurdle race, for which 17 jockeys weighed oct — before the postponement till the following Friday was agreed upen, and the question naturally arose: How would the wagers be affected ? However, the eleveth betting rule of the Victorian Club closed up all argument by deslaring that : "In the event of the stewards or committee of any race meeting run under the auspices of the A J.C. or V R C. deeming it expedient to postpone the races from day to day, or week to week, all bets thereon shall stand." By-the-bye, the Elsternwick Park executive are having their lives cast in pleasant places ; for the bookmakers, having taken umbrage at the Tasmanians having entered into arrangements with your Mr Harris to attend j their meetings with one of his totalisator instruI mpnts, determened to take steps to utterly "aquelch" the tight little islanders by guaranteeing the Victorian Trotting Club against lo.ss at a meeting to be held at Elsternwick on the 19th February — the ide.a being, of course, that by getting up a counter attraction they will prevent the large exodus which annually takes place from Victoria to Tasmania during February. Forthwith the committee of the club have issued an announcement that on the day named an event will be contested styled the Brighton Cup, of 300sovs, one mile a furlong and a-haJf ; the winner of any handicap after the publication of the weights to carry 101b extra; the nomination fee to be only 1 soy and acceptance 3sovs. The bait is a good one no doubt, but will no more affect the Tasmanian Club's meetings than it will the entries for the Melbourne Cup. As a matter of fact it will be quite the opposite ; for the majority of people who cross the Straits early in the year do so more for an outing than anything else, and the fact that the very objectionable element which the ring men bring with them will for the future be absent, is likely to cause a great many more, people to take a run across to "the Garden of Australasia." The little arrangement shows how dreadfully frightened the bookmakers are of the infernal machine once getting a footing in Victoria. They know that with them it would be a case of " a fellow's occupation's gone." There seems to be some slight hitch between the bookies and the Victorian Racing Club, for this season the Annual meeting of the Victorian Club (hitherto held atFlemington) is to take place at Caulfield. The day fixed upon is Saturday, 22nd Jauuary, and on Tuesday a huge list of entries was published as having been received. Cum grano salts. The principal item on the bill of fare is the Victorian Club Cup, a sweep of ssovs each, with 300sovs added; a mile and a-quarter and a distance. We are promised some drastic reforms in the turf world during the season 1886-87, the principal one being the weeding out of some objectionable characters who, having been licensed as bookmakers by the V.R.C, gain admission to the paddock. The idea is no doubt a good one in theory, but it will be found a very difficult one to carry into practice. No insignificant number of the bookmakers in the paddock have at divers times served sentences of imprisonment for various crimes; and as the committee of the V.R.C. must (or at least should) have been aware of the fact when they originally granted them a license, it seems monstrous, now their conduct has been all that could be desired, that they should be hounded forth as being unfit to come betwixt the wind and our nobility. You always hear when a man wins; but there's not a murmur— except curses, not loud, but deep— when he loses. A certain Brighton medico, with an enormous practice, landed a good stake — in thousands — over Ben Bolt's win in the Oaulfield Cup, and the news was blazoned forth throughout the length and breadth of the land. He felt convinced 'that the Melbourne Cup was also well within Ben's grasp, and many more thousands than he had won did the conviction cost him Speaking of the Melbourne Cup, I cannot for the life of me make out why Arsenal's victory should be looked upon in the light of a fluke. There was no fluke at all about it. Had the cantankerous brute not sulked in the last Cup be would have won that, and the sporting editor of the Australasian would have thrown in for a cool " thou.," your humble servant would have been in clover, and the stable would have struck the ring heavily. But it wasnot to be; albeit as far as trials went, the brother to Crossfire, with his wonderful staying powers and great dash of foot, has shown his trainers that he will yet eclipse his V.R.O. Spring meeting performance. Entries for the Newmarket Handicap and Australian Oup have to be made before 4 p.m. on

Wednesday, sth January (the date having been altered from Monday), ■ the weights being declared on the 24th. It's a pretty far cry to the 26th February, and 3rd aud sth March ; but were I iuclinedto go a "blind," I fancy. I should have a cut in fer Mozart for the six-furlong flutter &nd s Silvermine for the two mile and a-quarter event. The Standisk Handicap on New Year's Day> is the same distance, but there'B such a terrible amount of gambling nowadays on the Newmarket Handicap that anything may turu up' trumps in the opening event of 'the New Year. Not so in the Bagot Handicap, ene mile and a-half and a furlong; for I take it that old Commotion, with only 9st 61b in the saddle, can just about land that event comfortably. Were I certain that a horse named Fair Play would start in the Standish Handicap I should go for him. He is an up-country horse, at present in Paddy Pigott's stable, and a bit of a bobby-dazzler. My turf gossip is spinning out too long, and with the remark that it is stated to be the intention of theV.R.C. to keep the general public off the straight running in the future between the races, I will proceed to decant a, little upon

PUGILISTS AND WRESTLERS.

Two of our erstwhile shining lights in the fistic world have been getting into a bit of trodble through assaulting in a moot unprovoked manner an ex-pugilist and bootmaker named George Smith. There names are Peter Newton and Thomas Lees. The former -was, under the influence of liquor, hut the ex-policeman had his wits about him. Newton struck Smith twice before the latter floored him in the gutter, and upon his rising sent him back again. Seeing this Lees and a crowd of other roughs assaulted Smith most brutally, and it was with the greatest dfllculty he was rescued from their' clutches. On applying to Mr Call for a warrant the police magistrate considered a summons would meet the case, the consequence' being, that before a warrant could be obtained Lee's, had once more exemplified his thorough knowledgeof the fourth portion of the noble art — how to gift; away. He took flight to New Zealand, and the warrant was immediately cabled over, with, what result has not yet transpired, flte was' certainly a pretty article ever to have held\a position in "thefoorce." #

On Saturday a match between Professor William Miller, of Melbourne, aud T. Cannon, of Cincinnati, for £100 and the Gneco-Roman championship of the world, was' wrestled on the stage of her Majesty's Opefa House. The attendance would have been large under any circumstances, but the downpour of rain and the poftponment of the Elsternwick Park races' caused it to assume mammoth proportions. Miller scaled 14s>t 51b, and Cannon 13st 51b, the fcr.ner being the favrurtte at 5 to 4 on. At the start Cannon made all the play, Miller acting on the defensive. There 'were several close shaves for a " fall" on both sides', but it was r/ot until 54 minutes after the start that Miller got on the hammerlock and placed both Cannon's shoulders on the carpet.'- After a quarter of an hour's retirement both men reappeared, and again did Cannou force the pace to such an extent that in six minutes he had squared the yards with the dread hammerlock. * The principals and their assistants having again retired, the excitement became intelis^ j but to the extreme disgust of the disciples of Thugdom, Dr Wilinott stepped forward ,and announced that owing to a serious accident Mr Miller would be unable to continue the contest, as- after the first fall one of his ribs had been crushed out of its place and the cartilages torn away. This announcement was receiyed'with mingled cheers and hooting, after which Cannon appeared on the scene, aud stated that' as it 'had been de« cared Miller could, not proceed with the match he claimed the stakes and the championship — " a claim (says the' Argus?) which was objected to by a section of tLa audience, but allowed by the referee and assented toby the holder of the stakes." A new Richmond has put , himself in the wrestling field— an Italian named Signor Sali, who belongs to the hew company formed by Signor Agrati and Signbr Tessero, and styled the " Acromata." The Signor was a spectator at the Miller-cum-Cannon match on Saturday, where he would have been .appointed referee but for his imperfect knowledge of -the English language. He challenged Miller and Cannon before the contest, and to judge from the following description of feats of strength' performed by him at St. George's Hall on Saturday night, he must be what our American cousins would call a bully boy with a glass eye. : — " To a large proportion of the audience the performances of Signor Sali proved the most interesting portion of the programme. An athlete of splendid physique and extraordinarily powerful appearance, he carried out a series of feats of strength which were very heartily applauded. After handling weights ranging from,34lb>up to 2601b, he showed that bis strength was not in his arms alone, for he lifted with his teeth cannon balls weighing in all 1101b, throwing them over his shoulder to some distance behiud him, also by his teeth. His achievement of raiding 1801b by his left arm a"nd holding the weight abov« his head was recognised' as the most clever feat of the series, and was enthusiastically applauded. As a finale, Sigrior Sali' placed on his shoulders a bar of iron weighing 871b, supported three young men on this, held 1101b in his teeth, aud carried other weights, malting an aggregate of 8001b, and with these he walked about the stage. As any sceptical persons wr re at liberty to place the weights on the scales, and see them weighed, there could be no doubt as to the genuineness of the feats, and when Signor Sali retired the audience showed that they recognised in him an athlete of wonderful powers." Now if he and Cannon only meet, we can confidently expect skin and hair to be flying about.

CRICKET.

The intercolonial cricket match commences on the Melbourne Cricket Club ground on Monday (Boxing Day) and promises to be a rare good tussle. Mr A. G. Major has selected the following to represent Victoria: — Blackham, Bruce, Horan, , Houston, Midwinter, M'Shane, Palmer, Spoffortb, Trott, Trumble, and Walters; emergencies, M'llwraith and Morris; whilst the New South Wales repre* sentntives will be culled from— Allen, Bannerman (A.), Burton, Evans. Ferris, Garrett, Jones,' MarY, Moses, Massie, M'Donnell, Richardson, and C. Turner. The match between the Melbourne and Sydney Grammar' Schools, played lnst week on the Association Ground, Moore Park, Sydney, proved a very interesting ■ one. The Sydney boys went in. first and scored 96, to which thn Melbourne la3s responded with 91. In their second innings-the Sydneyites put together 103, leaving 1 the Melburnians 109 to got to win. Eight wickets -were down for 96 when young Hammond laid the bowler under c< ntribution for three 4'a and a couple in one over and won the match. A match, Shaw's professionals v. the M CC. Australian Eleven has been drawing its slow length wearily along since la-t Friday,' and is not vet finished, although now the Australians should win. Owing to indisposition Giffen could not play, his place being more than creditably takea

by H. Trott, of South Melbourne. They have been playing' to a beggarly array of empty benches— 2soo being the largest attendance, and thia with the fact staring oue in the face thab the " deadhead roll" of the Melbourne Cricket Club is 4500—1500 members, who are each entisled to bring in two ladies— to say uothiug of the outside complimentaries. It's no u-o miuciug matters, English professional cricket won't go down in Victocia. In an intercolonial match both side< strain every uervo to win ; but there is a feeling abroad that these international tames are mere matters of arrangement. The Inglishmen at one time seriously considered the advisability of playing any more matches in Victoria after the oue against a combined team on Ist January and following days, and well they might. King Coin is master of the fei tuition, and no thoroughly representative team can be got together to meet them simply " for natural love and affection," In Sydney aud some of the upcountry towns in New South Wales the cxeitement is "still worked up over these games; but in. the " Queen City of the South '' the goose that layeu" the golden egg has been sacrified. Revetting to the match yet in progress the game stands as follows on this the fifth day of play : — AUSTRALIAN ELKVBN. First Innings. 8 P Jones ' c Scotton, b Lohmaim ... Ui G B Palmer, b Brings ... ..% H J W Trumble, b Flowers ... ... : 0 A H Jarvis , c and b Bates ... ... 37 W Bruce, c Sherwiu, b Biggs ... 48 H Trott, run out ... ... ... '4 J M B ackham.runout ... ...32 J M'Hwraith, lbw, b Lohmann ... 27 T W Garrett, i ot out ... ... 21 X Evans, b Briggs ... ... 6 P X Spofforth, run out ... ... 2 Extras , ... ... ... 18 Total v ... ... 294 Fall of' the Wicketa.— 1, 24 ; 2, 78; 3, 131 ; 4,. 131 ; 6, 161 ; 6, 230 ; 7, 233'; 8, 283 ; 9, 290 ; 10, 294. Bowling... Anal> sis. — Lohmann, 376 bnlls, 48 maideus, 105 runs. 2 wickers : Briggs. 332 balls. 46 maidens, 64 runs, 3wick-ts; Flowers, 101 balls, 3 maideus, 34 runs, 1 wicket; Barnes, 100 balls, 14 maidens, 29 runs; Barlow, S3 ballß, 4 maidens, 17 runs ; Bates, 84 balls, 11 maidens, 27 runs, 1 wicket. ENGLISH, PROFESSIONALS. ; First Innings. A Shrewsbury, li w, b Trott ... ... 3S B Q Barlow, c Jarvis, b (iarrett ... 19 W Barnesrc Jarvis, b Garrett ... 5) J M Head, c Garrett, b Trott ... 0 W Gunn, b Palmer ... ...26 W Scottan, b Trott ... ...39 W Bates, rer c Palmer, b tf vans ... ...30 J Briggs. c Bruce, b Evans ... ... 7 W Flowers, bSpoffoWh ... ... 6 G Lohmann, c M'Hwraith, b Evans ... 16 M. Sherwin, not out ... ... 1 Extras ... ... ... 4 Total , m .„ 201 Fa\l of the Wickets.— l, 38 ; 2, 58 ; 3, 59 ; 4, 82; 5, 108; 6, 159 j 7, 169 ; 8, 178 ;9, 191 ; 10, 201, Boiling Analysis. — Spofforth, 80 balls, 10 maidens, 24 runs, 1 wicket; Palmer, 128 balls, 14 maidens, 34 runs. 1 wicket, Ino ban ; Bruce, 36 balls, 4 maidens, 17 runs, lwide; Garrett. 164 btlls, 25 maidens, 41 runs, 2 wickets; Trott, 204 balls, 28 maidens, 55 runs, 0 wickets; Evans, ,102 balls, 16 maidens, 26 runs, 3 wickets, Second Innings, A Shrewsbury, c Jones, b Garrett ... 62 R G Barlow, b Palmer ... ... 12 W Barnes, c Evans, b Trott ... ...13 J M Reid, c Jones, b Spofforth ... 38 W Gunn, st Jarvis, b Xrott .. ... 25 W Seotton, run out ... ... 3 W Bates, b Trumble ... ...21 J Briggs, c Bruce, b Trumble ... 7 W Flowers, c Bruce, b Trott ... 7 G Lohmann, not out ... ... 19 M Sherwin, not out ... ... 3 Extra's ... ... ... 17 Total for nine wickets ... 227 PEDESTRIANISM.

In [footracing Sydney is still maintaining a decided supremacy ; for at the opening of a new track (the Cariugton) in Moore Park recently 9000 spectators assembled on the first day and 2000 on the secoud day. The proprietors of the Flctningfcon, Hurlingham, and Melfort running grounds in this colony are evidently playing a, game of cut-throat, as they each have meetings advertised for Christmas Day.

WAS-HAEL.

Christmas will have gone ere you get this, and thejNew Year close upon us. So that I will simply 'send you the compliments of the season, and express a hope that without going the lengths of .the merry monks of Croyland, when they surrounded King Witlaff's drinking horn — And drank to the saints and martyrs Of the dismal days of yore, And as soon as the horn was empty Remembered one saint more. We may have.health and strength to drain the mystic pewter with— A health f. r all those tliat we love, And a health for all those that love us. And a health for aW those who love them who love those, Who lovs those, who love, who love as.