OUR AUCKLAND SPORTING LETTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 1856, 8 July 1887, Page 24

OUR AUCKLAND SPORTING LETTER.

(Fbom Odb Speoiai Spoetino . Cohbbs- . ■'• - PONDBNT.) •,<>... ■<■ . ,' Auckland,* July 5. 1 What do you think of the' weights for the New Zealand Cup ? is a question that has' resounded throughout the sporting rendezvous since Friday last. ; ; Taking Auckland, opinions ac a criterion, the only conclusion to be arrived at as< that' the •Cantfefbriry- Jockey Club' Oommittee- are'not I entiiled 'fo 'much praise /for their" wbrkl ;In 'the 1 first place it ,is said,' and JT think', rightly ! so, , .'that ,, Nelson , holds, (t 'rnlly three-fou)? jhs of those rafgaged as safe as,|f. they were in s their graves,. while on the ( other, 'hand Silver! Prince ( (Bst not have i been. called^upon' to give j weight' to such horses, as Fusillade, Disc>wnecl,7and' Silence. The laatnamed , ts* very nicely haiidioapped with Bst 3lb", and 'l' faney s he will ßereally'gqod goods Defdre.tbeday.' '. s£h'en th'e.spn ? of The, Mute was brought ' up here' in April' last ,it 'wsjs generally. believed tbAt* it •was for* the of," running a .bye with a view to his securing, the New Zealand , Cup later on. He is.a real cut of a horse, and I ' have no hesitation in labelling him '•, dangerous." Tetford,' withßst, would haye a show if he could again, begot into his best form, but be has been on the^ shelf so long thiat many are inclined to think' he will .'hot , stand a severe .preparation. ( Maxim" f arid Sextant are fairly treated ' 'jwitbT "tat 6lb respectivelyi!^'but' if Cutt^j'oan send^elson to the bost in the same form las, when he, won, bis last"Auckland 'Cup, ', I should stand him against .the field. There has been a little, wagering done, | Nelson being the chief medium of investment — 100 Vto 8 and 10 being offered about his winning. John Kean, who went over with Mitrailleuse to Melbourne, returned here last week. Scot ( Free was brought back to-day from Napier, where he has been stationed since ( ,his accident at the Napier, Park; meeting in March last. The little ,. sqn of* Stirlingworth looks poor on it, and having, 'a hip 'down, I think he may be written off the turf.', , Silvio was brought up by the same' boat. , . ' Pipi was sold last week for ''£2s, and old Woodpecker found a purchaser at £12. Catesby was, I am 'told, privately disposed of to-day for £100.' ' , ' The Pakeurangi Hunt Club is not to be allowed to die.' At a meeting held last week it transpired that the club' was ,£Bo' in ' debt, but this will easily be wiped off. Mr' Percival will still continue to hold the position of master. A little tale is',' going ,th^ rounds here to the effect that a couple of recent arrivals from the South successfully gotjoff what F was' evidently a cleverly laid plan to take down some of the" wily Northerners. The, ope is a'well-knbwn Wellingtonito/^nd the other a Yankee,, Of course it was arranged between, the pair that.they should pretjepd to have never had' any acquaintance with each other before, and they played their parts so well as to thoroughly blind the Aucklanders. The Yankee man having taken up his quarters at (a r hostfery , close by the racecourse, the 'Wellragtonite 1 suggested to a couple of the Auckland ring that they should pay;him avist with a'view'toa'quite game of " pokerl" , This was accordingly acted upon and rumour sayeth that Aucklanders were relieved of considerably over £100. It , dawned upon the latter the day after that'the little affair had been got up for their benefit, and they sallied forth to Ellerslie to renew, the acquaintances of °the "Yank," but it was found that 'ttie bird bad flown, he and his partner having taken' wjnjj to the Empire City. I need scarcely add thap^ there has been 'some weeping and wailing over the " take down." ' ' ' ■ ' '' ' FOOTBALL. The matches on Saturday last were of a very uninteresting, character. Auckland and Ponsoaby waged a ,very uneven struggle, the latter winning by .46 , points to nil. , The Ponsonby- men were in good' form and simply ran over .their opponents, at all points of the game. , , , . I Alberts v. Gordon.— This match was a little j more even, though onpe their victory, was assured the latter did not play up. The game resulted in a ,victory, for Gordon by 14 points to 4. „ 1 , Auckland v. Thames.— This match was played at the latter place on Saturday, and, after a capital game, resulted in a victory for Thames, by 4 points to 2. •_ „