OUR AUCKLAND SPORTING LETTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 1905, 25 May 1888, Page 24

OUR AUCKLAND SPORTING LETTER.

(Feom Oub Special Spobting Cobbhspondent.) Auckland, May 22. So far as I can at present see, the approaching meeting of the A.R.C. promises to be a very dead-and-alive affair. Betting there has been none. I fancy from the little interest that has been taken in the gathering that the club wilj have extremely good luck if they don't have to face another deficit. . It is stated that club will next season have to still further reduce their stakes, and that the Cup and Derby will be brought down to 500sovs each. Some are even in favour of reducing the lastnamed race to 300sovs, but I shall expect to see'jtt remain at 500 if the totali* sator is not killed. The Wanganui horse Promotion, who has of late been showing good form over email sticks, has, I understand, become the property of Jack Rae. The price said to have been paid for the son of Puriri is £100, but methinks it took a bit more than that to get Powell to part with him. Promotion is engaged in the Great Northern Steeplechase, with 9st 21b. The proposal to tax the totalisator has not created any dismay ; in fact it is a good deal favoured as tending to keep the machine within proper limits. There can be no doubt that to allow the indiscriminate use of the machine to every club constitutes a serious menace to business people, and levying a tax may bo tho means of greatly cutting down country meetings. The Napier horse Defamer, who is engaged ♦ in the Great Northern Steeplechase with the light impost of 9st, is spoken of as having a good show in that race. Sutherland, the well-known jockey, has, I understand, decided to retire from the pigskin, and will shortly be installed boss of a pub. at the Thames goldfields. Mr Beresford has selected the name of Corruna for his yearling colt by Musket from Nelly Moore, half-brother of Lochiel. FOOTBALL. It is quite amusing to hear the number of ex« cußes that are given for the Aucklanders' defeat in the match with the Englishmen on Saturday. That the two tries from which goals were kicked were " soft " things is quite true, but lam not by any means convinced that the Englishmen were playing in the second spell. I am quite sure that at the finish (with a view to the gate money on the second day) they were simply killing time, and if the weather is fine on Thursday next I shall expect them to ran through the Auckland team. In last Saturday's match the wet ground interfered a good deal with the passing, but the Englishmen did some! very fair work in this department. The beat feature of their play was their concerted follow-^ ing up, but in actual dribbling the local men appeared to be their superior. Whiteside hast not yet recovered from the kick he received in. Saturday's match, and his place is to be taken by T. Brown. Three to one's are freely laid oa the Englishmen.