OUR AUCKLAND SPORTING LETTER. (From Our Special Sporting Correspondent.) Auckland. August 14.

Otago Witness, Issue 1917, 17 August 1888, Page 24

OUR AUCKLAND SPORTING LETTER. (From Our Special Sporting Correspondent.) Auckland. August 14.

The handicapping question is being well threshed out in turf circles, and so far as I have been able to gather the proposal of the A.R.C. to appoint a committee to perform the work is not received very favourably, even by those who are most opposed to Mr Evett. I certainly did not expect to find much opposition in local circles to the proposition. If the club run counter to it, I fancy they will make a mistake. Mr John Marshall has written a very caustic letter on the whole management of the club, and dealing with the handicapping question he says : — " The institution of a committee I can regard in no other K3IIO th?n a retrograde movement. If the present cost of handicapping is more than the club Can afford* pobs'.bly if applications were made the present haudicapper or other competent persons might be will'ng to do the duties for a le "9 amount, but if retrenchment 13 the real cause, why not reduce the secretary's salary which at present is £350 per annum ? — I venture to say the be3t paid secretary in New Zealand. a.t any rate, I think the cotnmitlpe have qui'.e enough to do to attend to the affairs of the club, without wishing to have a cut in at tho handicapping also, btcaute if they had done their duty to the club they would jhave at least had £110 (which they lost by carelessness) to their credit, which would now come in nicely to pay for the services of a handicapper, and the lamentable state of their finances would not exist. Further, through gross carelessness or other causes last season's programme was so made out that horses were allowed to start in certain races carrying less weight than they should have done, while in other races uhey had to carry more than they were entitled to. Now, in the face of the carelessness displayed in the matter of their finances and programmes from want of time or other reasons, they wish to have a try at 1 the handicapping. Like yourself, some persons here are inclined to doubt the sincerity of the chairman's declaration that the appointment of a committee to perform the handicapping was in order to save the £150 paid to Mr Evett. j But that the finances of the club are in a very ' weak state is, however, beyond doubt, or they would never have gone so far as to place the .Distressed Jockeys' Fund to their own accounl. I wishjndeed that I could think otherwise." , I hear on good authority that one of Nelson's forelegs has thrown ?ut unmistakeable signs of unsoundness. He has not been down to the course for the last 10 days, and I am told that Major George has fully made up his mind to send him to the stud this season. It is a great pity for the old horse's sake that such a bitter feud exists between his owner and the New Zealand Stud Company, ps otherwise I am quite sure that several of their best mares would have been put to him. The first foal of the season made its appearance at Sylvia Park on the 4th August,— Raupo (dam of Mata) producing a filly to St. Leger. The withdrawal of Hotchkiss from the New Zealand Cup was not, 60 far as 1 can gather, owing to i.ny unsouudness, and unless his trainer had come to the conclusion that he was scarcely brilliant enough, I cannot explain his passing out. Jamaica (by Cadogan — Lure), who is just about as bad as they can be foaled, was put up to auction last week, but e^ly £15 being offered he was passed in. I hear that this young gentleman will shortly be put in the shafts, which will be more in his line than carrying a jockey.