SPORTING- NOTES FROM AUSTRALIA.

Otago Witness, Issue 1932, 30 November 1888, Page 25

SPORTING- NOTES FROM AUSTRALIA.

(By Olympus.) Mblbouene, November 20. THE TURF.

I am perfectly [justified in stating that we in Victoria can, in the matter of horseracing, give any country on the face of the globe the apprentice allowance (that's 71b) and a beating. Here we are after a four months' innings, and having but just gone through the trying ordeal of a Melbourne Cup meeting, apparently as keen as ever in the pursuit of the sport of kings. At least that's the conclusion one would arrive at after witnessing the attendance that assembled at Moonee Valley on Saturday last. You see, Moonee Valley is only a matter of some four miles and a-half from the metropolis, and the Essendon train lands you in such contiguity to the course that the outing is always largely availed of, the more so as the proprietor, Mr W. S. Cox, takes care to furnish a good bill of fare for his patrons, and any crooked proceedings are sat upon at once. Of course, I don't mean to infer that the horses who run there are always on the strict q.t. ; but they are not allowed to move in a mysterious way, some wonder to perform (subsequently), if the stewards are aware of the fact. Therefore Moonee Valley is a favourite resort of punters, who, strange to say, generally manage to about hold their own in the betting transactions at the valley. But they didn't last Saturday. They got well away from score, too, in the opening event, the Nursery Handicap, for two-year-olds, four furlongs, for which nine started. Owing to the form he had previously displayed at Moonee Valley, Mr S. Miller's Radoo (by Brasde Fer— Mayuna) was steadily backed down to 5 to 4, Sb being on offer against the next favourite— Richelieu. Towards the finish Radoo came away from his field, and won in a canter by three lengths from Jettison and The King ; and as the distance was traversed in 51£ sec, and the colt had 8.3 on his back, it will pass without saying that the performance was a very creditable one. A Corinthian Handicap of a mile followed, for which Fair Saxon started a 5 to 4 on favourite in a field of four. But J. A. Lang, (a son of the redoubtable old Billy of that ilk) sprang a bit of a surprise in Cbloris (by King of the Ring— Lily), who started at the remunerative price of 5 to 2, and the noble army of backers fell in the ditch. Chloris carried 10.0, was ridden by her owner, and skipped the eight furlongs in lmin 52sec— a rattling good gaifc. Somewhat' dashed at this reverse, punters cast

round to focus the correct pea for the Janefield Handicap, a five-furlong flutter, in which some approved good ones were engaged. Mr J. Harper'B daughter of Rapid Bay and Mary Qladstane-r-The Forsaken by name-7-eventually started favourite at 5 to 2, but 6he was clesely pressedby Hegira at 3 to I, whilst Wyvis and Derision at 4's and Gasburner at 6's found consistent support. The Forsaken won easily by a length, with Hegira second and' Quail third (six others constituting the field), in lmin 4£sec. The next item for discussion was. a Handicap Steeplechase of two miles, and as the gentle* man racing under the name of W. Neil (a squatter named Virgoe) is credited' with being as good as they make 'em in cross-country contests, bis horse Trooper was installedTNfo. 1 in the betting quotations at 5 to 2, the friends of Yankee Grab accepting a point longer about their ;aag, the followers of Miller's Btable backing Mfldura at' 4's, Cackoo and Milepost coming next at 5 to 1, whilst Beldemonia was far from friendless at B's. 'Through Beldemonia blundering early in the race and Yankee Grab falling these twain were soon out of the hunt, Cuckoo carrying on the running best part of the distance, and looking all over a winner half a mile from home, when he turned turtle, and Mildura experienced little difficulty in disposing of Milepost and Trooper; who was never really dangerous throughout the journey. Time, 4min 17sec. Then came a Selling Race, which didn't belie its name, as it looked like finding money to lay 6 to 4 on Clarendon when opposed to Miss Merlin, Julian Gray, and Bonny Jean. Some persons evidently believed in the ability of Miss Merlin to perform necromantic feats, however, as they accepted 3 to 1 about her chance. And they were quite right, as the progeny of Wild Eagle and a Lucifer, mare got home comfortably a length and a-half in advance of the favourite, in lmiu 6sec, a feat which so impressed Mr H. E. Lord, of New South Wales, that he never cried " Hold ! enough I" on her being submitted by auction till he secured her for £170 ; and as she was entered for nil all 'that money found its way into the coffers of the club. , Then there was a plunge for a recovery, and Mistletoe was selected to do the trick in the November Handicap, of eight and a-half furlongs. Her only real opponent was St. John, as although Wantega also started she is only a galloway, and stood no chance among racehorses. Mistletoe's starting price was 5 to 4 on, St. John being 5 to 2 against. The erratic brother of Trump Yoss (Conrad— Euphrosyne) was in the vein, however, and he won by three parts of a length, in lmin 53£ sec. People have not yet done talking about the high prices Tradition and Oarbine brought. Three thousand and fiftyguineasiscertainlyavery large amount of money to give for a four-year-old whose best performance was running second in the Melbourne Cup, with the feather of 0.12 up, in 3rain 30|sec. The natural query is — If Tradition is worth 3050g5, what price Mentor, who gave him 191b and a beating in that self-same race ? There are some argue that as Mick O'Brien has a finger in the pie of his purohase (a syndicate having secured him) the horse must ba susceptible of great improvement. But that doesu't necessarily follow. Mr West, his late owner, ought to have known something about the horse, surely; and Tommy Aspinall, who trained and rode him, is sot a fool by any manner of means. Tradition looks naturally gross to the eye, as he is a tall, (16.3), largo barrelled animal ; and it is very questionable whether under the supervision of suoh an artist as Mr P. Heywood he will be brought any fitter to the post than Aspinall brought him. You will see by the weights allotted for the Bagot Handicap that tbe handicapper considers Mentor a 151b better horse over a mile and a-half and a furlong, and if Walter Hiokenbotham starts the champion four-year-old for that race the odds will be something more than guineas to pounds that the son of Richmond and Bridal wreath will once more have to play second fiddle to the nephew of old Commotion. Carbine, of course, is a different animal alto* gether. Here we have a phenomenally fast three-year-old, with every prospect of developing into a first-class weight-for-age animal in the immediate future. 'Tis true he is not engaged in our St. Leger, but he is in the Champion Stakes, and up to the present he appears to hold everything else of the same age as safe as safe can be. Still, when you talk about 3000gs, you talk about a great many guineas, and I think Dan O'Brien did the right thing when he collared the yellow boys. A good three-year-old may not be worth a rush as a four, and vice versa— Mentor being a splendid example of the vice versa business, as he was not a pronounced success as a three-year-old. Carbine has gone into the same stable as Mentor (Walter Hickenbothan's aforesaid), and you may rely upon it that I will keep you posted up in the doings of the Musket-rMersey colt.

Wakawai having changed hands for 725g5, has been taken in hand by Mr Richard M'Kenna (racing under the norn de guerre of R. Clifford), the gentleman who proved so successful with Kit Nubbles, and more recently with Chicago. You will doubtless remember I was wont to mention him when communicating with you before as being what is colonially known as " pretty fly." He is a very careful, painstaking trainer withal, and I am right glad he has got hold of the black son of Leolinus and Lure, as we shall soon discover whether or not he is the cur he has been described by some because his performances in his races at the late Spring meeting did not come up to what his trainning track form had led us to expect. Mr M'Kenna evidently believes in him, and so do I. That he is a game, honest horse, and withal a magnificent stayer when thoroughly well I am confidentjust as confident as I am that had the Melbourne Cup been run a week earlier he would have won it, bar accident, in fully three seconds faster time than it occupied.

But I have a lot of other things besides horses to talk about in this letter, and so I shall take a pull about the gee-gees till next week, simply placing before you the following handicaps, which were declared yesterday, for our New Year's Day meeting at Flemington :—: —

STANDISH HANDICAP, Of ssovs oach, with 300sova added ; second 60sovs, third SOBOVB. Winner of, any handicap, value lOOaovs or upwards, after the declaration of weights, to carry 71b extra. Three-quarters of a mile.

• BAGOT HANDICAP, Of lOsovs each, with lOOOsovs added ; second 200bovb, third lOOaovs. Winner of any handicap after declaration of weights, value lOOaovs, to carry 71b extra; of 200sovs, 101b extra; of SOOsovs or upwards, 141b extra. One mile and a-half and a furlone.

I like Boz, Wyvis, and Nectarine best in the former ; but then it is over the same distance of ground as the Newmarket, aad you know. Chicago, Theorist, and Newmaster are well in in th« Bagot Handicap. Don Giovan is as mysterious a personage as ever ; but keep your eye on him still. Patience is a virtue that the Ballarat division are blessed with above the average of the sonsof men. Before the weights were declared I heard from a pretty good source that the double— Don Giovan for the Standish Handicap and Tradition for the Bagot— had been backed to win a lot of money. ■ By the way, I am nearly forgetting to mention that my old particular pet Tranter, after being passed in, was sent down to Caulfield under P. Hey wood's charge for a change of air.

RIFLE SHOOTING.

The Victorian Rifle Association have just brought their centennial meeting to a close. It lasted a whole week, and they had to go at it hammer and tongs to get through in time ; but they did it. The weather was simply beastly the first four days of the meeting, giving the local men an immense advantage. I observe a number of New Zealand marksmen taking part in the different contests— in fact, with the exception of Western Australian the whole of the Australasian colonies were represented. Everything passed off satisfactorily, and some new targets were tried and found to answer admirably. One pattern was two canvas targets; 6x6, one above the other, the lower one being in the marking pit, the whole revolving on a pivot. Aa each shot was fired and went through the canvas that target was reversed, and the aperture caused by the bullet pasted over with a piece of white paper, whilst the other target was being fired at. It answered splendidly. Your representatives were fairly successful, especially when 20 of them were pitted against a similar number from Victoria, as they drubbed our fellows by 44 points; Sergeant M'Carthy (of Dunedin) taking premier position of the 40 by a magnificent score of 95 out of a possible 105, Private T Hutchison being proxime accessit with 90. As the individual scores will doubtless interest you I append them :— New Zealand v. Victoria. To be fired by teams of 20 a side. 400 yds, 500 yds, and 600 yds. Seven shots at each range. Military position. NEW ZEALAND.

Sergeant M'Carthy and Private Ballinger have done the best monetarily, but the whole of your contingent were conspicuous amongst the prize-takers. Private Ballinger got third, with 43 (the winner scored 46), for the National Mutual Life Association of Australasia match, five shots at 500 and 600 yd s; Captain Skinner being fifth, and Sergeant Fredric eleventh. Sergeant Williams was sixth in the Age match, 400 and 600 yds, 5 rounds at each range, with 41, Sergeant M'Carthy, who also scored 41 (winner 461, being eighth. The principal event of the meeting was the Queen's Prize, which, as during the past two years, resulted in a tie. The drastic condition with regard to this prize is that, in the event of a tie, it must be shot off at 800 yds, three shots, I append the details ; —

Queen's Pbize.

300, 600, and 800 yards. Five rounds at each range. Marfcini-Henry rifles or carbines. Government sights. Military position. Open to members of the naval and military forces;of any Australasian colony, sworn in under the Discipline Act in force in suohyjolony, commissioned officers of cadet corps, and to members of any ship's company, whether seamen or marines, belonging to any ship of war in the harboiu. One prize of £100 ; 75 prizes of the value of J63CO. Competitor's Name and Club. *}° *!g> . Tl. Gunner A Bunting, WilHamstown 15 21 21—57* Sergeant Selk, 2nd Batt V.E. ... 21 14 22-f>7* Lieutenant Hanby, Geelong G.A.... 16 18 22—56 Lieutenant Gooden, S. Australia ... 19 22 15—56 A M'Donald, Merino 19 20 16-55 G Draper, Melbourne 11 21 21—53 J Buckley. Gippsland 13 21 19-53 Corporal Kirk, WilHamstown ... 17 19 17—53 Private Crittendon, S. Australia ... 13 19 20—53 HDunßtan r Charlton 13 20 19-52 R Cause, Ist Batt V.R 14 20 18—52 D P Sinclair, Rupanyup 20 19 13-52 Quartermaßter-Bergt Berry, N.S.W. 14 17 20-51 J Anderson, Echuca 11 21 19—51 J Robinson, Bacchus Marsh ... 16 18 17—51 J B Wiceman, Melbourne ... ... 18 20 13—51 Sergeant Field, 4th Batt V.R. ... 10 19 21—50 J Grummitt, O Batt, F.A.B. ... 11 19 20-50 W Howie, Launceßton, Tas 14 16 20—50 Lieutenant Cork, N.S.W 13 19 19-50 J W Stringer, Terang 16 15 19-50 W Roebuck, Rupanyup 17 14 19-50 H Wormesly, Dunkeld 10 23 17—50 R Hawkins, Inglewood 15 18 17—50 Gunner Weir, New Zealand ... 18 15 17—50 Sergeant Davis, Ist Batt V.R. ... 19 14 17—60 Lieutenant Boss, New Zealand ... 13 21 16—50 T OXeary, Wangaratta 20 14 16—50 G M'Kobert, Tooleen 16 14 19-49

"Tie. On firing off the tie on Saturday, Gunner Bunting, of the Melbourne Rifle Club, scored a miss and two magpies, and as Sergeant Selk missed the whole three shots, the former took the first prize of £100, and the latter the second of £25. But for an unfortunate occurrence Mr A. M'Donald, of Merino, must have b«en the winner. He came back to the 800 yards with 39, and was scoring centres, when, in resting his rifle whilst a particularly heavy gust of wind was blowing, his finger inadvertently pressed the trigger, and he scored a miss. As it was he was only two behind the winner, having scored 16 in his four shots. Another curious incident occurred to Lieutenant Hanby, of the Geelong Artillery, who finished third with 56, and who had won the prize in 1881. At the final range, after firing his first sighter, lw— contrary to the general practice — paid a shilling for a second sighter, with which he scored a bull's-eye. Had this counted the first of his business shots it would have won him the prize.

Owing to the enormous number of entries (there were 550 for the Queen's Prize alone, and £4300 was given away in prize money during the meeting) the number of shots had to be reduced from seven to five in a lot of instances ; the innovation, as regarded the Queen's Prize especially, meeting with universal condemnation.

The Irishteam won the International Match, with a total of 803, for 10 men, seven rounds each, at 400, 500, and 600 yards ; your Sergeant M'Carthy and Major Acheson scoring 80and79respectively. The other totals were : English, 782 ; Scotch, 781 ; Australian, 777. The International Challenge Trophy (value £20, presented by Mr T. Gaunt, watchmaker and jeweller) had previously been held by the Australian team.

During the meeting a team of cadets from the High School, Sydney, under the command of that old intercolonial veteran Major Strong, tried conclusions with a Victorian team selected by Lieutenant Marshall, principally from his own State school at Kensington. The Victorians won by 10 points only, the scores being 546 to 536. H. N. Slee, of the Sydney High School, scored 34 put of a possible 35 at 400 yards.

CYCLING.

There was a numerous attendance at the Melbourne Bicycle Club Sports on ,the Melbourne Cricket ground, on Saturday, when previous records on the grass were clipped. There was a very varied programme, and competitors from England, New Zealand, South Australia, and New South Wales took part in the preceedings. Ncealc&s lo say, when such time was made, the track was in faultless condition. The principal event of the day was the Austral Wheel Race, of two miles, the first prize for which was a trophy value £200. There were 61 entries for this race, and out of this 48 put in an appearance. The two men on scratch were J. E. Fenlon, of England, and R. Davis, of South Australia. The other riders had starts varying from 70yds to 400yds— the latter being nearly a lap in advance. The two scratch men kept oloso together for six laps out of the eight, and rapidly wore down their opponents, their approach to the front being signalised by loud cheers as they passed the stand on each occasion. In the seventh lap Davis gained somewhat on Fenlon, and in the final round the South Australian, putting on a magnificent spurt, passed the halfdozen men who were in front of him, and won easily by several bicycle lengths from Schwaebsch, of the Melbourne Club, who had 280 yds start. Jewell, of Ballarat, who ran a good race from the 100 yds mark, was third, and Fenlon fourth. The first mile of the race was run in 2min 54 2-ssec, and the last mile in 2min 44 l-ssec, the time for the whole distance being smin 38 3-ssec. The previous record for two miles was smin 46sec. The winner, Davis, the champion of South Australia, is a young man of slight and wiry build, not such a one as from his appearance would be selected for a feat of physical endurance. He did not appear to be the least distressed after his exertions.

The One-mile Invitation[Scratch Race saw the record for the distance again beaten, when Fenlon headed Davis in the first heat by two bioycle lengths in 2min 50 2-ssec. This seemed to take the fire out of the pair of them, however, as Fenlon could not gain a position, and Davis got no nearer than third in the final heat, which was won by Black, of South Australia, in 2min 59|sec; Mutton, of New South Waleß, being second.

AQUATICS.

We are going to have a Centennial Regatta on Friday and Saturday, which is to be a swagger affair. The prize money foots up to close upon £3000, and Sir W. J. Clarke, who was the prime mover in the affair, has given a gold anchor, value £100, besides £100 for every £1000 collected, towards the list. It will be an intercolonial affair in the broadest sense of the word, yachts "from all .the colonies taking part. The long courses are over 40 miles, and so fixed as not to give local yachtsmen an undue advantage. I notice that your New Zealand yacht Akarana accepted the invitation of the Sb. Eilda Club and competed last Saturday for the club's gold medal, which she won. The Akarana soon took the lead, and was never headed. The wind was rather puffy, and somewhat; variable, the times of passing the winning post being as follow : — Name of Yacht and First Second Third Time Allowance. Eound. Bound. Bound. h. m, s. h. m. a. h. m. s. Akarana, lmin 359 50 430 3 5 110 Camilla, 2min 4 ilO 436 20 511 15 Waterwitch, lmin ... 4 413 439 10 514 50 Meteor, 4mln 4 530 441 5 517 50 CRICKET. Things are getting a bit unsettled between the respective associations in New South Wales and Victoria over whether there fehall be two matches a year between the colonies or only one. The Victorians want only one, 6aying that they can't pit their best team against South Australia (whose cricket prowess deserves our very best efforts) if we play two matches againsb the .Welshmen. The latter, however, are determined to have two or none, and so the matter stands at present. East Melbourne and Richmond are battling for the Metropolitan Challenge Cup, and at present the Richmond— who hold the trophy, having defeated Carlton in an innings— aro slapping it about Geordie Palmer and Co., »s they have 232 runs on the board, and only eight wickets down, Letcher and J. Drysdale (of the

Ormonde and North Fitzroy) have thrown in their lot and are playing with East Melbourne.

tfalua ... Cradifcion Ben Bolt Bravo ... Chicago Pakeha Newmaster Remus... Enfilade Bothwell Whakawai Dividend Lonsdale Dnfferin rhe Charmer Lady Betty Don Giovan Mara ... Lord Allen Boz Sumatra Che Forsaken L'outbillon. 31adstone Lando ... Enunderbolt at lb Bfc lb ... 9 9 Aldlvalloch ... 7 11 ... 9 7 lord Headfngton 710 ... 9 7 Silverton ... 7 10 ... 9 6 Wyvis ... ... 7 10 ... 9 2 Talcoon ... 7 10 ... 9 1 Vermont ... 7 10 ... 8 13 Epicurean ... 7 10 ... 8 12 Fishwife ... 7 6 ... 8 12 Whlfcefoot ... 7 5 ... 8 11 Sir William ... 7 6 ... 8 11 Ohetwynd (late ... 8 8 Paragon ' ... 7 4 ... 8 7 Quadrant ... 7 4 ... 6 7 Haoul... ... 7 4 ... 8 6 Rhetorician .„ 7 2 ... 8 6 Nectarine ... 7 2 ... 8 4 Churchill ... 7 0 ... 8 4 Sylvester ... 7 0 ... 8 0 Coronation ... 6lg ... 8 0 Ishmael ... 6 10 ... 8 0 True ... ... 610 ... 8 0 Soutn Melbourne 6' : B ... 8 0 MissTasma ... 6 1 ... 7 12 Firelock ... 6 7 ... 7 11 Whitworth ... 6 7 ... 7 11 Bombardier ... 8 7

lentor Jyclops liagara lalua ... Iravo ... Iraditlon !he Yeomaa lea Bolfc Enfilade Jhicago Iheorlafc tecall ... 'akeha rewmaster temus... ... 10 1 Whakawai ... 8 3 ... 9 7 Lonsdale ... 8 3 ... 9 6 Lady Betty .., 8 1 „. 9 6 Mara ... ... 8 0 ... 9 5 Bothwell ... 712 ... 9 0 Leroy ... ... 7 11 ... 8 12 Don Giovan ... 7 10 ... 811 The Charmer ... 710 ... 8 10 Silverton ... 7 6 ... 8 7 Lord Headington... 7 4 ... 8 7 Hex ... ... 7 2 ... 8 6 Boz ... ... 7 2 ... 8 6 Knight of the Gter- ... 8 6 ter ... ... 610 ... 8 4 E.D. ... ... 6 7

Hank and Name. yds. lergeant M'Oarfchy, Dunedin 34 Sergeant M'Carthy, Auckland 33 ifajor Acheson „t ... S3 JuunerWeir ... ... 32 Private Bichardeon ... 28 Sergeant Boss ... ... 31 Jergeant Williams ... 33 Private Hutchinson ... 31 Private JDixon ... ... 25 lergeant Kempshell ... 28 Jergeant Fredrio ... 32 Private W T Watt ... 28 Captain Cooper ... ... 31 Japtain Skinner ... ... 26 Private Bout ... ... 31 Private Lumsden.,. ... 29 Jergeant Kuohen... ... 20 Japtain Fleyger ... ... 29 Private Wilson ... ... 31 J rivate Ballinger ... 30 yds. ydi. Tl. 31 26 — 01 23 21 — 80 30 16 — 79 26 24 — 82 24 22 — 74 27 28 — 86 24 19- 75 30 29 — 90 21 31 — 77 31 28 — 87 27 26 — 85 21 14 - 63 30 24 — 85 27 28 — 81 28 25 — 84 24 20 — 73 28 22 — 79 27 20 — 76 24 22 - 77 28 26 - 64 Totals ... ... 603 531 474 —1608

Name and Rank. yds. yds. yds. Tl. 'rivate Mitchell ... ... 29 29 22 - 8( iergeant Maweon... ... 32 30 26 —8? iieutenant White ... 30 26 18— !<■. 'rivate Angus M'Donald ... 30 23 26 — 75 iergexnt-major Dubberlin ... 33 25 18— 7( Japtain Powell ... ... 29 31 21 — 81 Junner Grummett ... 34 34 18 — 8( iergeant-major Kerr ... 32 27 17 — 7( Sergeant Lancaster ... 31 28 24 — 8! Jorporal Kirk ... ... 28 31 22 -81 iieutenanfc Hanby ... 31 24 23 — 7J Junner Bunting... ... 30 28 29— 9>\ Junner Messenger ... 28 23 19 — 7< Junner A B Taylor ... 34 23 22 — 7( iergeant Fargher... ... 32 32 17— 81 >rivate Buley ... ... 23 21 18 - 62 Mvate de Grandi ... 30 25 20 — 71 ) Sweating, A.8.... ... 29 28 26 — 8! L M'Donald, A.B. ... 29 23 13 — 6E iergeant Logan ... ... 32 24 24 — 8( Totals ... ...,606 535 423 1564

VICTORIA.

rM-IntoBh,N.S.W » •>. 16 17 16-4! S Walker, Melbourne.. 15 19 15—4! rßae.Caramufc 10 17 21-4! V G Sloane, Yarrawonga 12 16 20-4! Mvate Oarae, N.B.W 10 20 18-41 V Daniel, N.S.W 12 18 18-41 L Monsborough, Ballaraf; ... ... 18 12 18—4! Jorporal Kussell, N.S.W 13 18 17—4) V M'Queen, Timmering 14 17 17—41 S. Gray. Learmonth 14 17 17—4! 3 Clarke, Melbourne 15 16 17—41 jieufcenanfc Golding, Tasmania ... 10 22 16-4) Junner Brownlee, Geelong Artil* lery ... 10 16 16-4! ' M Dowell, Bacchus Marsh ... 14 20 14—4! iergeant M'Oarthy, Dunedin, N.Z. 15 19 lt-41 VJ Wilson, Bacchus Marßh ... 9 16 22—4' V Mahony, Bacchus Marsh ... 11 19 17—41 L Allison, Walhalla lf» 15 17-41 - Tredderwlck, Timor 13 18 16—41 A Row, Portland 22 9 16—41 I Donegan, Walhalla 13 19 15-41