COURSING.

Otago Witness, Issue 956, 16 May 1889, Page 26

COURSING.

"MEMS." BY MASTER M'GRATH.

It required, some nerve to start last week's Plumpton meeting, the weather was so bad. But they did Btart, and as the meeting progressed the weather cleared. The attendance was, miserable. People say that haK-a-crown admission fee ia too much. But it is cheap by comparison. Where else can a man enjoy Plumpton coursing at so low a figure? „ In spite of the poor attendance, the meeting involved no loss to the club ; indeed, I understand there h a small balance on the right side of the account." And it gives Harry James great joy to know that the slaughter was not so great as some expected. The kills numbered less than 30 throughout the whole three days. During the first two days a good deal of swearing and obscene language was indulged in by some of the men who occupied the

grands tand. "It w*i therefore very pleasing to < those (who took' objection to this kind of thing to hear'.Mt Sydney James, tho Secretary of the' Dunedi.?' Jockey Club, on his arrival at the stand on Saturday, giving the culprits' a <: very n severe reprimand. ' Mr James eaid a complaint had dp en lodged that nothing but cursing and swearing and all manner of filthy language was* to be heard in. i the •■ grand stand while the coursing was. going on. He had been requested by the com- ■ mittee of the jockey club to inform them that those who used such 'language again would be warned off the coarse altogether. Not only would, they be -warned off the course now, but' they would 'not be allowed to come- on at any race meeting, i •)•)."•.•! Speaking generally, the competing dogs were a very good lot. Fantip and Baldoy leshaped in moat disappointing fashion, each of these turning tail and striking foe home instead of competing for the game. 'But I< am satisfied there was -some* thing (Wrong with both' these dogs. Fantip 'had ahow4 flpeeflin private when' tried with'Fdgue and Preßto;and Baldoyle* was, I happen 'to know, suffering from the results of a bite from a strange dog in the street: Black Pine,' winner of the 'Leger, was trained' by the Southland veteran Dick Blackham. He had. the dog wonderfully (well, and it was lucky that he did, for the very first course the dog had was a gruelling one, and an imperfectly trained' member would probably have turned it up there and then. ' Melbourne Tom made a terrible exhibition ia the Leger. He refused to leave the slips on two occasions, and the third time he turned round and went off ' towards the cover. 1 : The course was accordingly awarded to Lord Clare. , Dick Blackham did not seem to have Newton quite i cherry ripe, and he went down in the second round of the All-aged Stakes, to the disappointment of > several backers. Red Pine, 1 who was at the draw first favourite for the AU-aged, was putout first pop, but it was bad lnck for him, the hare" being a dodgy one and the course short. Whisper would not have scored a win if the hare had been strong enough to last a bit longer. , ' > ■ One of the greatest surprises of the meeting was the defeat of Meg Dods in the second round of the All-aged. Good judges, however, agree that Dunedin bitch was fairly beaten. '*" The judge undoubtedly made a mistake in giving Flora the victory over Jeanie Beans. It was the only error he was guilty of during the meeting. . There was a good deal of grumbling in connection with' the defeat of Effie Deans by Rotemabana, both the owner and the trainer being displeased with the judge's decision. Many of the ( onlookers, too, thought Effie Deans had won ; but; on the, other .hand,, competent, judges decided that she had not. It must be remembered, too, that tbe crucial point , of ; the run was decided at the farther end of the course, and the judge was therefore really the only one in a position to see properly. The course,' as described by the judge, was as follows t—Effie Deans led, turned, and got two wrenches. The other! dog' then got in, drove the hare round and. turned (I, point), raced past the bitch (2 points), got round and raced past again (2 points) ;or in all 5 points against 4. Fugue won all her courses beyond a shadow of \ a doubt. She was bred <by Messrs Mills themselves 1 , at Mr Martin Taylor's place in Christchurqh, and was trained by Mr W. Mills. The judging was, speaking generally, such as ■'to- satisfy all but the confirmed grumblers. For my part I think there was only one mistake, the one alluded to above, and I am not going to blame Mr Eett even for that. . A man who can judge through a meeting with only one mistake does remarkably well. Mr. Carver also gave satisfaction as slipper. On the first and second days the. slips did not work well, buc on the Saturday they were in order, and Mr Carver made; not. the least shadow of a blunder. • , " I hope pur judge will raise boots and breeches and a red coat by Waterloo Cup. Looks better. Sam Mercer wanfjs to sell his dogs. 4 He says he was not fairly, treated, and; has, I understand, , expressed his willingness to back either, of his three representatives against Fugue for £20. , Mr t O. R. Wise bought Newton after, he won his first course. „ „,,; The .greyhounds which were, sold at auction by Messrs Wright, Stephensop, and Co. on Saturday, did not rgalise very .big, prices. Six dogs were disposed of, the highest price given for any dog being £1 155., " Cunloden," in the Leader, says thai the last to pitch his tent in the Essendon district is Dick Stockdale, who has only joat returned from a trip to, the old country, in company with the Sherwood trainer, Tom White. -» Both are very emphatic on one pomt — namely, that Australian coursing is as superior to the' 'English' : sport as billiards is. to marbles, or Heidseick to Creme de Bouzy. The Waterloo Cup,,they, say, was little better than a rat-catching exhibition, nearly every hare coming, 'to grief. One' dog, Lobster Sauce, kHled four' before , being picked tip. Fancy a dog trying that' 'sort of thing at the Werribee or the Oval! What ( a time he would'have ! At either of these places it is always odds oh puss escaping every time she gets up in front of a brace of greyhounds, but a j different state of affairs prevail both at Altcar and in the English Plnmptons. The Dunedin Plumpton Committee met on Tuesday evening and arranged - the Waterloo Cup meeting. The days will be the 27th, 28th,' and 29th June; a 64-dog stake at £8' each. Nominations, enclosing £4, are due on the 13th" June.' The officers will be the same as at last week's meeting.