SPORTING NOTES FROM AUSTRALIA.

Otago Witness, Issue 1934, 19 March 1891, Page 25

SPORTING NOTES FROM AUSTRALIA.

(By Hobi Poene.) Melbourne, March 10. V.8.0. AUTUMN MHBTING.— THIBD (CHAMPION STAKES) DAY. Thursday was a regular screamer as regarded heat —a perfeot midsummer day. The sun shone fiercely down without a zephyr to temper its rays, and as a consequence iced drinks were at a premium. The attendance was fairly good, but hardly what would have assembled under more favourable conditions ; tbe stifling heat of the foreaoon completely enervating people, so that a large number of intending visitors to the " Champion " very wisely remained at business, and transacted their little "gambles "at S.P. at the list shops in town. For you must not imagine that the " terrors of the law have altered matters in this connection— not an iota, save and except that the keepers of these places are a trifle more discreet in the class of people they wager with, besides tafcisg the extra precaution, in some instances, to leave simply a number on the piece of pasteboard they hand you back in return for current coin of the realm, suoh number being ostensibly in accord with au algebraical set of signs jotted down in their huge accompting books. Of course they have all the pull in the transaction ; but then they are, as a rule, very fair-dealing men, and the risk is accepted without the slightest demurall the more so, as it is dearly a oase of " Hobson's choice"— to wits, that or nothing. But although tbe atmospheric conditions militatea against a large attendance on either the Hill or the Flat, the grand stand and paddock were well patronised ; and as the Government House party were all in evidence again the " toney " contingent were busily engaged, in spite of tbe intense beat, parading in front of the vice-regal box between the events. As many of your readers are doubtless aware, there is a broad paved boulevard between the lawn and the grand stand, muoh patronised by the fair sex as a promenade, and useful co tbat extent ; but its white paving stones are very trying to the eyes on a sunshiny day, being in direct antithesis to the emerald carpet just "bey ant"; and as numerous complaints have been made as to the glare therefrom seriously affecting the sightie^rs located in " Bagot's cowshed," some alteration will doubtless be> made in this direction before the Spring meeting oornes round. Punctually to time the gong sounded for the first event — the Seoond Hurdle Baoe, in conneotio* with which rumour had been very busy as to the merits of a small sticks candidate from the Sydney side—Pentagon by name — who was accredited with being a perfect gem at two miles, ancl who had been allotted the nice weight of 10.5. However, he had sustained some mysterious injury to his fetlock daring the night, and iv consequence the pen was put through his name. Kneecap had shown such good form in the Hurdle Baoe on Tuesday under fearfully adverse clroumstances, that when it was discovered Carey -one of the bßst of the Ballarat cross-country horsemen— was up, a rush was made to get on to him at once; but Islander soon came under notice xvhea it became bruited abroad that Tommy Corrigan was to have the mount. Towards the finish Eyry was well supported, the general run of the wagering bsiug about 7 to 2 againat either of the three named, whilst at 7 to 1 Mr w, S. Cox s mount, Pingara, wns also freely invested on. Her stable companion Sam out out the running at a very merry gait— so merry, iv fact, that" he speedily had everything else dead settled except the mare, who ran up to him half a mile from home, tho two racing clean away from the field, and lauding the Messrs Miller first and second money ; Pingara winning easily by two lengths from Sam, who was not persevered with, but nevertheleis finished 12 lengths in advance of Africanus, after whom came Aristides, Kneecap, and Islander, with Eyry, Boujje-et-Noire, Baupehu, and Crcssrall the last four. Time, 3min 50jsec. not at all bad for " about two miles," seeing that Wyviß won the self-same race 12 mouths ago iv 3min G9sec. Because Prelude has carried 9.2 and won the Nursery Handicap last year it was argued by punters chat fc>trombo!i with 9.7 must repeat the trick this ; and having ma.de up their minda on. that point they backed him down until "2 !,o 1 Stromboli 1 " was the cry of the metallieUns. Haxley was up too ; and had not Huxley put the " kybosh" on Haiea (on the favourite, mark you I) in the Sires' Pioduce Stakes ? Ob, yea ;it looked real good jjoods to back Stromboli; and yet some far-seeing' folk, who gauge the strength of the J. B. Clark (whoever he may be)' syndicate to a nicety oconsioually, ehook their beads aapiontlv - a la Lord Burleigh— and quietly remarking, " Things that are equal to tho same thing are not always equal to one another —on the turf at all events," quietly popped their in-

vestments on to the seoond string of the syndicate — Alblna, with Hales up. And after a time more and more began to smell a rat, and so pertlnaolous were the demands for Albina money that 5 to 1 was her starting price; the same odds being accepted about T. Sampson's filly Bodkin. Albina won comfortably from Bodkin by a length and a-half at the finish, Asoot vale third half a length off, after whom followed Sadlm, Stromboli, After, Doctor, Oooya, Aydle, La Tosca, Shur, and Plan. Time, lmin 30a eo, as against Prelude's lmin 333ec. And then came the "fun of the fair." Oh, but it was extremely delicious I After playing dlnkiedoodleum with the long-suffering public for months and months the Cunning Push got left at last with their marvellous Marvel. And old George Flat was such a very, very fly man, tool No one was to know when Marvel was meant— save a select few 1 He wasn't going to be forestalled -not he I He was far too cleve. for that 1 Poor dupe 1 All the time he was being dangled and dangled to the full bent of his own sweet will ! and when at last the Bight People »aid "Go 1 " he himself wasn't one of the select few. It was tbe very best worked coup I ever heard of. Before the very eyes of the touts morning after morning Marvel was putting iv mile and a-half and mile and thres-quarter gallops at the very soundest pace, and yet nobody ever fathomed what was open and palpable on the face of it 1 Clever Jimmy Monaghan I What with your Penance, your Marvel, and your Wilga at 100's to 6 you must have had a high old time of it I But how did Gtorgt Flat bite I He was smoking a cigar near the judge's box, and as he saw Marvel ambling in front of his field, he smiled contemptuously at the loud offers of •' 100 to 2 Marvel 1 " that greeted bis ears from the bookies who knew tbe leader was only a sprinter, and who could plainly see that if business was meant he wouldn't be making a waiting race in front. But when tbe tail broke, and after Bnuo and Wycombe had tried in vain to approaoh the galloping maohine who had never varied throughout the tryst from the same old 13seo to the furlong, the big oigar in George Flat's mouth was chewed up to smithereens. Another Sydney gentleman— a member of Parliament, too— who vouchsafed the information that he and George Flat owned Marvel between them, was furious ; albeit heststed that at the last moment Thby (whoever They were) had informed him they had taken £4000 to £400 about It for him. For my own part I couldn't exactly see what he bad to yelp at over the affair, and I (very considerately) offered to tako the trifle off his hands if it incommoded him In any way. But this only added to his wrath. " What the (Satanio majesty's) a paltry £4000 for suoh a horse as that 1 " he roared ; " a horae that any time you liked to ask him could run you a mile and a-half in 2minS4secr" At the wbioh Yours Truly subsided into his lace-ups and wended his way pensively to the sacred precincts of the press box, meditating upon tbe mutability of all things earthly, and of George Flat's high hopes and aspirations iv particular. On arriving at the sanctum sanctorum I was informed that They— the same old mysterious they — accounted for the fluke 1) by stating that Marvel bolted— a statement I have since seen reproduced in one or two papers. You can take from me, he was never once fully extended throughout the race, and ran at the even gait of 13seo bo the furlong from start to finish, upsetting a " beautiful plant " Pat Kelly had with Wycombe (who was timed to run the distance — a mile and five furlongs— iv 2mln 50seo) by three lengths, Bnuo Ca full length further away; third, Jebusite fourth, Crown Jewel fifth.Oorrezesixth.ThePioneerseventb. Leviathan eighth, Wattle ninth, aud Shootover last. Time, 2min 49$seo. The betting at the start was 4 to 1 ngst Crown Jewel, 5 to 1 eaoh Corr'ze and Wycombe, 7 to 1 etch Tantallon and Enuo, 8 to 1 Jebutite, 10 to 1 The Serf, 20 to 1 Marvel (after 10 to 1 for some £10.000 had been taken). On Wednesday afternoon, when it became known that only Carbine, The Admiral, and Wbimbrel bad been left in tbe Champion Stakes, the bookmakers would not do business thereanent except at odds of 10 to 1 on Carbine. But on Thursday it became an open secret that Mr S. G. Cook intended having a cnt at the big gem with The Admiral, and accordingly the cry aroie, " I'll take 6to 1 Carbine 1 " wbich cries were, however, few and far between. Some of the unbelievers In moral certainties In horse racing chose rather to take the odds of 6 to 1 about The Admiral, whose chance, it was stated, the Pytohley Lodge Btable favoured somewhat. Bnt that was all moonshine, as altbough tbe raoe (if such it can be termed) was run to suit the three-year-olds, neither of them bad the ghost of a show with "Old Jack" (stable name for Carbine) when the pace was put on. This did not take place until a mile had been traversed, when Bamage, thinking matters a trifle slow for a Champion Stakes, hit out on his own account, finishing up by covering the last mile and a-balf in 2min 46360, the whole journey occupying 6min 32Jsec. The Admiral finished a dozen lengths behind the winner, whllitWhlmbrel was just intide the distancepost- The Special Juvenile Stakes (f orgeldingstwo and three years old) was looked upon In the light of a real good thing for Mr W. E. Dakln's Bel Giorno, who was backed down to 6 to 4 on therefor ; and the punters made no mistake either, as Maybin took tbe favourite to the front at tbe fall of the flag, and put everything clean of court, winning by three lengths from Laverock, who was four lengths ahead of Elortby, after whom came Syracuse, Gaudy, and Burrum. Time fexoeedlnlyggood),lmin43f sec. Seventeen faced the starter for tbe Free Handicap, of one mile and two furlongs and a-half ; tbe weight of Ballarat money landing The Promised Land in the front rank of the betting quotations at 3 to 1, Amina being at 4 to 1, The Spot at 6's, and Wilga, Olonard, Fernando, and Peggy at 10's. The latter fell soon after the start, and albeit the favourite was well in front for half the distance, he then compounded, the issue being left to Wilga, Amina, aud Carrlngton, who finished In that order, Wilga having a length advantage of Amina, who in turn was half a length in advance of Oarrington ; Tourblllon fourth King William fifth, and Merriment sixth. Time, 2min 15sec.