AUCKLAND TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2152, 23 May 1895, Page 31

AUCKLAND TOPICS.

By Taihoa. May 15. Following on the Auckland Trotting Club bungle and pending the inquiry of which I wired you paiticulars in my last notes, comes the news that Mr George M'Bride (Duke's owner), who was disqualified, is suing the club for defamation of character. He has also notified the club not to pay the stakes won on the opening day of the meeting by Three Cheers, on the gronnd that Edwards, who nominated and drove Three Cheers, was at that time disqualified by the Lancaster Park Trotting Club. The local club points out it had not endorsed the disqualification, and therefore Three Cheerg was eligible ; and it is alleged that the local club was never asked by the southern club to suspend Edwards. The southern club wired up to-day alleging it wired our club a week apo to endorse the Chri-tchurch Club's disqualification, but thp secretary of the local club denies ever having received the wire. Edwards was suspeedfed by the southern club for a month, but I hear that in consequence of his riding up here while under suspension it is the intention to disqualify him for two years. This, if it comes off, will bo very unfortunate for Mr At>bot, owner of Laura and Yum Yum, as he sent his pair of 1 trotters down last Monday in charge of Edwards to compete at Christchurch. I understand that if Edwards cannot ride them they will return. The two flut racers, Cretonne and Vaiiety, are being pchooled over jumps, the former for crosscountry work aud the latter for hurdle-racing. K;ipua will be ridden in the Wangmni Steeple by his old pilot George Hope, aDd I think either he or Morig will wid. Raven is a good light weighr. The Winter Oats I think Waiuku or Lorelei should win, and the Flying may be fought out by the ex-hacks Irish Twist and Waiuku. May 17. At a meeting of the stewards of the Auckland Trotting Club held to-night, Mr Frank Lawry, M.H.R., presiding, a large amount of evidence was taken, the committee eitting till near midnight. The following resolution was unanimously carried :— " The stewards of the

club, having held an open and moat exhaustive and searching inquiry respecting the allegation that a ticket was rung on the outside totalisator on tho winner on the Maiden Trot after the race started at the club's meeting on the 11th inst., finds that the evidence prove? conclusively that tha allegation is unfounded." The chairman said that during tke whole time be had been connected with the club he had watched everything closely, but he had never seen one thing in connect'oa with the club that might not have been proclaimed from the houretops. A lettsr was read from the proprietor of the totaUsator asking for a searching inquity. Gillibrond, rha-oflicer in charge of tha tolalisatoroub'eh&lfof tbeclub, in reply to a question, said ib might be possible to put on a ticket without the bell being ruug, but not from the front. Ho took tho totals of tho machine immediately after the race started, and there were then three tickets Bhown on Minnie on tha machine. He had failed to think ont » satisfactory reason as to how tbU extra ticket came to ba regie- j tered. When tho race started the ringirs jumped on the counter to watch the race. He had often found a t:cket sold on one number and rung on another by mistake. He was quite certain that no ticket had beea rung on as the race was finishing. The evidence of all those about the totalisator was given.Aut none of them could give any idea how the extra ticket came to be registered. May 21. F.acing was provided for locnl sporls at Tukapnua last Saturday, when ths TuLapuna Jockey Club opt-ned its Winter meeting. Despite the fact that the weather was unsettled aud that the football season opened that day, tho attendance was very sati-factory, the spectators nuruberittg about 1800. Speculation also was brisk, the machine total being £3(U4, which is an increase of more than jG^OO on the corresponding meeting of Ust year. The card op j ncd with tho Maiden Hurdles, of 30sovs, a mile and a-half, for which Ladybird was reckoned good enough for a levelmoney chance. Her pace wa3 undoubted, and it only remained for her to show jumping ability. This she proved to have siu ample stock of, aud simply walked home in 3min 9jcc. On that perfoiinance one is inclined to look with favour on this mare's chance in our Grand National Hurdles, in which nhe has only 9 0 Her brother, Belmont, and her half-sister, Pansy, are such natural jumpers that one must not under-rate this other daughter of Winnie ; and, showing fencing ability, she may be worth remembering next month whon the big hurdle race comes up for decision. The Maiden Plate went to Repeater, who did the mile run in lmin frlisej. The track was very heavy ; but on that time the f mvourites, GtenarHer and St. Mary, should both have beaten the winner. Grenadwr wai largely fancied, but was leffc at the post. Later in the day h« ran a great race in the big handicap, running third to St Kilda and Scot Fiee, and on that performance he should easily have won the Maiden. The fmt Hurdle Kace proved the bebt of good thing 3 for Mr Hayr's horse Bonovoree, who carried 10.8 over the mile and threequarters in Sniin 41sec, winnitjg as he liked from Marechal Niel, Ika Vuka, and four others. The big race, tbe Britannia Handicap, was a soft snap for St. KiMa, who carried 8.10 through slush and over a mile and a furlong in 2min 28btc, Scot Free and Grenadier tilling the places. Fidget went out favourite for tbe Pony Eace, and beat Lady Thornton, Sweet Lavender, and five others easily, running the six furlongs an'! a-half in lmin 32-cc, which was a fair go considrring the heavy nature of tire ground. The Steeplechase was a good race between the placed horses, Deceiver, Despised, and Cingalee. The trio were wir.hin a length of each other all the way round, and Deliver just beat Despised on the post; Cing*lee a length away third. Despised was carrying 11.8 to Deceiver's 9 12, so that his defeat on the post in a three-mile run over heavy ground in timia 51sec was not disgraceful. This old horse is coming back to his best form, \ and on that run would have been hard to beat in the National Race, but unfortunately his tra nev actually forget to accept, although his party had i backed him to win a fair wtake. He U out of the ! National meeting now, but I believe he would have been very hard to beat. Lufra ran away with the | last race, the lloyal Handicap, five furlongs and a-half, beating St. Mary, St. Patrick, and half a dozen others. The meeting will be continued next Friday. TUe acceptances for the Grand National Hurdles are very small, and unless Ladybird or Ida (whom I hear big reports of) develops into a Melinite, the light weights have no show Bgainst Ebor aud Coala, who will be curtain starters. The Utter is coming back from Australia, where he won a fairly big hurdle race last Saturday. From what I know of Coala now I think if ho reaches the post well he will win easily. The be<st of the Steeplechase acceptors I take to be Noiton and Fishmonger. The latter i 8 very well treated as regards weight. The iuquiiy into the charge that the totalisa-to-s weie tampered with at tbe recent Auckland Trotting meeting has euded in smoke, the stewards having decided after lengthy inquiry that the charge of a ticket having been rung on after the race was started was unfounded and unsupported by evidence. At the same time it is admitted that a ticket was rung on, perhaps befo-e the race commenced, but why, when, and by whom the club is unable to determine. The evidence is not worth reviewing, as it points to no definite conclusion one way or the other. One witness stated that he heard the bell ring, but others who wore standing behind him state that they did not hear it. Then the machine employees are willing to swear it did not ring and that none of them touched the machine after the race commenced. How that extra ticket got on the machine without having been sold is a question that no doubt will never be answered. \ Followiug ou the resign .tion of the president of tho Trotting Club, Mr Ralph has withdrawn from the position of steward being dissatisfied with the result of the inquiry. Ttangipai is jumping big timber wall, and she may fcore in the Wunganui Stesplechase. The owner of Sou-wester intends either selling or leasing the horse. Sou-wester has already sired Lotion, Hotspur, Nanakia, Bloomsbury. Seabm'zo, Rangipai.Tangaroa, La Petite Fille, and other good ones. P».avcn has fully recovered from the fall he got in the Eeniont Steeplechase, and will be a certain Btarter at W»nganui. Mr Lopez's pair of trotting stallions, Grandmoor, jun., and Allan-n-dale, were sold by auction last Friday to Mr R. H. Nolan, of Hawera, the figures at which they were knocked down being ISOfrs and 130s?s respectively. As a matter of fact, Mr Lopez roiily exchanged his trotters for loulshot and a certain sum in Cish. Foul&hot was bought on account of his Musket blood, and will be shipped to the United States early next month.