SPORTING NOTES FROM AUSTRALIA.

Otago Witness, Issue 2250, 15 April 1897, Page 33

SPORTING NOTES FROM AUSTRALIA.

By norn Poene. Melbourne, March 31. AUSTRALIAN JOCKEY CLUB AUTUMN MEETING.

First-class entries were received ou Monday foi | the general events, the Victorian contingent in« ' eluding Aurum, Newhaven, The Officer, Tho Hypnotist, Resolute, Warpaint, Pilatus, Lieui tenant, Manfred, Patriot, Eiridsforde, Don Jojbn, La Carabine, and the 'chasers Mignon and Tayj forth. Newhaven and Aurum are entered for the ] Al'-aged Stakes, and if the pair of them contest J the tussle should be worth a barefooted pilgrimage to Randu ick to witness. Forty-two out of tho 8(f originally handicapped dropped out of the Doncaster, ninongst them beiug Aurum, Valiant, and The Officer. Jimmy Monaghan intends giving . Valiant a three months' spell, as he fancies th« I coll must have strained himself during his gallops (in Victoria. The Officer will, of course, have another slap at Newhaven in the Leger. The j withdrawal of Aurum was only what was to bo expected, seeing that he htul been treated to 8 6— j not au ounce more than he wasentitled to probably, but still a bit of a crusher for a youngster against such pronounced "smashers as Precaution, Lieutenant. Creme dOr, Coil, aud Co. By the way, I notice that Creme dOr threw a fast mile behind him on the training track at Rand wick last Thursday, when he put down ; theapeedy Waihine by four lengths in a mile in • Imin 47iiec. So that, after all, despite the fact ; that Reka is such a pronounced favourite for the ! ponc»sttr Handicap (10 to 1 being the best offer), j it i* quite nossiblp that Creme dOr will be found j to b. the pick of Will Kelso's basket. And don't you forget it. The same morning Cremornc gave :he iouti a treat by skipping over the Doucaster distance in Imin 4Gsec, — a terribly good go. Sabierache, Coil, T< m, Battalion, Daltneny, Rekft. Charge. Facile, Uleudemion, Cranbourne, aud , Aurea have each aud all been putting in good work at, Randwick, tbc times recorded being confirmation strong sa to the excellence of the (joint*. At lflemington Newhaven, The Officer, and The Hypnotist have been working the reversu way- "right-handed," ths change not making thn slightest difference to the champion, whose P regrinations on the tan have caused his .•dnnreis to '"Rush" amain. On Saturday he covered a mile and a-halt \n 2min 474 sec, having Kiridsforde as v companion the first portion of thejourney. It was an excellont go, albeit somewhat uneven, the first half mile (s?4secl being th«f oundest. Outwardly Niswhaven appears to be n< the very height of condition, and still big ana mns'iikir uitiiai Tho Officer hns not ber.n . called upon to go p..r«inst the clock a' vet, but j to, H-[hat,jn' !.i- - been' «iv?:*-jreed -tiic&v 1 work, siiiil priiiniK's to show more consist-nt foim i duriuu I'ur- !>,astt rt'.da at, Randwick than •.- I (ti»pku-( ar KJ- nt'n:;ton through the Autumn | meet iin; L-niikiii .8 another that hus '.hc>< I dnin.; rf "n;u l.al'ij well at headquurtci--, nut, j tiiuriL;.' :ui nccidoi.t, 1 fancy he will be <•(.•; t.uu i to annex Uiu bi>. steeplechase at Onkapuiiuc: (S A.) on thu 19tb vrox. Lieutenant is vii.it orders for Sydnty, and, judsinK by the form he i ha,-, been displaying on the Caulfield training J tracks of late, he should prnvu terribly dangerous j in the L>oncuster \vith only 8.9 or. his back. J'he." 1 i.s an up-country ueddy named Bretnius (syrs old, 1 by hival from Brendn, owned by Mr J. J. Allen) ! likewise training nt Cnulfield, and it is more than piobabh- he will blazon his deeds on the coroll of I racing fame ere long in oue of tho adjacent 1 colonies— perchance Souih Australia (the Hills j Railway Staked). Ike Fouls! 1 - t. has been roughing Loyalty up a bit— a cirtumstauce that hn;i directed the attention of the " talent" to the face | that the brown son of St. George and J f air Nell has beeu' let into the Adelaide Cup, of one milr: aud five furlongs, at 8.10. But, the wavy Ike has •also sot The Chevalier in the same event at a nic.« racing weight— B.2; so th..t things are a bit, mixed in this conuertion Harking back to the ■ A J.C. Autumn meeting, I see no reason to alter J my expressed opinion of last week with regard to j thb Doncaster Handicap, save aud except thsir, ; Creme dOr must certainly be reckoned r-u .v ; connection with Kelso's team. Both fit. and wtll, ! t should prefer .Survfvor at B.r> to Citing dOr at, j 7.11 ; but should the " right people " come at the inst-named in preference (which thfy h:ivc not I .Jone up tv the prosent to any extent, 100 to S | being still procurable about the four-year-'jld -\sarvellous— lJeabaue peldiyj)— why, llure juii are ; whei is ar« ) on '/ t Seven'een witbtliew frcm tl.e Sydney t Hip, . leaving 31 still ou the jc'>. tho defectors boms: J Atkcj, Trnnch.uit, Valiant, Nsstor, JUckirock, L* Var, Forh, Cyduus, Gauhu, Wf.«rtfoid, T!\«. C.nj c.hanTer, Sabrot.Achf, His tis&ce. Buna Ki.le, Pr'rc 1 ; George, Kebcl Queen, anrr Hailor Hoy. Yi.u wiH ■ observe that the gay .-•.nd festive Tom still figures 1 amongst the "couteut-,," :.nd he has bcei. ' ;<.rtding fivsh 'nays tv bi.s ccown of laiuel mijicb lust ', I wrote by iicishing tnirci to Ileka aifl V^.nilas I i!i th^ Muorefield Handicap, of a uiil<> -tid. a- ; ([iiaiter, nc^otiatecl in th« record limo for Moorvi field of 52miu 9i--eo. Tom hud 8.11 up, ami irt cor-i-i menting on I- is cxploic ii Sydiity neribf ri-snarka : I " MaDy think that Tom,-who finished thud, c- uild ! have done better ; dittn Survivor, wlm was j fourth; to :,ivy nothing of Akarini, who -.v.w cl. ic I up." Reka had S'l \\\t~'l\h »uore than he hai to I carry in Tbe 'oonca-tM 1 Handicap ; whil.-t Vauitss has 8.10 (his Doncasttf wuiehtV 1 fee I vni'j c ;ifident tbat 'torn will "shake Vm up" ovw two miles of urouud, and nope to be ttiere to wilnrss I the proceeding. By the way, ibe Otibiuc tfi'om i Venice) three-year-old Fucile won the Stewards' I Mile at Morrelield in such tradesmanlike fashion i from a good field that attention has been &\\ erted I to the fact that ho '* now in theHawkesbury ! Autumn Handicap at 7.0, in theDoDC»sterHaudiI cap at 7.4, ansi in.the Sydney Cup at 7.0, and ha* • not incurred a penalty for either. ! At tbe time of writicg the f..11>-!wiug are tne , ruling quotations v/ith rsgard \o the two principal events at the A. J.C. Autumn ;. eeting :-- v Do.n caster Handicap. 10 to 1 Reka 20 to 1 Survivor 14 — 1 Vanitas 20 — 1 Manfred ! •'14—1 Phillip 20 — i Gremorni? ! 16 — 1 Precaution 20 — 1 Oreme dOr ! E0 — 1 Coil 20 — 1 Hopscotch. . SydNey Cuj». 4 to 1 Newhaven 12 to 1 Tho Officer 10 — 1 Resolute 12 — 1 Reka 10 — 1 Coil 14 — 1 IJamien 10 — 1 Tom 14 — 1 Battalion. I OLLA PODRIDA. I The May programme of the Vlccoria Amateur i Turf Club does not include a Selling Hace. ! According to the Age " the committee are understood to have now Lecome so thoroughly con- - vinced of the unwisdom of perpetuating thi* kind I of race, which other clubs of far less importance have Img tabooed, that it is unlikely selling I races will in future figure on Caulfield programmes." Lord Brassey disposed of the beat of his hunters at Kirk's Bazaar yesterdoj', his Excellency having determined to give up the pleasures of the chase for this season, at all eventf. The Governor's favourite steed (Rufus) brought top price— 2lgs, Cashmere (a good performer) realisiDjr £ogs. Tha Earl of hhaftesbury also sold his horses, but only small prices were realised. In the Hurdle Race, of two milep.atFlemingtoa next Saturday, the Mill Park stable of the Messrs Miller provides the three top weights— Borderer 12 9. aud Hive and Earlston 12.5 each. Warpaint has been well entered for the A. J.C. Autumn Meeting, and as he has been doing splendidly on the Flemingcon training track Of late, Teddy Power is likely to have a good inningi with him. "Thankful for amall mercies!" Tho metro.politan dailies appeared to derive much consolation, after the ingloriou-. displajs of Daimio and Norton in the Liverpool Grand National, in tho reflection that at all events they had succeeded in getting round the course ! dg At the Canterbury Park (N.S.W.) raceß on Saturdar. Miaa Nora (Nordenfeldt— Lady Nora), 4yr3, 6 13, won the Canterbury Handicap, of st | milo and a-quatter, by three-quartei'3 of a length. , from Bay Sal 7.13, Crosslake 7.7, and .nine other? lin 2m in 15iseo. Miss Nora started favourite «A s"to£

The series of test niatchei for the selection of a Victorian rifle team to compete at Bisley have lesulted in the following 11 coming out on top, and securing the much-coveted honour :—Lance-cor-poral Todii, 3id Battalion. Ballarat, 533 ; Mr T. Kirk. Melbourne Rifle Club, 519 ; Corporal Downey. Victoria Permanent Artillery, 517 ; Gunner Keilly, Victoria Permanent Artillery, 510 ; Mr Fargher, Melbourne Rifle Club, 5!3T Mr W. Sloane, Yairuwon^a Rifle Club, 511; Gunuor M'Neice, Victoria Permanent Artillery, 507; Bombardier Carter, Geeloug Auillcry, 5lC) ; Sergeant Hawker, C B.Uteiy, F.l>., ."04; Mr 1«. Walker, Melbourne Rille Club, 498; Mr J. Grumlnett, Melbourne liitte Club, 495. Out?ide the 11 elect, Sergeant Ro:s, of C Battery, and Mr Harry Gunn and Mr Baldie, of the Melboni ne Rifle Club, tied for twelfth place with 494 points ea<;h. The competition was hardly fair to a number o f good up-country shots, who could not afford the expense (to say nothing of loss of lime) of attending the practices on the Williamstowu large;- — wheie the local men would have an undoubted advantage. Like ihe vast majority of these so-called "representative " busines-ses, the telection of the Bisley rifle team presented the. ippeaiaoce of beinj; carried out on coodold Mutual-Admiratk n-Society lines-, the Selection Commit tee (Lieutenant-colonel Templeton, Lieutenant-colouel Kelly, and Captain Marshall) reserving to themselves the de:eimination that in the event of some "untried" or "erratic" shot winning a place they should have the right to reject him for the next highest in the aggregate! 'lhc Argus, tine to its old-crusted Conservatism,- blandly icmarks that this was> the "only" point the Selection Committee lVberved ! But to the common (or field) variety of intellect the question propoundß iiself: Of what utility were the series of test matches if the final selection remained in the hands of an irresponsible trinity, who were allowed to make the pronouncement of "once a had shot always a bad thot" at their own sweet will? Mind you, I am not writing one word in condemnation of the personnel of the team. What I want to draw your attention to is the fact that there is a great deal iv the contention of some cf our up-country luaiksmen — that under the conditions of selection tbe combination would be moie vropeilj' described a^ being representative of Melbourne, than of Victoria. The cricket premiership is at a veiy interesting stage just now, ihe " ultopomatum " resting with South Melbourne, who can ensure CvrUon the pride of plare (on averages) by scoring 100 runs for four wicket-, against Melbourne next Saturday. Last week Carlton responded to East Melbourne's set of 205 by amassing 305 for the loss of six wickets, K. Brooks compiling 165 and Tommy Warne 108. Ihe ninth annual contest for the eight-oaied championship of Victoiia took place on the Lower Yarra lait Saturday, over the championship course (3 miles 330yr15.) 'Jhere wa3 a splendid tussle in the latt half-mile between the Merrmtile acd Banks, the former winning, all "ut, by a length and a-half, whilst the Yavra Yarra crew were three lengths further astern, the time for the distance being 17miu 54sec. The crews were as . f_ollaw.;— , Mercantile— S. J. Morrell (bow) 10.6 ¥. S. Oibbs 10.6, W. Potter 11.5, B. *i. Connor 10.10, A. X Hood 12 5, J. Strong J2.7. II Lindgren 12 0, A. B. Sloar.e (stroke) 12.0, Victo- Joiif.s(cox)... 1 J}<tnks-O. W. Richmond (bow) 10 3, H. C. Edwards 10.3. F. G Pavne 11.0, H. J. Hughe3 ]2.0. K. S. Walker 11.7, A. J. Shepherd 11 3, A. Lewis 11 8, Thomas Davks (stroke) 11.10, A. K. Hobson (cox) 2 STuum Yarra— J. M'Donald (bow) 10.4, X Hoisburgh 10.12, W. T. Matthews 10 10, A. Jobson 11.8, H. Dougbs 11 12, D. l!o=s 11.(5. A. H. Knticolt 10.12, X R. Ainlc-y (stroke) 10.10, Hugo Fischer (cox) 3 A magnificent swimming performance was executed by Percy Cavil), the New South Wales champion, at Farm erY Bith», Woolonm.ioloo, on Saturday, during the carnival of the Eiht Sydney Club, ("are had been t:\ken to fix the sports at ;i time when ab-olute' high water would prevail. Interest centred in tho race for the half-mile championship, in which P. Cavill, C. Begin, J. .Regan, and K. Craig cont' sted J. Regau was the only one who could hold his own with Cavil', and for the first quarter of a mile led him ; then the champion began to draw level, but he forged ahead ao slowly, owing to the persistency with which J. Regan k>-pt pushing him, tbat, at the tiuisih, he landed a winner by only lOuK The time taken by Oavill was ii'miii dSjjec, which beats J. H. Tye s's omateur world's* r.coul, made in July 1895, by 33 3 ssec p^vill broke liis own Australian word by 42% sec, his previous time bei^g ]3min 27 4-ssec. The race was timed by W. I". Kerr ant! R. Combes, while watches were also held by A. W. (iiiffiths aud J J. Moloney. all well known in the athletic world. As the time created a sensation, nnrt to allay all doubt, the di«tance was measured in ihe presence of all the official and the public, aud ceit'fied to by the judges. What mates the performance more remarkable is thatCavill twice collided with C. Reg«m, while J. Regan struck the steps and lost several yards,