SPORTING.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXIV, Issue 8056, 3 November 1897, Page 3

SPORTING.

VICTORIAN R.C. SPRING MEETING. THE MELBOURNE CUP. • " A BOIL OVER." Melbourne, Nov. 2. Occasional showers fell, but the track was fairly good, though a little heavy. There was a splendid attendance, including the Governors of Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, and the English cricketers. Hurdle Race: Lucid 1, Insurance 2, Goldfinder 3. Seven others ran. A good race ; won by half a length. Betting : 6to 1 against Lucid. Time, 6min ISJsec. Railway Handicap: Fortunis 1, Interlude 2, Loch Marie 3. Twelve others started. • Won by half a length. Time, lmin lojsec. Nursery Handicap : Essex 1, Cordite 2, Hainault3. Sixteen others ran. Won with greatest of ease by four lengths. Pirate King was left at the post and walked in, taking no part in the race. Time, lmin ssec, The Melbourne Cup. A handicap sweepstake of 25 soys each, with 3000 soys added ; second horse to receive 500 soys,. and the third 250 soys out of the stake. Two miles. Mr W. Forester's eh h Gaulus, Oyrs, by Gozo — Industry, 7 "8 1 Mr W. Forester's b g The Grafter, 4yrs, by Gozo— lndustry, 7'o 2 Mr W. R. Wilson's b c Aurum, 3yrs, by Trenton— Aura, 8-6 3 — The only horse scratched was Delaware. Betting : 6 to 1 against Positano, 7 to 1 Coil, 10 to 1 Wait-a-bit, 15 to 1 Gaulus. At a mile from home Mischief was running in front of Bundook, Fleet Admiral, and Aurum, and at six furlongs from the post Bundook led and Coil began to move up. Bundook swept into the staaight clear of Coil, The Grafter, and Gaulus. At the distance The Grafter had taken charge and had two lengths lead, and Gaulus with a late run beat him on the post by half a head, Aurum four lengths away, Fucile last. There was immense excitement throughout the race, and especially at the finish when it was found that the favorite, who was ridden all out, could not get up with Mr Forester's fleet ones. Steeplechase : Whernside 1, Waiter 2, Zanio 3. Six others ran. Betting : 3to 1 against Whernside, who won by five lengths. Time, snnn 42 l-sth sec. Van Yean Stakes: Elusive 1, Paul Pry 2, Kallara and Pinfire a dead heat for third place. Twelveothers ran. Betting : 6to 1 against Elusive] who won all the way. Time, lmin 42sec. The weather cleared before the Cup and remained beautifully fine. The Grafter carried 71bs penalty in the Cup. The time was 3min 31 sec, fair average time. Nov. 3. — The Argus quotes Gaulus's starting price at 14 to 1, and the Age at 10 to 1. Outside of the stake Mr Forester won £10,000 on Gaulus. Mr W. T. Jones, now in England,* netted £5000 by the victory. Mr Forester laid Mr J. S. Smith, the breeder of Gaulus, £1000 to nothing. Stable connections and personal friends won a good stake, Mr Forester being sanguine of the merits of his two candidates. Gaulus acted well in heavy going, and how heavy it was is shown by the fact that mud was so thrown up at the back of the course that Caiman had both his eyes bunged up. The attendance is estimated to have been 75,000. With regard to the past Melbourne Cups, a few words will not come amiss. The race was instituted in 1861, when Archer won it. Archer is the only horse that has achieved the feat of winning two Melbourne Cups, and it is stated that he would have won the third had not some bungling occurred over his acceptance for the event of 1863, when Banker won. Since its inauguration the five-year-olds have done best, as no less than ten of that age have won it ; while the three-year-olds have won it nine times ; and four-year-olds eight times eaoh. The six-year-olds have five events to their credit, and the aged division have taken four. Almost every, what might be termed, champion horse of his day lias won the Cup, if we except Commotion, while there are among the winning ranks horses which up to the time that they secured the big event were not looked upon as possessing any great amount of quality, viz., Zulu, Arsenal, Tareoola, and Glenlotli. Perhaps the winner that took the most money out of the "books" was Chester in 1877, but had First Water got home in front in his year it is doubtful if many could have paid up, for they laid in the most reckless manner against the chestnut, who only just got beaten by Martini-Henri. It is recorded that about the largest attendance that ever witnessed the Cup race was that present when The Assyrian got, home in 1882, there being fully 100,000 present on that day, when the race was run in a storm, and it was not till the ■ numbers were put up that people were sure what had won. Stockwell was second, and Gudaiz third. Had the last-named got home, his backers would have landed the heaviest double wager over laid by one bookmaking firm in Australia — £20,000 — whioh was booked by those once well-known layers of the odds — Messrs Miller, Jones, apd O'Brion. Tho heaviest weight ever carried to victory in the Melbourne Cup was lOst 41b, by Carbine, in 1890, he being then a five-year-old, and he in that race also made the time record for the two miles, 3inin 28Jsec. — " Hippona" in Auckland Star, \\ Ellington, to-day. The following nominations were received last night for the Wellington Racing Club's summer meeting : — Wellington Cup, 11 miles ; St. Paul, Woodstock, Dotterel, Girofla, Britomarte, Pouglas, Warnote, Sherwood, Chasseur, Sir Launcelot, Armilla, Culverin, Pompom, The Guardsman, Daunt, Uniform, Merry Maid, Strathbraan, Acone, Boreas, Primula, St. Conon, Black and Red, Golden Plover, Toa, Ruamahuuga, CiuurdeLion, Daystar, Haria, Goldleaf, Target, Daredevil, Epaulet, Leda, Blarney, Bloomer, Coronet. • Wellington Racing Club Handicap, 1J miles i The same as the Cup, with the addition of King's Bowman and the excision of Goldleaf and Chasseur. Wellington Stakes, 5 furlongs, for two and three-year-olds : Girofla, Nevermore, Blazer, Victoria Cross, Lepanto, Tigress, Royal George, Christmas Eve, Chasseur, Djin Djin, Goldleaf, Prenez, Garde, Toa, Verdandi, Intrepid, Elf, Dasher, Altair, Gold Medallist, Motto, Miniature, Choroid, St. Ursula, Lady Harriet, Dayntree, br c Catesby — Wai, b c Catesby — Spring Creek, br f St. George— Retina, c by St. Leger— Moreze. For the spring meeting the following nominations were received : — Wellington Handicap, 1J miles : St. Paul, St. Conon, Primula, Ruamahunga, Cceur do Lion, Australina, Kanaka, Haria Acone, Goldleaf, Waiuku, Pompom, Th< Artist, Kalmea, Missfire, Daunt, Target, Sii Launcelot, The Guardsman, Strathbraan Lediw Dunedin, to-day. The big prize in Tattersall's sweep wai ilitown by two young men, Martin anc Morrison, at Lawrence.