SPORTING NOTES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5803, 22 February 1897, Page 3

SPORTING NOTES.

[By Castor in " Canterbury Times."]]

The publisher of the New Zealand Stud Book advertises that to ensure insertion in Volume K. of this work all returns should be forwarded not later than Feb. 28. It is to be hoped that breeders and owners will respond readily to Mr Willis's request. Possibly Mr Willis will make a considerable sum of money from the work. I hope sincerely he will. Apart, however, from any pecuniary considerations, breeders and racing men generally should bear in mind that he is conferring a great benefit on the New Zealand turf by supplying a requirement the absence of which has been keenly felt for some years. Volume IX. of the work was published in 1890, so that seven years have elapsed since any reliable record of stud matters in New Zealand was kept. It will be recognised, therefore, that the compilers, to regain the ground which has been lost during that time, must have been put to an endless amount of trouble. It is to be hoped, therefore, that not only will they in a pecuniary sense reap the reward of their labours, but that they will receive sufficient encouragement to induce them to reproduce the work at regular intervals. If they are not encouraged to repeat the experiment it will be a Standing disgrace to New Zealand sportsmen;.

If the cablegram received on Tuesday to the effect that Norton is at 8 to 1 for the Grand. National Steeplechase is correct the son of Ascot must be giving his connections very great satisfaction. For a horse to be at 8 to 1 six weeks before the decision of a race like the Grand National Steeplechase means that he has been supported to win a large sum of money. It is not likely that Norton has been backed by the general public. The two races which he has won this season were not of a sufficiently important character to attract very much notice, and the probabilities are, therefore, that the support which has been accorded him has come from Mr Gollan himself. As there is plenty of excellent trying tackle in Escott's stable it seems reasonable to assume that Norton has accomplished something satisfactory in private, and this being the case he may have a chance at Liverpool. At any rate the announcement that he is quoted at such a comparatively short price will serve to infuse a good deal of interest into the race for New Zealanders. The cable also brings news that Ebor finished second on Friday in the Staffordshire Steeplechase. The race last year was worth only 92 soys, but probably the son of Robert' the Devil carried a very heavy weight, and his defeat cannot possibly detract from Norton's prospects in the Grand National Steeplechase.

I am well aware that imputations of inconsistent running and pulling are, as a rule, more frequent than circumstances warrant. The average disappointed backer generally finds solace for the loss of his money by the conviction that the horse which he supported was not permitted to win. His judgment is never wrong, but circumstances — in the shape of a dishonest owner and a rider with strong arms — prevented him from reaping, the just rewards or his foresight. Occasionally, rather too often I am afraid, it is true enough that backers are robbed of their money by unscrupulous owners, and it is surprising that notice of such incidents is so seldom taken by the authorities of racing clubs. The Canterbury Jockey Club set an excellent example when it disqualified certain owners and horses at the time of its Spring Meeting, but if all that is rumoured is correct, it overlooked more than one instance of pulling at its Summer Meeting. lam willing to admit that it is not easy to detect pulling unless it is done directly in front of the grand stand, but if the stewards of the Canterbury Jockey Club were all expert racing men it would not be such a difficult matter. They could tell from the evidence of their own eyes if a horse were pulled, and once satisfied on the point they would, no doubt, punish the offenders effectually.

At the same time I admit that it is not an easy matter to detect from the stands at Eiccarton incidents at the top turn. The horses are then nearly half a mile away, and in a large field a horse may be steadied and the officials be none the wiser. To obviate this, it has been previously suggested in these columns that a stand for the stewards should be erected at a position either at the bottom of the straight or half way round the top turn. Either position would be a capital place of observation. The stand might be occupied by two of the stewards in turn. This would prevent the duty becoming too arduous, and if the occupants did not detect all cases of pulling and interference it would be simply because they were unfit for the position. I think I am correct when I state that a stand of this description has been erected at Randwick, and has been found to work admirably. The expense of building one at Eiccarton would be comparatively small, and the result would, unless I am very much mistaken, be most beneficial. But perhaps, what is required above everything else is a paid steward. But lam encroaching on a subject which the editor has made his own this week, and which, I think, he has treated admirably.

The fact that the Dunedin Cup will be decided on Wednesday is alone sufficient to remind us that the autumn is upon us, and that the season, as far as fltit racing is concerned, is within measurable distance of its close. So far there is nothing to indicate that the season of 1896-97 will be memorable for any very startling incidents. It has, up to the present, been neither more nor less interesting than the majority of its immediate predecessors. There has been a slight indication of a return to more prosperous times, and prize money, as a whole, has displayed a slight increase. A similar remark applies to the receipts from the totaUsator, but perhaps the latter is due as much to the natural predilection to betting evinced •by the youth of the present day, and to the regulations which have prevented bookmakers from gaining admission to many racecourses, as to anything else. The horses which have raced during the season are a little better than usual. Certainly, Euroclydoh and Lady Zetland among the old horses, are— or perhaps I should say were ; while Gold Medallist and Multiform, as representing the two-year-olds, are a good deal in front of the youngsters of last season, and would possibly hold their own with the best of nine years out of ten. The three-year-olds, however, are distinctly moderate ; in fact, I question if they are not, with the exception possibly of those of 1893-94, the worst we have seen out for many years.

Morgue officials in New York are charged with a wholesale traffic in unclaimed bodies, selling them to physicians and colleges at prices ranging from «£2O to .£IOO.

A human skull, with red incandescent bulbs in the eye sockets, is the device with which a police lieutenant of a Chicago station scares culprits into making confessions. He darkens the room when he has a prisoner in the dock, and turns on the lights in the skull, producing gruesome effects and a confession in nearly all cases.