SPORTING NOTES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8650, 15 June 1906, Page 4

SPORTING NOTES.

_ * The Dunedin Jockey Club made a profit of £612 over its winter meeting. Aka Aka walked in lame after taking part in the "Winter Steep iochaee at Elleraiio on Satuiday. * Neither Sir George Clifford nor Mr G. G. Stead has an entry in this year's New Zealand Cup. At latest advices negotiations were in progress for the sale of the Me.bourno Cup winner, Biue Spec, to an Indian buyer. John M.P., the English steeplechaser, waa insured for £6000 before taking part in the Liverpool Gr_nd Nat.onal Steeplechase. A South African Derby has been instituted by the Johannesburg Turf Club. The first race will be run in vie summer of 1907. The Ascot Gold Cup, in which Noctuiform is expected to make his first appearance in England, will be run. on Thursday of nextweek. ,« The Dunedin horseman, J. _£'€ombe, will probably do the riding for the non J. D. Oxmond at the Hawke's Bay and Napier P-aark meetings. Golden Cup, a two-year-old filly by Trussing Cup from the Melbourne Cmp ; winner, Auraria. was recently defeated in a Maiden Plate at Adelaide. Flair, the winner of tho One Thousand Guineas, started at 11 to 10 on, but the • second and third fillies, Lischana and Paidup, were quoted at 20 to 1. Chasseur, a two-year-old colt by Uniform, is expected to distinguish himself in South Africa next season. He is described es an exc-eding-ly nice, well-g_own colt. To commemorate Starshoot's Oamaru Cup victory, Mr J. Buckley has presented hi J trainer, H. Goodman, with a handsome traphorse, together with a trap and harness. I 'Ramrod. . the three-year-o!d colt by Carbine | tha! filled third place in the Two Thousand Guineas, won a mile race at Sandown Park > a week prior to taking part in the classic event. In England recently a horse was timed to run a mile at T -som in lmin 33«ec. There is good reason to believe, ho-wsver, that nearly all the English courses are short of the statedistance. Mr Abe Bailey holds a very strong position among South African owners. At a recent beeting of the Johannesbury Turf Club his horses won folOO out of a total of £11,000 di-tributsd in stakes. . Spearmint is the first colt to win tho double, Epsom Derby and Grand Prix de Paris, since 1876, when the Hungarian cot Kisber won both races. The third double winner is Cremorne, who was successful in 1872. The committee of the Newcastle Jockey Club. New South Wales, has hit on the idea of doing away with a principal bard cap,, snd at its meeting this month will add the same amount of money to eaoh event on the _.ogramme. It is stated that Mt J. F. Buchanan was recently approached by a gentleman who was anxious to lease Martian, with a- view to racing him in Australia. Mr Buchanan, however, declined to break faith with those who have booked mares to his hor c c. The English jockey, W. Lane, who has been out of tho saddle for nearly two years as the result of an accident, is stoadily reducing his weight by continued exercise, and can now go to scale at Bst 61b, but some time will elapse before he is able to ride again. Gingal. by Carbne— Pindi. started favourite in the Two Thousand Guinea, at 3 to 1. The placed horses were quoted at remunerative odds, Gorgos being at 20 to 1, the Dame Agneta colt at 12 to 1 and Bamrod at 14 to 1. Gorgos won by a neck, with Ramrod a head being the Dame Agneta colt. Some of the principal Australian bookmakers are preparing to do business over tha bi CT spring events without waiting for the weights. One enterpris.ng layer is making a "'quadruple " book, and is offering £20,000 to £1 about the Epsom Handicap, Metropoli- I tan Handicap, Caulfield Cup and Melbourne ; Cup. It is reported from Melbourne that there ] has been some talk of the Victoria Pacing Club's Committee considering the weight-for- ' age sca"e, with a view to some alterations, i Unless the Australian Jockey Club thinks the ■ 6am© way, no changes are likely to be made, 1 as tho present code was arrived at by representatives from each club. An English writer, in referring to the pre- ' paration thst Airs-hip was bein? put thrcurh by the ex-Victorian, Ferguson, says that that trainer is one who evident y bei eyes in go_d work and plenty of it, without whioh no long distance, or. in fact, any distance, race can be won in England nowadays. It was very j different in the old days of waiting, when ; nearly every race resolved itself into a few hundred yards' burst of speed at' the finish. In Amorica most things appear to be done in a large way, and there is nothing sma.l oven in connection with ihe.r race-track wais. At New Orleans in April, the Fair Grou_ds and City Park Clubs, which have b.eu j clashing for come months past, concluded ' their meetings of 117 and 111 days respectively. It is estimated that .the Fair G.ounds people dropped £15,000 during 'that per.od, while the C.ty Park management escaped with a loss of about £3000. However, it is said there will be i.o clash next season. _ eaoh side having come to the conclusion that ' it is too expensive a business. I In the contests that have eventuated for t the Great Northern Hurdle Raoe, run at v Eilersue in the win.er during the past fifteen t y.ars, a df.er.nt sire has each year claimed the winner. The list of winners, with their sires io date, is as follows: — Belmont iby c King Quail), Mutiny (by Mute), Meiinite (by o Nordenfeidt), Liberator (by Betrayer), Hop- t garden (by Daniel O'Rourke), St Simon (by St Leger), Opae (by Somnus), Shylock (by Wapiti), Cavaliero (by Cuirass.er), Coeur da - 1 Lion (by Dreadnought), Royal Conqueror (by d Flintlock), BatJeaxe (by Hotchkiss), Aka Aka (by Regei), Irish (by Eton) and Exmoor (by Grafton). At a recent meeting in New South Wales a horse, together with his owner and jockey, was di-qualified for twelve months for suspioious running. At the end of the meeting the stewards reopened the inquiry, and took off the disqualifications. In announcing the decision to the parties interested, tho president is reported to have said that "the disqualifications were removed, not because of *• their guiltlesenos., hut because subsequent

"ni-ong ' happenings at the meeting) had been neglected or overlooked, and it was not desired, that the impression should be created that the committee had. made an example of one offender and allowed others to go free." If there is anything in rumour, we shall have Parliament taking a hand in our racing affairs next session (says . a Sydney writer). There is one thing to be said, and this is, it cannot do muoh harm, even if ' it does no eood, so fax as the metropolis is concerned. The repprt is that for some time past the polico have been 'collecting all information possible right through the Stai© bearing upon the profits, atendance, prize-money and number of meetings held. Rnmour has it that Mr Wade will bring in a Bill, the feature of which wiH no doubt be the curtailment of racing, especially of Ihe proprietary . order. Just now we have in the metropolis six programme's run off in the week, five of which are of the unregistered ordor. On a recent Saturday we had" a couple of these i__--g_ster-ed affairs clashing with Rosehi.l. This should not be tolerated, and the sooner something is done in the matter the betler fox all concerned, in the welfare of the tuxf in particular.