VARIOUS SPORTS

Wairarapa Age, 14 August 1928, Page 3

VARIOUS SPORTS

NOTES ON CURRENT TOPICS. (BY “CORONEL”) There is every possibility that the unbeaten Australian two-year-old last season, Mollison will meet our champion Limerick at Randwick in September, in the Chelmsford Stakes, at weight for age, over nine furlongs. This race served to introduce several mighty i champions of the past — Poseidon, Mountain Knight, Mountain King, the sensational Sasanof, and Gloaming. Dou'bt exists as to whether Mollison is going to be a stayer and attain blue ribbon, honours, but the Chelmsford Stakes should give a good line in this direction. Limerick should be well advanced by September 8, the date of the race, as he was sprinted fast ibefore leaving New Zealand, and is now at solid work on the tracks at Randwick. CAULFIELD CUP. Several horses have already been solidly backed for the Caulfield Cup, over two months off. The favourite is Maple (by Rossendale) the West Australian champion, nOw trained in Melbourne by Holt. That trainer also has another horse, Woorgun, 3 years (by Woorak) in his stable and likely shortly to oust Maple from favouritism. Fourth Hand, bred in England, and owned by the 'Governor of Victoria, Lord Somers and trained by the famous trainer, .Tames Scobie, is also well in the limelight for this race,' while Mr.' Kem'ball ’s Hynanna has also been backed. The Caulfield Cup is a difficult race to win, and this year, there.are at least a dozen horses which on form to date have excellent chances. BOXING. The New Zealand featherweight champion, Johnny Lcckie, goes from success to success, and on Saturday disposed of Barber, the Australian champion in three Grounds. Fifteen wins on end and unbeaten since he entered the professional ranks, js a record that takes some emulating, especially as the conquered include the best of the day in their class in Australasia. It apparently will take a topnotcher to stop his winning way. A match with Purdy, who is willing to come down to 9st 91b at 4 p.m. on the day of the fight, is now mooted, but Leckie, who scales about Bst 131 b is unlikely yet to go out of his class to meet a man with Purdy’s record.

RUGBY & CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS. The influence of secondary school and University football has made itself very apparent in the Dominion in recent years. Ifi the Wairarapa, the Old Boys’ Club has quickly come to the fore, and that club’s day as senior champions is not far distant. The All Blacks in Africa include a good proportion of players who have represented secondary .schools and in one or tw r o cases university clubs. On Saturday, Victoria 'University College attained championship honours for the first time in the club’s existence, by defeating the Poneke fifteen. For the first rime, in Rugby football history in the Dominion, the four champion teams in the cities are from the University colleges. Otago University, Canterbury College, Victoria University College and Auckland University College (bracketed equal) have their colours at the masthead. The visiting Sydney University team stand to meet some sohdl opposition on their visit this year. ANGLING.

Local authorities in the Wairarapa wih be interested to learn that the Metropolitan Board of Works, Melbourne, finds that liberating yearling trout in its water supply reserves helps to purify the water and with that object ir view, it has released some thousands in the Maroondah reservoir at Healesville recently. DOG RACING. New Zealand has been spared the spectacle of dog racing which has attained such a grip on the public in England and Australia. Betting considerations of course, represent the.attraetion and it is claimed by its opponents that it encourages betting amongst the young and 1 that the working man’s dinner is in danger owing to its fascination A writer in “Pearson’s Magazine’’ states that there is no increase in betting in consequence of greyhound racing, and that it keeps neople in the open air after their work, at small cost, rile fact, quoted to prove that the sport is popular IS that during the last six months in England over five million people went to the dogs,” and a large of t^lesc were women. The White City, in London, which taps an area roughly containing four millions, averages an attendance of 40 000 a night and the control is in the’hand's of a Board of Control, run on similar hnes to the Jockey Club and National Coursing Club. New Zealanders, fortunately, get all the open air they wauit without clog raeing. TOTALISATOR IN ENGLAND. ™ installation of totalisators ' on. English race courses seems now assured. Mr. Winston Churchill, when bringing forth his betting tax last year budgeted to obtain a very large sum from this source, but the bookmakers were not so easily handled as ho anticipated, and the tax collected from, this Th/w far short of the. estimate. Hie House of Commons was not to bo trifled With in this respect, and upon the totalrsator being sulbmitted as a remedy, England’s Parliament rose to toe occasion and saw that the Totalisator Bill passed its second reading by a substantial majority. RIFLE shooting. A very strong New Zealand team has been selected to do battle in d'etunee of the Gordon Highlander Shield at Melbourne, in March next year’ Captain H. T. -Marshall, chairman' pf the National Rifle- Association of Nelw Zealand, is to captain the team. Three well-known Wairarapa marksmen are (nebi'led in the team—.l. C. Feast, and H. W. Feast (Greytown), and C. J. Nix (Featherston).