SPORTING NOTES

Waikato Times, Volume 89, Issue 13887, 12 October 1918, Page 3

SPORTING NOTES

RACING FIXTURES. Oct. 17,18—Masterton Racing Club. Oct. 19—Auckland Trotting Club. Oct. 24, 25—Poverty Bav Turf Club. Oct. 2G—Otalmliu Trotting Club. Oct. 26, 2S—Wellington Racing Club. Nov. 2, 6—Avondale Jockey Club. Nov. 9—Auckland Racing Club. Nov. 30—Takapuna Jockey Club. Dec. 7—Bay of Plenty Jockey Club. Dec. li—Waipa Racing Club. Dec. 20, 27—Manawatu Racing Club. Dec. 20, 28, Jan. I—Auckland RacingClub. Dec. 27, 30. Jan. 2—Auckland Trotting Club. Jan. 11 —Northern Wairoa Racing Club. Jan. 15—Whangarei Racing Club. Jan. 29, Feb. I—Takapuna Jockey Club. Jan. 30—Pahiatua Racing Club. Feb. 5, G —Taranaki Jockey Club. Feb. 6—Gisbbrne Racing Club. Feb. B—Taurnarunui Racing Club. Feb. B—Poverty Bay Turf Club. Feb. 12, 13—Egmont Racing Club. Feb. 15—Te Kuiti Racing Club. Feb. 20, 22—Wanganui Jockey Club. Feb. 26—Rotorua Jockey Club. March I—Hamilton Racing Club. March 7, B—Napier Park Racing Club. March B—Te8 —Te Aroha Jockey Club. March 15 —Ohinemuri Jockey Club. March 22 —Thames Jockey Club.

DESERT GOLD IN AUSTRALIA. The sensational defeat of Desert Gold in the Spring Stakes at the A.J.C. Meeting was received with genuine re gret by local sportsmen, who considered the mare more or less unbeatable. Some people attribute the mare's defeat to over-confidence on the part of her rider, but the fact that the time recorded was a record, and tho mare w;is hut a half-head away from the winner—a matter of one stride—entirely disposes 'of that theory. However Desert Gold is by no means in disgrace, as it took a record-breaking time to heat her ,and then by a* Inch or two only. Her second defeat in the Craven Plate, run last Wednesday, a\ which she was i nplaced, has been a great setback to followers of the brilliant mare, and another record for a mile and a-quarter was established—2mm 4£sec. The leading horses were all bunched, and a great finish was witnessed, heads separating the four, her stablr? mate, Estland just defeating her. In the 1903 Craven Plate Cruciform ran second to Ibex. She coin, peted again the following year, but on that occasion could only* finish third. In 1906 Solution followed up the Metropolitan by annexing the mile and la-quarter event, whilst the Steadowned Isolt finished third. In 1911 Lady Medallist won for her owner, whose name the Plate carries. In 1915 Reputation ran second to St. Carwyne, with whom the Martian horse had run a dead-heat in the Spring Stakes on the first day. The next .two years the race went to two New Zealanders—one bred and one owned here—in Carlita and Biplane.

HAMILTON RACING CLUB. The following officials have been appointed by the Hamilton Racing Club: Judge, Mr R. B. Lusk; handlcapper, Mr F. McManemim; starter, Mr C. O'Connor; timekeeper, Mr J. Douglas; clerk of the course, Mr R. Casey: clerk of scales, Mr E. H. O'Meara; stewards, the committee and Mr I. Coates. AUCKLAND SUMMER MEETING. The nominations for the Auckland Cup, Railway Summer Cup, and A.R.C. Handicap, and for the Islington Plate, are larger than the most sanguine followers of the sport of racing could have anticipated. The Summer Cup entry constitutes a record with 78. There are 67 in the Railway Handicap, and) 66 in the A.R.C. Handicap, 5" in the Cup, and 42 in the Islington Plate, giving an average of 62 per race. AUCKLAND TROTTING CLUB. The nominations for the Auckland Trotting Club's spring meeting are up to expectations, and the first acceptances for the same club's Derby are considered very good. Amongst those included in the general events are Steel Bell, Joan of Arc, Harold Junr.. Waverley, Harold Devon, Nora Oeina, Derby Dillon, Eccentric, Little Kauri and Trooper Dillon. JOTTINGS _____ s^. C. Emerson has been engageii - Fo ride Cynic in the New Zealand Cup. Warstep has foaled a colt to Solferino.

The many friends of Mr P. Jones, the well-known trainer, will regret to hear that he is seriously indisposed. The two-year-old parade of the Auckland Racing Club is to take place at Ellerslio on October 12. Biplane's nomination for the Railway Handicap and Islington Plate at the Auckland Summer Meeting, was made prior to that colt going lame. The scratching of Nobleman and the non-acceptance of Red Ribbon for the New Zealand Cup came as a surprise to backers.

The fact that Estland finished third in the great llnish for the Craven Plate points to his winning a big race shortly.

The result of the A.J.C. Derby on Saturday was a triumph New Zeiland, as the Dominion's representatives filled the first four places. Gloaming's victory in the Chelmsford Stakes at Sydney Tattersall's Meeting made his prospects of success in Saturday's race look extremely bright. In an English exchange of July 81 it was stated that Sir Ernest Cassel's training stables had been commandeer, ed In the military, and that 'in consequence the racehorses had been transferred to the hack stables. In marked contrast to the nominations for the New Zealand Cup. Mike a numl>er of three-year-olds nj .•;>'-i ■• in the Auckland Cup, the most prominent being HY-atlurcoto. Almoner, Kiln.oon, Melee. Kininark, .Scornful, Punka and Taunaha.

The ox-Virtorinn jockey, R. Carslak«\ won this year's Iri=h OAs on •1 it<lt-;i, who is owned hv Captain Charles Moore, and is by lloi Herodc from Sacrifice, hv Sysnincton from Carnaue, hv Gallinule. Tlioro wore only four runners for the Iri<;h Oaks, notwithstanding the nrizo money aggregated £ISOO. Tn running third to Toitrel and Desert (wild at w.f.a. in i!" Spring Handicap hst Saturday, Konnaqu. hair (hv Kenilworth) sh-.iwocl 'hat he was i'"t allowed the position .-.n s'.ffer.■ince h\ winning the Metropolitan Handicap, of one mile and n.hitlf, from 28 others, eorrving 8.4 P.. 77. Morris hns lien eiW-g-d to ride J. Williamson's horses it the Auckland and Avond*de mtetinirs Morris will also ride Ki'.-ling : :i the Great Northern Guineas, and Phvl. lorn i*i the Auckland St«'.•«•>. Poitrel, who established a record in th" Spring Stoke-, sorted fiv ti"ns last season and won three races. The previous host f< r a r>i*o , : jkl n-hclf in Anstra'm w:>s s?"'in 31 Uee. held jointly hv Co™<>dv Kin", tt-li.-. ■•■ i--l<-rc«' Ms tirm at !-'l.<min-tou'on M:i-«-' '. ""I •m„1 i. v Cn«or. w-]„. ,-•< l«-i : r ».t I'-iubick on o"toVr < : . ''V\ 7!v \V«- Zerhnd re'o-d is Jmin 31 ?-"?•'-. h-.ld l-y !>.- rr-d Kiv\ i :i ■'. !>«ih h.vs«s harin;: put lip this time .>.t Trenlham.

I Tn a private letter, T)r .C. Ring, a highly popular Auckland sportsman, who is with the veterinary division somewhere in Franeo, states that a number of German horses have been captured by the Allies. These, be stated, were fine specimens, and all clean l>red, l>cing the admiration of the British officers • The win of Killowen in the Clihriorn Stakes at the A.J.C. Meeting would be very gratifying to Mr T. H. Lowry, after rie had seen Finmnrk beatfn in the Derby, and Desert Gold in the Spring Stakes on Saturday. The lace was only a three-horse one, and Killowen lf»d all the way. The Yaldhurst colt Almoner followed him home, and the winner of the Hawkesbury Guineas, a fortnight .ago was third.

Poltrel by St. Alwyne, who defeated Desert Gold in the Spring Stakes, comes from one of the oldest imported families, which has almost died out in good winners. Whizgig by Whalebone, bred in 1825, and imported to Tasmania in 1828, is the ancestress. This family will only be recognised by New Zealanders from the fact that the late D. O'Brien's favourite, Tasman, is a descendant, but there have been very' few since Rufus, 1831, and Occident, 1885. Parsee by Metal won the Caulfield Guineas and A.J.C. Derby in 1908, but was not first class. Dame Fortune certainly smiles on Mr G. D. Greenwood when he decides to purchase a yearling in Australia. First he bought Bimcter, and got a good one, next Biplane, and got a letter, and the third time he tempted the fickle lady he got The WelkinLight gelding Gloaming, who in his only two starts lands the Chelmsford Stakes and the A.J.C. Derby, and no person knows how good the son of The Welkin is yet. All of these horses were bought more or less on the blind, which shows what a lottery it is to buy yearlings.

"The Rook" writes in the New Zealand Referee:—"We New Zealanders can get used to seeing, or hearing, that one of our champions has got beaten, but when a lady like Desert Gold turns us down and gets lveaten by Poitrel in tho Spring Stakes, as she did at Randwick last Saturday, then it is time for us to close ut} on all bets in Australia, and for nil Maorilanders who went across to support the horses from their native heath, to pack their grips, and get IK-rths on the veiy first boat leaving for home, for things are not as easy as was expected, and after all some of the very best of the horses racing in Australia can gallon a little, even if only occasionally. Take my word for it if Desert Gold cannot beat the Australians over ten furlongs, then we have very small hope of lowering their colours with any of the others.'' Rebus, the winner of the Epsom Handicap at Sydney, was bred in 1914 by the late Leopold de Rothschild at the Southcourt stud, and is by Radium from Quibble. He won a small maiden plate at three years, and last season created a surprise by winning the Sydney Cup with 7st 121b. He comes from a great winning family. Quibble's dam, Pie Powder, by Morglay, was the dam of Santo Strato (Prince of Wales Stakes, Chester Cup) and Pictri (Richmond, Gimcrack, Champagne, and Princess Stakes), and Pieria, who won together £9931 in stakes. She descended from the Oaks winner Hippia by King Tom. who amongst other, good winners was dam of .Millie by Hermit (the grandam of Pie Powder), who won £4224, and was grandam jf St. Amant, winner of the Two Thousand Guineas, Derby, Jockey Club, and other stakes worth nearly £34.000.