ENGLISH SPORTING NEWS.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume I, Issue 17, 22 November 1890, Page 5

ENGLISH SPORTING NEWS.

The chief interest of the York Meeting attache, d to the Great Yorkshire Stakes, in which Queen s Birthday was opposed by Ornatus and Ponza. They finished in the order named. Of the other races at York we may mention the Convivial Produce Stakes, won by Mr. Lascelles Pannonia; the Great Ebor Handicap Plate, in which the placed horses were Silver Spur, Padua and St. Benedict, Philomel and Tyrant the favourites —being nowhere ; and the Gimcrack Stakes, won by Royal Stag. At Huntingdon Rednal and Bert each won a couple of races, while at Scarborough nothing of importance was done. - More interest than ever was taken in the St. Leger this year. The Great Doncaster race has a particular attraction for the sportsman, inasmuch as it usually decides the question of three - year-old supremacy left unsettled by earlier races. But on this occasion there were such a number of points to be settled. Would Sainfoin repeat his Epsom victory, or would Surefoot reassert his former supremacy ? Would Memoir, the Oaks victress, once more carry off the event for the lucky Duke of Portland, in spite of her recent accident? Would none of these be successful, but some less famous colt such as Heaume, St. Serf or Queen s Birthday ? All these questions and many more were answered on Sept. 10th. There were fifteen runners, and the pace was made a very hot one in the hopes of finding out the weak points in Heaume, St. Serf, and Surefoot were soon found out, and Queen s Birthday, which had so suddenly come into prominence, fared no better. In the end it was Memoir, who, in spite of the spoppage in her training, came to the front, and won a capital race from the Duke of f Westminster’s Blue Green, and so secured for the Duke of Portland his second consecutive St. Leger. Gonsalvo was third. Of the other races at Doncaster we may mention the Great Yorkshire Handicap, which Silver Spur placed, like the “ Ebor,’ to Mr. Charlton’s account, and the Champagne Stakes, won by Baron de Rothschild’s Haute Saone.. Meanwhile, the official handicapper s opinion of three-year-old merits was given, on the publication of the weights for the Cesarewitch and Cambridgeshire. In Major Egerton’s opinion. Lord Hartington’s Morion is the best colt of his year, and in the Cesarewitch he is set to give the Derby winner three pounds. The honour of top weight (gst. 21b.) is shared by the four five-year-olds. Sheen, Trayles, Tryant and Father Confessor. The Cambridgeshire weights are headed by the French horse Le Sancy. Morion added to his reputation at Derby by winning the Breeders’ St. Leger cleverly. This was the colt’s seventh successive victory, The Devonshire Nursery Handicap fell to Lord Dunraven’s Inverness (from a field of nineteen) and the Hartington Plate to Mr. Maple’s The Gloamin’. At Sandown Park Colonel North’s lucky star was in the ascendent, for he secured two of the principal races —the Michaelmas Stakes with Arturo, and the Sandown Nursery Stakes with Nitrate Queen. Tommy Loates had his hundreth winning mount this season on Ellerton in the Railway All-Aged Plate, and R. Chaloner won a splendid race on Tudor in the Abbey Stakes. Further information aboutthe St. Leger shows that there was not one, but several, collisions, in which the chances of St. Serf, Alloway and Sainfoin, to name no others, were seriously interfered with. An unpleasant incident occurredat Doncaster. In the last race on the “ Leger” day, over a mile course Ransom easily defeated Lord Penrhyn’s Noble Chieftain. Next day, in the

Wharncliffe Stakes, which is only six furlongs, Noble Chieftain was first, and Ransom absolutely last. Thereupon the mob endeavoured to attack Weldon and Mr. Clayton, respectively Lord Penrhyn’s jockey and racing manager. The variation in form does not require much explanation, as Noble Chieftain is well known not to be able to stay a mile ; but Lord Penrhyn has very properly requested the Jockey Club to institute an inquiry into the horse s running ever since it came into his possession. From a field of twenty, Lord R. Churchill s L’Abbesse de Jouarre secured the Portland Plate by a short head ; and by a similar margin Mr. G. Cleaveland’s Chesterfield won the Rous Plate. For the Park Hill Stakes Semolina was made favourite, but she failed to stay, and the race went to Mr. Houldsworth s Ponza. The Prince of Wales’ Nursery Plate went to Mr. F. Barrett’s Florence, the Doncaster Cup to Tyrant, and the Doncaster Stakes to Alloway. If the Doncaster racing was successful, so were the sales. No fewer than twenty-three youngsters fetched “four figures” apiece, bringing up the number of these expensive luxuries sold this year to something like sixty. The highest price was the 4,000 guineas paid bv Mr. Blundell Maple for Far Away, a Hermit filly; while Mr. J. Ryan gave only 100 guineas less for a filly by St. Simon —'Wee Lassie. Sorcerer, the only Ormonde colt sold, went to Mr. S. Darling for 2,300 guineas. The First October Meeting at Newmarket is not so popular as some others. At this time of the year many men, who in season are constant in their attendance at all race-meetings within easy distance of London, are away shooting in Scotland, yachting off the coast of Norway, or recruiting themselves at British or Continental watering places. During the First October Meeting, moreover, there is no event of first-class importance calculated to draw a crowd. .Still there are a faithful few who never miss a meeting on the famous heath, and their numbers are swelled by those who follow racing as a business, and who must be present. There was a very fair attendance, therefore, when in beautiful, bright autumn weather, marred later on, however, by a slight shower, the racing began. There were eight races on the cards, and, though fields ruled small, some smart horses were seen out. Thus the three runners for the Great Foal Stakes were Lord Hartington’s Morion, the Duke of Westminster’s Blue Queen, and Mr. Houldsworth’s Alloway. They finished in the order named, but Morion only secured the verdict by a head after a very fine race. Prince Soltykoff’s Gold won the Fortyfirst Triennial, and among the other winners were Tommy Tittlemore, Orion, and Macuncas. Next day the principal event was the Great Eastern Handicap. For this Semolina was made favourite, but she failed to stay, and the race resulted in a dead heat between Bel Demonio and L’Abbe Morin, L’Abesse de Jouarre being third. At Manchester the same week there were three very full days’ racing. On the Thursday the Lancaster Nursery Handicap fell to Baron de Rothschild’s Mardi Gras, which beat Florence and fourteen others, while the September Plate was won by Mr. Douglas Baird’s Petard. Mr. J. H. Houldsworth, whose luck has been remarkably good this year, won the Breeders Foal Stakes next day with Springtime, Pannonia and Flodden Field being second and third respectively ; and Lady Wharles secured the September Handicap. But the piece de resistance was, of course, the Lancashire Plate. Memoir and St. Serf were both among the nine runners, but in spite of his heavy weight, lost. 21b., General Byrne’s Amphion was made a strong favourite. He justified the confidence reposed in him by winning comfortably, but both Memoir and St. Serf seemed to have lost all their • St. Leger form and finished nowhere. The second was Mr. D. Baird’s Martagon, arid the third Lord Roseberry’s filly by Foxhall— Chopette.

Very few present at the C.J.C. Races on Saturday were aware that Medallion met with an accident in the Canterbury Cup. Suffering from an injury to one of his feet, he walked home to Yaldhurst decidedly lame, and on Sunday was so bad that he could hardly turn round in his box. His injuries, lam pleased to learn, are not so bad, however, as to cause his retirement for long.—“ Spectator,” Weekly Press.