OUR TARANAKI LETTER.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume II, Issue 89, 7 April 1892, Page 3

OUR TARANAKI LETTER.

(from our own correspondent.)

[By

Wire.]

New Plymouth, April 5. The Taranaki Club made £350 over their Anniversary Meeting. Mr. Evett left here for Napier this morning. He informed me that he was going back to arrange his affairs preparatory to taking up his residence in Auckland. He has therefore made up his mind to reside with you. The mare Jenny was purchased on Saturday by Mr. Standish for 80 guineas. The Hibernian mare brought £lB, Mr. A. Colson being the purchaser. Jerome was sold to H. Richardson for £22 10s. A filly out of a blood mare was sold to G. Carrick for £lO. Whisper and Cynisca will be shipped to Auckland to-morrow night. Awarua Rose has recovered from lameness, and will probably compete at the Wellington Autumn Meeting. Mr. W. R. King’s brood mare Prudence, and a colt, were killed by a engine on the railway line the other day. The following is the nomination of the sires for the Sires Hack Produce Stakes at the Egmont Meeting in 1895 :—Diamedes, Cap-a--pi 6, Cast-off, Puriri, Sou’-wester, Armament, Foul Shot, Ascot, Strenuous, Tim Whiffler, Isaac Walton, Wapiti, Australian, Natator, Redwood, Flintlock, Country Boy, Cocksure, Lionel, Howitzer, Somnus, Gipsy King, and Daniel O’Rourke. Scot Free and Lochness will probably compete at Feilding instead of Auckland. Some sporting writers whose knowledge of racing phrases and turf terms is on a par with their ability to write about sporting, are in the habit of crediting Chinamen (real Celestials) with frequently pulling big dividends out of the totalisator. For instance, a writer in the Wanganui Chronicle recently stated that a Chinaman was one of the fortunate investors when Cingalee won the First Hack Hurdle Race at the recent Egmont Autumn Meeting,

and paid a dividend of £74 odd. Now, no Chinaman held a ticket on that mare in that particular race, but where our guileless sporting writer of XVanganui has been led astray is in being told that some “ Chinaman” (technically speaking) had tickets on the mare. White backers, as racing men well know, are called “ Chinamen” when about eight or four of them make up a ticket on the machine. I don’t insinuate that any of the backers of Cingalee were technical “Chinamen,” but I only wish to explain that the paragraph I take exception to is erroneous, and not according to fact, although, at the same time, I must admit that the technical “ Chinaman” is not a rara avis in Taranaki. Mr. H. Bedwood's colt Awarua Rose, Rama Rama—Rosalind, had a bit of hard luck in the Taranaki J.C, Handicap last week. The day before the race the colt went lame in one of his forelegs, although there was no apparent injury. It was presumed that he must have bruised his heel. The colt was, however, started, and on entering the straight for home he was. lying third, the boy having then a pull dn him, but just as the bend was rounded the coif s leg troubled him, and he was unable to gallop the race out at top; in fact, when he was pulled up he walked dead lame. I think only for the accident the colt would have troubled Prestige considerably. I am glad to state that the colt has now recovered, and if he keeps well he will compete at Wellington at the end of the month. An idea of the pace in the race may be guaged when I state that a competent timekeeper made the last horse to pass the post as cutting out the “ go” in 2min 41sec. Whisper was fair done in the straight, the severity of the pace throughout made her weight tell its tale at the finish. Scot Free ran a splendid race, but was not ridden with good judgment, as he was kept behind too long. Lochness appeared to me to be stale, but he ran an honest nag. Donald McKinnon’s luck was dead out at the meeting. Krina was literally bathed in perspiration before she started, and was altogether out of sorts to win. Prestige was very fit. I like the look of him, and expect to hear of him doing something big in the bye-and-by. The Dreamer looked a bit fine, but ran an exceedingly honest race. The Wanganui people, that is the public, did not get on Prestige in any number. I fancy they stuck to St. Malo, who ran a good horse, finishing third. Weka made the pace dreadfully warm for a mile and a quarter, and the fast time must be credited to her. How her connections expected to win by running the mare the way they did is a mystery to me. It was a splendid race, and well worth going a long way to witness.