NOTES.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume VII, Issue 339, 21 January 1897, Page 8

NOTES.

The trotting stallion Tommy, the property of Mr G. H. Allen, of Greylauds, near Singleton, died on the 22nd ult. from the effect of a kick received from a mare on the previous evening, and which fractured his near foreleg, shattering the bone, and splitting it right up. Tommy was a most successful show horse in New South Wales, and during the existence of the Sydney Driving Park he was looked upon as one of the best trotters in the colony. His owner at one time refused £lOOO for him. A meeting of the committee of the Palmerston North Trotting Club was held at the Phoenix Hotel, last Friday, when the following programme for the club’s autumn meeting, to be held on February 26, was arranged : —Pony Handicap, seven furlongs; Maiden Trot, two miles ; Pony Saddle Trot, two miles; Saddle Handicap, two miles and a half ; Pony Hurdles, one mile and a quarter ; Harness Handicap, three miles ; Pony Flat, five furlongs ; Dash Handicap, one mile. It was decided to obtain the services, if possible, of a handicapper in the Hawke’s Bay district, and it was resolved to exclude bookmakers from the course on the day of the meeting. The three greatest achievements of the year (states the Spirit of the Times') and of the decade were accomplished-by the bay stallions Star Pointer and John R. Gentry. At Mystic Park, Boston, on September 18th, Star Pointer, by Brown Hal, dam Sweepstakes, by Snow Heels, won in straight heats in 2min 2|sec, 2min 3|sec, and 2min 3|sec, thus making the fastest three straight heats made in a race. John R. Gentry captured three championships. At the close of last season he was the champion stallion with a record of 2min 3fsec. He has reduced this to 2min Jsec, made at Portland, Me., on September 24th, which is also the world’s champion mark. At Glen Falls, New York, on September 10th, he won in straight heats, making a champion race record of 2min IJsec, and his record for the three heats was a record until it was passed by Star Pointer at Boston. It has been a great year for the pacers, and they have fairly conquered the hearts of the people. Taking the general average, it is a remarkably good one, and though it may be some time before the trotters tie the pacers, we believe that it will be an accomplished fact before 1900 dawns upon us.

The Johnsonville meeting, which takes place to-day, should be a success if the weather is ■favourable, as good entries have been received 'for the occasion. The weather it seems interfered with the meeting of the Wellington Trotting Club, and so heavily did the rain continue to descend that the three last events on the programme had to be postponed. It appears that Meet Her won the Maiden, paying a dividend of £1 17s. Trio secured the Pony Pace, paying the very nice dividend of £7 15s. The Trotting Club Handicap was won by Comet (64s ec), Kelly (44sec) being second, and Maud V. (20sec) third. Comet’s supporters received a dividend of £3 10s. Thomas won the Selling Trot and paid a dividend of £1 Is. Whisky lost the Miramar Handicap through breaking, and the race was awarded to Alice, who •paid a dividend of £1 6s. The meeting will be continued next Saturday, weather permitting. Trotting is evidently at a very low ebb in Victoria. This is what “ Javelin” has to say on the subject in the Melbourne Leader-. — “The trotting horse is a valuable and useful animal, but unfortunately animals of higher intelligence, who have manipulated him in this country, have kept him in such a shady atmosphere that the poor brute has become tainted by association with their unsavoury selves Trotting in Victoria, in ■fact, may be likened unto footracing of the past, boxing of the present, and bicycle racing of the near future. A few good men who recognise what a desirable branch of sport it should and might have been have striven bravely, but in vain, to lift it out of the mire. The disreputable element numerically and otherwise has always been ‘ too strong.’ The good old supporters of trotting, however, take a lot of knocking out, and ■after fruitless endeavours to make the game popular at Croxton Park, Elsternwick Park, Epsom, Moonee Valley, Ascot, and Richmond in turn, they recently decided over a convival glass—which •perhaps explains the joke—to try Flemington! It was resolved to approach the V.R.C. committee on the subject, but I should advise them not to get too near, especially if Frank Madden happens to have a full head of steam on. Without wishing to discourage the trotting enthusiasts I should be disposed to opine that they would be more likely to induce a first-class pork sausage merchant to adopt the sign of a dead dog for his trade mark than to persuade the V.R.C. people to recognise trotting.”