Sporting Topics.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume VII, Issue 361, 24 June 1897, Page 4

Sporting Topics.

A Hutt colt (by Louis d’Or —Amy) has been named Trask, as a compliment to the Mayor of Nelson.

Considerable improvements have been effected on the Egmont course. All the foot-holes have been filled in, and it is reported that the surface is now as level as a bowling green. The Wairarapa Racing Club has given notice of motion for the Racing Conference : —“That unless moneys due to* Clubs are posted -in the forfeit list within three months after they become due they cannot be recovered through the forfeit list.”

The stylishly-bred Steelshot, by Foulshot— Voltarina, met with an accident recently,' the result of which necessitated the colt’s destruction (writes “Sentinel” in the Haw er a Star). Mr Grant, Hawera (owner and breeder), went down the coast to see the animal, but as th era was no hope of his recovery, it was destroyed. This is a serious loss to Mr Grant, as inside twelve months he has lost Voltarina, and a colt bred on such lines as Steelshot was likely to become valuable. The animal was leased to Mr Chitham, Palmerston North.

In England, on Monday, April 19th, therewere no less than eighteen fixtures of one sort and another — high-class flat racing, steeplechasing, hurdle racing, with any quantity of the country hunt meetings.

Rebounding Lock (by Flintlock—Morehu) will probably be put into work shortly, at Martinborough (writes “Arawa”). He is said to be fast, but has not yet been seen fit, as, when in training, he was growing too fast to show his best form. In the saddle race at the last Lower Valley meeting he showed a good turn of speed, but, being very gross, he fell back at the turn into thestraight.

Imp. Artillery will disseminate some of the valuable Musket blood on this coast (Cal.), as quite a number of mares have been bred to him, coming from various sections of the State. The horse has improved greatly in appearance since he landed in California, and it would be a hypercritical observer who found fault with his foals — strong, well-formed youngsters—and as nearly as can be told from babyhood indication, of decided racing cut.

Alick Caulton made the discovery during the week that The Sharper has, unknown to anyone, been suffering from a fracture of the jaw. The horse has shown a lot of tenderness in the mouth for some time, so much so as to interfere with him in his feed. Caulton at first thought that his teeth were the cause, but, placing his hand under the tongue near the root, he found a piece of sharp bone protruding, and this, during the week, was removed by Mr Halstead. The relief to The Sharper should be most beneficial, as the bone had worked a hole in the tongue, which must have been most painful both when the bit was in the mouth and when the horse was feeding.

The weights for the Melbourne and Caulfield Cups will probably be declared on Monday, June 28th, while the New Zealand Cup adjustments will be made public on July Ist.

One hundred and thirty yearlings are catalogued for the Rancho del Paso sale in America this week. Of that number twenty-one are by Sir Modred, thirteen by Darebin, and four by July. Twenty stallions are represented in the year’s consignment.

In the House of Commons on April 29th, the Home Secretary stated, in answer to a question, that “he was advised by the law officers of the Crown that the judgment in question (that of the judges in the Hawke v. Dunn appeal) applied to all kinds of betting —betting on credit as well as ready-money betting.”

It is news to hear from a Southern exchange that the betting prosecutions in New South Wales have resulted in the influx to Auckland of several Sydney pencillers, besides numbers of ponies and horses. The statement about bookmakers is all nonsense, while, instead of importing numbers of ponies, we have been sending them away.

Mr George Wright has received a letter from Frank M’Grath, of Sydney, .and according to the communication a doleful state of affairs prevails in the New South Wales sporting world, especially in pony circles. M’Grath states that if a man owned the best pony in Australia it would be impossible to back him to win £2OO on any of the courses.

Concerning the running in the Two Thousand Guineas, the sporting writer in the London Licensed Victuallers' Gazette remarks: —“Ihe wav was now cleared for the classic event, which, I venture to say, will be long remembered, not only on account of the complete shattering of a great public idol, but because, in point of time, it marks a record for this race. There were eight runners, but all form pointed to its being a twohorse race, and the betting also conveyed that as the opinion of the talent. Galtee More, after his arrival at Newmarket, compelled the admiration of everyone ; and, in comparison with Lord Roseberry’s crack, looked such a grand specimen of the racehorse that he ousted him from his position in the market, and at one time odds were laid on him; but at the fall of the flag, at 5 to 4 against, he was only half a point better Ipvourite than Velasquez. Guernsey was, perhaps, next in demand, but nothing less than 20 to 1 was acceptable, and not very much business was done at that price. If the betting had two good sides to it, not so the race, which was one of the hollowest ever seen in the classic event, for Mr Gubbins’ grand horse strode along in magnificent style, and at no part of the race was the result ever in doubt, and he won at the finish as he liked by four lengths. That those who doubted the stamina of Velasquez had good grounds for it was evident by the fact that it took him all his time to secure second place from Minstrel, and it is just on the cards that Berzak will beat the pair when they meet again, good judges being of opinion that it was not all out of Mr Lorillard’s colt. It would be interesting to have Allsopp’s private opinion on that subject. That good sportsman, Mr John Gubbins, the able trainer, Sam Darling, and Charley Wood all came in for any amount of congratulations, and a good many people who had pooh-poohed the idea of Galtee More beating the crack when the going was good were obliged to admit, after the race, that the winner was one of the best looking horses seen for many a day. Nor do lat all endorse the opinion I have since seen in print, that he is a lucky horse to be foaled in a year of bad ones.” ,

Jumping events in America are not popular. At a meeting at Memphis, in the latter end of April, a horse named Fugitive was disqualified, the patrol steward declaring in his evidence that the ‘‘horse had never tried a lick.” Asporting writer, when referring to the case, remarked : — “ I have never yet seen the time or place that these jumping races were not prolific of jobbery, and I do not wonder that for this reason they have been abolished at one of the Californian tracks.”

The formation of the Wingatui course to the order of the Dunedin Jockey Club, though somewhat delayed, is at last finished, save for a few touches here and there which will be done under the supervision of the club’s sub-committee —the Hon. G. M’Lean, Mr Peter Miller, and Mr J. Stephenson. These gentlemen, states “ Mazeppa,” went out to the course on June 11th and made a thorough inspection, with the result that it was decided to plough up the track at once in readiness for early spring sowing in grass, to trim up the row of bluegums which are regarded as valuable shelter, and likely to be useful for picnic parties, and to form the public approach to the course. These matters being attended to will carry things over the dead of winter, and soon after that we may hear something from the subcommittee about fences and buildings, and other preparations for occupation. I have an idea, however, that there is not much chance of racing at Wingatui before February next.

Sammy Loates, the well-known English jockey, was expected to arrive in America on May 22. Publicans as a class, notwithstanding the wild statements of the intemperate orators of the pump party, are frequently entrus'ed after banking hours with large sums of money by business men and citizens who do not care to drag their bullion with them to the suburbs. A good story is told of a well-known licensee of a city hotel in his character as banker. On the night of the second day of the Great Northern meeting a North Shore sportsman, whose horses had scored a couple of wins, entered the hostelry, bearing with him a bag heavy with saddle lead. In reply to the friendly greeting and query as to how he had got on, Mr D- smilingly told the landlord of his success, and asked him to take care of the bag. The weight staggered the boniface, and he flushed with pride as the thought flashed through his mind that he had been honoured with the custody of untold wealth, the colossal winnings of the day. Carefully was the bag placed in a corner of the safe and just as carefully was the key of the burglar-proof casement turned in the door and removed to the custody of the landlord’s own pocket. The care of even supposed wealth is calculated to make a man careful and, perhaps, suspicious, so that when a stranger came along subsequently and asked for the bag the suspicions of the landlord were fully aroused. A foul plot had evidently been concocted to get possession of wealth,, and the trusted custodian demanded,

“ Who are you ? ” “A friend of Mr D ’s,* J . was the reply; whereat the usual genial host wrathfully exclaimed, “A friend! Yes, and you would need to be a good friend, too, you would get that bag.” There was no policeman about at the time, and it is, perhaps, just as well that it was so; but Mr D explained i be mystery of the bag, and its honest custodian has since recognised that if it is true that “ all that glitters is not gold,” it is equally true that all that is heavy is not necessarily precious metal. General Grant was a born horseman (states the Spirit of the Times'). One day, when the members of Grant’s class were called out for drill on horseback, there were not horses enoiigh by one to go around. Grant was one of the shortest men in his class, consequently was on the extreme left of the company, and he was the one for whom there was no horse. The officer • ordered a horse brought, which was done. The animal was a vicious brute, which had proved so unmanageable that he had been discarded. The . officer in charge did not notice the horse untijgi just as young Grant vaulted into the saddle, when, horror-stricken, he ordered him to diiO mount. The horse did his part to assist his riderij: to obey the order, but Grant drove his spurs intov the sides of the infuriated, plunging, kicking, bolting brute, and guided him into an open field, where he gave such an exhibition of amateur horsemanship as no member of that class had ever before witnessed. Before the contest was ended the horse was thoroughly subdued,' and from that time became a useful, obedient animal, but he was always ridden by Grant. A recent exchange states that the anti-gamblers and Mr Hawke have made no move lately, ands betting has gone on as openly and in the same manner as before in all the rings at’the various meetings in England. At Kempton, however, the police quietly took the names addresses of three leading bookmakers—Mr Hib-’ bert, of Nottingham, and Mr Fry and Mr Edge, of London. It is said that this was order of Sir Edward Bradford, the chief commissioner of police, and that summonses will bow be taken out against these three men for illegal betting in the enclosure. Meantime, the Sportsman's Shilling Fund in defence of national sports is making fair headway, as 14,000 shillings havep already been received. This fund will be handed ; | in its entirety to the Sporting League, amongst other things, are preparing a monster petit ion for Parliament for legislation that may defeat the aims of the faddists. How different our authorities handle the matter here (writes “Martindale” of the Sydney Evening News); They summons everybody, though they state that they are solely guided by the rulings in England. § If they follow the English authorities in L one thing, why not in all others ? We can talk as much as we like about the® horse-owners of old racing for the love of sports alone (says The Field), but it may be doubted whether more than a very small minority did so —after betting facilities were invented. Horseracing apart from betting was not according to the idea of oui- forefathers, and it was the desire on the part of racing men of old to bet to a greater* extent than they could hope to do with each other that called into existence the first professional bookmaker, and from that day to this his successors have been liberally patronised. The wants of a sort of betting exchange appears to have been felt somewhere about the latter half of the last century, and it was supplied by Mr Tattersall, who opened his “ new stables near Hyde Park Turnpike” about 1760, and the establishment soon became the acknowledged resort of the sporting and betting world. Here it was that in 1791 the then “ Duke of Bedford settled

for his last Newmarket winnings at Tattersall s, when his Grace received between £6OOO and £7000.” The original subscription room was opened about 1789, when there were 76 subscribers, and for the first dozen years of its life it was a select gathering; nor was it until the present century had dawned that its numbers were reinforced by the professional element, Crockford being among the earliest to join, lhey then trooped in gaily ; the old room was found to be too small, so it was it was rebuilt about the year 1843, and the 76 subscribers of 1789 had grown to 1000 in little more than half a century. The betting which took place there was no doubt upon parole; but it is by no means imp obable that long anterior to this time it had been the practice in certain cases for the money to be staked —not necessarily with the layer, but with some third party, so that altogether there is- no little justification for our opinion that a luit unconnected with betting has never been known since racing has been practised upon a system.

Some surprise was caused when the name of the Auckland Cup winner, Nestor, did not appear in the list of nominations for the New Zealand Cup. His trainer explains that lately St. Leger’s strapping son has been suffering from the teeth, and that in consequence it was deemed advisable to let him get over all his troubles before putting him to such a severe preparation as that for the two-mile handicap would be.

The Coolgardie Racing Club is giving away £1,600 for a two days’ meeting in August. Ihe cup will be worth 500sovs. - , Instead of being 20 short, of last year’s figures, % the V.R.C. Derby, by the amended list, of entries *; to hand, is 21 ahead of the total of 1896, the numbers being 87 against 108 Happy returns of the day to Mr Harry Hayr, secretary of the Avondale Racing Club and Auck'/land Coursing Club. This gentleman’s birthday was celebrated on Friday evening last by a social in the Remuera Hall, when there was a large gathering of well-known Auckland gentlemen and ?;• ladies. The hall had been very prettily decorated for the occasion, and the beauty of the scene was very much enhanced by some lovely dresses. After enjoying dancing until midnight the party, numbering upwards of 150, sat down to supper. Mr W. Percival in a neat speech proposed Mr Hayr’s health, and Mr Hayr having acknowledged the compliment dancing was again indulged in and kept up with spirit until t he fashionable hours. We do not care about assuming the responsibility of fashionable journals by giving a description of the triumph of the milliners and dressmakers art, ;A suffice it to say that among the ladies present were Mrs Hayr, Mrs McLeod, Miss Jennings, Mrs and Misses Blaikie Mrs G. Wright, Mrs J. W. Russell and Miss B. Russell, Miss Laura and Miss Annie Edwards, Miss Taylor, Mrs Macready, Miss Jackson (2), Mrs Waddell, Miss Tobias (2), Miss Kinloch (2), Miss Underhill, Miss M. Hayr, and Miss Friend. A most enjoyable evening was spent. Mr Jones, of Wanganui, has again called on us to state that when he purchased The Workman it was for his sister and not for himself. The youngsters at Ellerslie are being livened up in their work. Mr J. C. Booth’s trio, including the Cantiniere and Balista colts, were out at Potter’s Paddock on Tuesday. All three are looking well, and are forward in condition. Mr George Wright’s youngsters are all doing well, and the Hon. Mr Mossman’s filly, if she ' keeps on doing as well as she has been, should be a clinker. Wright is giving them sound exercise but he does not believe in galloping too early. Mr Frank Macmanemin has a filly that is shaping well, while Blue Jacket, in the hands of Alick Caulton, is coming on famously. This £ yearling son of St. Leger and Antelope has a very even temper, and takes most kindly to both work and feed. “ Mazeppa” hears that the hope of training Gipsy Grand again is not so bright as it was. What really happened at Hawke’s Bay when he got hurt, was not, as thought at the time, that ' he had merely wrenched his leg. A Government vet. who saw the horse some months later declared that the small bone of the leg had been slightly splintered, so I learn this week for the first time There was nothing of this to be discovered at the time by examination, but the attempt to train the horse later on caused a certain amount of inflammation, and the limb now seems to be permanently weak as Gipsy Grand gambols about the Elderslie paddocks. Time, Sand time only, can now effect a cure, and this may possibly result, but with an active and heavy horse of his stamp it is impossible to keep him in condition and ensure rest, and as 1 understand the position there is nothing left for it but to leave Nature and the horse to fight out ' the matter between them. In the meantime there is no fear of Gipsy Grand’s splendid qualities being wasted. He is the natural successor of his famous sire, good old Grandmaster, and as such he is getting rare opportunities at Mr Reid’s stud farm, several choice mares, including some belonging to Mr Stead, having been booked for his services, in addition to Elderslie mares.

In the presence of nearly fourteen thousand people the twenty-third renewal of the Kentucky Derby was run at Louisville, Ky., Wednesday, May ”12. A heavy rain which fell the day before rendered the track heavy, and the unpropitious weather kept many persons away. Six horses started in the race, namely, Ornament, Typhoon 11., Dr. Catlett, Dr. Shepard, Goshen, and Ben Brown. Ornament was the favourite at 6to 5. Typhoon went out in front at the flag ■fall and set a killing pace, nearly racing the field -off their feet. He was nsver headed, winning by three-quarters of a length from Ornament, who, driven out, was two lengths in front of Dr. Catlett. The time, 2.124, was fair, considering the condition of the track. The winner is a chestnut colt by imp. Top Gallant —Dolly Varden.