COURSING.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume VIII, Issue 412, 16 June 1898, Page 12

COURSING.

[By

Dicken.]

The first meeting this season of the Auckland Coursing Club was brought to a close at Avondale last week, and, as reported in last week’s Sporting. Review, resulted in victories for Hurricane (in the Puppy Stakes) and Favonius (in the Challenge Stakes). Hurricane is evidently a youngster of considerable merit, as he won every

course decisively.. He was-bated, by Frank Baker, | who had the distinction of training the winner of the Challenge Stakes, who is by Storm Fiend; of Dora B. Storm Fiend is owned by Mr.. Russell, who also owns Favoniuss so that it Will be seen that Messrs Russell and. Baker played, a pretty strong band meeting. Notwithstanding, however, both owner and trainer have .determined to retire from coursing. Mr Russell, has a remarkably successful record, but perhaps he feels that success in coursing arouses jealousy and bad feeling. Coursing men, as I have stated before, are natural growlers, and although they could not argue last week that Favonius had not won handsomely, still they growled that he had been indulged, according to their opinion, with an undeserved bye. The con sequence is that Auckland coursing has lost one of its best supporters, as well as a most successful trainer. Rocket was sent South on Tuesday, while Mr Russell’s other dog, Favonius, has been sent to Mr Appleby. Writing about coursing in Auckland (says “ Amesbury” in the Sydney Referee) reminds me that a short time ago a par. went, the rounds that the judge, Mr F. W. Coombes, was reported to have advocated judging from an elevated stand, and to have said that “ the system was in vogue in Australia.” I doubted the accuracy of the latter statement at the time, and am not th {least bit surprised to hear Mr Coombes never said anything of the kind. What he did say was that, when resident in Australia, he had advocated the use of an elevated stand for judging purposes, a system he believed to have been tried with considerable success at the decision of the Irish Waterloo Cup at Lurgan. Personally, I don’t think the idea at all a bad one so far as Avondale is concerned, for I believe the enclosure to be but 500 yards long and perfectly level. As the majority of those present —as at all meetings —- feel confident they can judge from the ordinary stand, it would appear only reasonable to suppose that Mr Coombes could see even better from an elevated stand in a more suitable place. Any way, the experiment is to be given a trial, and I might add that the judge would act wisely if he had an assistant in the stand to take down on paper the points as scored as a check on the judge’s memory. The next meeting of the Auckland Coursing Club will be held on June 29 and July 2 The programme consists of the New Lynn Maiden Stakes, for an unlimited number of all-aged dogs that have not won any advertised money, at 30s each, and the Avondale Cup, for an unlimited number of all-aged dogs at £2 10s each. From the advertised conditions, it will be seen that nominations are due on Friday, June 24.

The following entries were received on Saturday night for t he H B. Plumpton Coursing Club’s meeting .- —Hastings Stakes : P. Scullion 3, J. Lopdell 2, H. Thomson 2, H. Hertz 2, P. J. O’Rourke 2, A. McLean 1, P. Collins 1, G. Hardv 1, M. Brandon 1, T. Clarey 1, T. Lawton 1, J. Wyatt 1, J. Healey 1, R. Miller 1. Sapling Stakes : B. Gallagher, P. O’Shannessay, T. Caley, and M. J. Flynn, 1 each. %