Sporting Topics.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XII, Issue 746, 23 June 1904, Page 7

Sporting Topics.

(By

“The Judge.”)

The Hawke’s Bay Steeplechase takes place to-day. Papatu should just about win from Eclair.

Weights for the New Zealand Cup are expected to make their appearance early next week.

A name has been sought for the Southern filly by Medallion —Patrie. I would suggest War Medal or Victoria Cross as being a suitable appellation.

Boxes have been engaged for the Aucklanders Aka Aka and Crespin at Riccarton for the Grand National Meeting, so it is evident the pair will be sent to Christchurch.

A horse freely enquired for in connection with the New Zealand Cup is Oblivion, who was brought over from Sydney by W. J. Taggart.

Mr King, whose catering for the several racing clubs in Auckland has invariably given satisfaction, will have charge of the luncheon rooms at the winter meeting of the Wellington Racing Club.

The total entries for the Caulfield Cup, viz., 175, has only been exceeded on one occasion. The Melbourne Cup entry of 155 falls fourteen short of last year.

The well-known Victorian trainer, J. Scobie, is about again, but as the result of his accident he is likely to be permanently lame, one of his legs being an inch or two shorter than the other.

The crack Victorian jumper Colonel Shilinski, who was the only horse asked to concede weight to Haydn in the V.R.C. Grand National, is reported to have been so injured on Saturday in a race that he may not again carry silk.

A Sydney paper says : “Mr A. Gray, of starting machine fame, will shortly bring out an improvement on the apparatus now in use. The point of difference between the two machines is that the barrier in the new one keeps parallel with the ground for some distance after being released, and then flies upward.”

'rhe most excited man on the stand when Pahwaihi won the Flying Handicap on Saturday, at the Shore, was a certain well-known trainer of harness horses. When the ponies were two hundred yards down the straight this individual was at the top of his lungs advising the jockey how to finish, and offering all sorts of fabulous wagers as to what would win. One would have thought such an experienced veteran would have carried a cooler head.

It will be remembered that after the Christmas meeting of the Taranaki Jockey Club, Roberts, who had the mount on. Ranana, made certain allegations, which, on Monday last, were thoroughly sifted to the bottom. After hearing very full evidence, in which some startling disclosures. were made. Messrs Corrigaip Paltridge, and Johnston (rider of Toledo) denying the allegations altogether, the committee decided as follows :—“That J. R. Corrigan, Hugh Paltridge, and George Roberts be warned off and disqualified for life.” It was also resolved, “ That as there was not sufficient corroborative evidence against Percy Johnston, no further action be taken.”

Though there was a slight falling-off in the Melbourne Cup nominations, it is interesting to note that the total entry for the seven flat races, viz., Melbourne Cup, Maribyrnong Plate. Ascot Vale Stakes, Derby, Oaks, St. Leger, and Sires’ Produce Stakes, is 134 better than last year, the figures being 828 and 694 respectively. Only on one previous occasion, viz., in 1901, when the entries for these races reached 852, has this fine total been exceeded .

His running last season and the really great form he has shown during the current year engender the thought that it was fortunate for Ard Patrick and Sceptre that Zinfandel was not qualified to run in the Derby and St. Leger of the season before last. In the Coronation Cup at Epsom, in April, Zinfandel met Sceptre, an Oaks and Leger winner, and Rock Sand, a Derby winner, at w.f.a. and defeated them. Zinfandel is by King’s Derby winner, Persimmon, son of St. Simon, from a member of the celebrated Agnes family, to wit, Medora, by Bend Or from Agneta, by Macaroni from Fair Agni'S, by Dollar —son of Flying Dutchman —from Little Agnes, by The Cure from Agnes, by Birdcatcher.

Handicaps for the first day’s events of the Gisborne Racing Club Steeplechase Meeting are due to see the light on June 24, and acceptances must be made on July 1. The meeting takes place on July 7 and 8.

Among the list of entries for the Wellington Steeplechase appear the names of Star, Moccasin, Kiatere, Princess of Thule, Aka Aka, and Crespin, so that Auckland should be strongly represented in the Southern jumping event.

For a horse to fall twice in a steeplechase and then be returned the winner is something out of the ordinary, b(ut such an instance happened in a race at Liverpool in which twelve horses started. Glenfmore was the winner, and finished all alone, his jockey was covered with blood and looked a great deal the worse from wear. It is not difficult to imagine the reception the rider got on returning to the enclosure, for sportsman are always quick to mark their appreciation of genuine pluck.

Mr George Russell’s famous steeplechaser Domino died at Langievilly on June 7, from tetanus. Domino won the Great Eastern Steeplechase at Onkaparinga and the Caulfield Grand National Steeplechase in 1889. In the first-named he carried I2st 131 b, and in the Caulfield event i3st 51b. He was retired five years ago.

Ypsilanti, who has done so well in England this season, only cost his present owner 420 guineas as a two-year-old, being purchased out of a selling race at that figure. When Ypsilanti accounted for the Kempton Park Great Jubilee Handicap last month, he carried 9st 51b, and started at 100 to 12, the favourite being L’Aiglon, who ran nowhere.

What a wonderfully fine stayer Throwaway must be. In the Ascot Gold Cup, run over two miles and a half, he was giving weight away to Zinfandel, who is in great form this year, and Capt. Bass’ famous turf heroine Sceptre, yet the five-year-old son of Rightaway and Theale proved equal to the task set him. It is fairly safe to presume that the performance roused plenty of enthusiasm among those who witnessed it.

As a rule, when a horse is disqualified for short weight, it is only a matter of a pound or two, but (according to the Sydney “Referee”) at the Richmond River T.C. meeting at .Casino (N.S.W.), the rider of Bashan, who finished first in the Pace Welter, weighed in no less than 171 b short. It appears to have been a rather clumsy attempt to “fly the pigeon,” as when Bashan was being pulled up after the race the trainer, R. Perkins, tried to give the rider the missing weight. He failed, and the stewards, on investigating the matter, decided to disqualify Perkins for life.

Backers have a fair idea of what weights . horses /are entitled to, and in their desire to get in early to secure the choice of the doubles for the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups, are little concerned in the official publication of the handicaps for those important events, (says the “Town and Country Journal”). Already a number of doubles hape been taken, and at this stage the fancied selections for . the “first leg” are Electra and Chere Arnie, a couple of this State’s representatives; while for the Melbourne Cup, Marmont and the Queensland colt Fitz-Grafton, are in most demand. Other selected candidates for the Caulfield Cup are Demas, Koopan, Flagship, F.J.A.I Gladsome, Bright Beauty, and Sport Royal, and they have been coupled with Emir. St. Ambrose, Lord Cardigan, and Belah.

Although it is said that Marmont, who, by the way, is an absentee from the list of Grand National entries, has been already backed far the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups, it is a little early to look for any speculation over these important events (writes “Martindale”). At no distant date, however, the ring-men will open volumes at the regulation price, 1000 to 1 “the two cups.” While these odds look tempting, and would enable anyone clever enough to pick the winning double to make a substantial rise, the bookmakers at this stage have the better/of the deal, as il is possible to lay it more than 24,000 different wavs.

By winning the “Jubilee” Stakes at Kempton Park for the second year in* succession Ypsilanti has followed’ in the footsteps of Victor Wild. There are many curious points of similarity between the careers of Ypsilanti and Victor Wild. Each was bought out of a selling race ; each won on the occasion of his second triumph by three-quarters of a leifgth ; and each proved himself to be a stone better horse at Kempton than over any other course.

Martin Taylor, another of the local pencillers, is at present in the New South Wales metropolis, where he has gone to attend the big coursing meetings.

Alf. Coleman, one of our Auckland bookmakers, left on Monday night, on a visit to Sydney to put in the winter months, and also follow his calling at the A.J.C. Spring Meeting at Randwick.

Belladonna has added another Ladies’ Bracelet to her list of prizes. This makes the second that the mare has landed, and as there are three ladies in the family it is to be hoped that Belladonna will make “ a tramp ” after another valuable piece of jewellery.

Another of “ Tattersall’s ” prizes has come to this province, Mr John Peters, of Maungaturoto, being the lucky holder of . the ticket on Merseylea, which ran third in the Brighton Plate, Tasmania, on June 6. Mr Peters benefits to the extent of £4OO.

Mr Wm Lyons is about town with his arm in a sling. The fall which he received at Tattersall’s Club ball turned out much worse than was anticipated, for on medical examination the ligament of the arm was found to be broken. The genial one has come in for condolences from all sorts and conditions of people.

It is rumoured that a good few of the local stables will be represented at the Wellington and Christchurch meetings. McManemin, Weal, Thorpe and Hannon are said to be taking horses, so that should this be the case they must infuse a lot of life (for Auckland people) into the great Southern fixture.

The following are the drawers of placed horses in Tattersall’s No. 1 Consultation on the. Prince of Wales’ Stakes, run at Randwick, Sydney, June 6, 1904 ; 50,000 tickets at 5s each, fully subscribed : —lst, The Relic, T.T.T., Sydney, £4OOO ; 2nd, Sir Leonard, S. Hansen, Victoria, £1250; 3rd, Refuge Bay, A. N. Templeton, Queensland, £750. These amounts are net.

The following are the drawers of placed horses in Tattersall’s No. 1 Consultation on the Brighton Plate, run at Brighton, Tasmania, June 6, .1904 ; 25,000 tickets at 5s each, fully subscribed Ist, Southern Cross, Victoria Syndicate, Victoria, £l6OO ; 2nd, Winchester, Belfast Coy., Victoria, £600; 3rd, Merseylea, John Peters, Maungaturoto, Auckland, £4oo.

Sally Horner was served up fairly h ■ for the Oats Handicap at the Shore on Saturday, and the good thing duly came off. Deeley kept the Hornpipe mare in a nice position till the bottom bend was rounded, and then when he gave Sal>y her head the race was all over bar shouting, Lady Lottie being the only one able to make the vestige of a struggle. * * * *

The exaggerated estimate which Australian handicappers have of horses hailing from this colony was well brought out by the handicapping of Haydn for the V.R.C. Grand National Steeplechase. To put the gelding next to the top-weight with 12st 51b opposite his name in a list of forty-four horses savours of the ridiculous, especially when one remembers that he proved unable to win the WinterSteeplechase the other day at Ellerslie, with 31b less to carry. Although given a little better chance in the Grand National Hurdle Race, it was not surprising to find that the son of Sou’-Wester was promptly struck out of his Victorian engagement.

“ R.H.C.” writes as follows to the “ Sporting 'l'imes ” “ You will find on reference that Moifaa is descended from the same mare as St. Amant, through his sire ‘Natator, a horse I bred in New Zealand. Natator, bv Traducer (by The Libel —- Arethusa) out of Waterwitch. Waterwitch, by Camden, out of Mermaid, by King Tom out of Waterwitch, by The Flying Dutchman out of Evening Star, by I ouchstone, and so on. Mermaid was bred by Baron Rothschild, and found her way out to New Zealand, where she threw some brilliant stock to Traducer, though to other horses she was no great success. 1 used the word brilliant, because, though they had great speed, they could not bo depended on to oive their full running if collared. I owned or had to do with three of her produce by Traducer, and there were none of them quite dependable, though they took a lot of catching. On one occasion I saw Malice, one of them, when she was winning by lengths in a canter, stop inside the rails to kick and walk in with the crowd. Lurline, another of her fillies, was probably the best mare that ever ran in New Zealand. She was sold to go to Australia, where she produced Darebin, by The Peer. Darebin was the best horse of his year in Australia. He was sold to the United States, where he was for several years at the top of the list of winning sires.”

The exhibition given yesterday at Takapuna by Ribbonwood was of the most disappointing nature possible. When he came out to pace a mile every vantage spot was immediately lined with spectators to witness the performance, but the Champion refused to get down to his work at all, and after going several times round the course, breaking every furlong, he was taken back to the enclosure,’ and the attempt on the Auckland record was not undertaken. Ribbonwood has_been having a turn at the stud, and was obviously unfit, which in a measure accounts for his poor display.

The Welter Handicap, at Takapuna yesterday gave opponents of the starting barrier something to think about. Time after time the ponies were disappointed in their efforts to start, Whawhai on one occasion almost getting away with his rider. It was quite twenty minutes after the starting time when at’ last Mr O’Connor was able to let them go. R there had been a barrier at the six and a-half post no doubt they would have got away at the first attempt.

The New York “ Morning 'Telegraph ” publishes a statement that Tod Sloan has signified his willingness to accept the proposal made him by Arthur Collins, of the Drury Lane Theatre, to appear in a new racing drama, which is to be written around the jockey. It is further declared that the new piece will be given to the authors immediately, and that next season will see Sloan sporting silk in the glare of the footlights.

“ Now is the very winter of our discontent ”on the training tracks. Continued wet weather has made everything slippery and wet. Little or no training is going on. On Monday afternoon a couple of maiden aspirants, Mauku and Newtown, in company with Tahae were associated over four hurdles, and they shaped extremely well for beginners. Especially was this the case with Mauku, who flew his hurdles like an old hand.

It is always a pleasure to listen to the utterances of a judicial functionary vho is in symuathy with sport, since among our judges there exists a great majority who are ranged on! the other side (says the “Licensed Victuallers’ Gazette”). At Liverpool the other day Mr Justice Bucknill delivered an important judgment in a case in which a social club was prosecuted for permitting betting on the premises. Although it was proved that a great number of members resorted to the club for the purpose of betting at certain hours of the day, the learned judge’decided that this in itself was not illegal, the great point being, that this was a bona fide club. Other judges please note.

Though only a modern institution as compared with the English Derby, the Grand Prix de. Paris occupies the same status in connection with French racing as does the classic race at Epsom with the turf in Great Britain. The only French colt to win the Derby was the famous Gladiateur, who after his success at Epsom recrossed the Channel and captured the Grand Prix de Paris ; but English sportsmen have amply avenged the loss of the “blue ribbon” on that occasion by winning the Grand Prix in 1863—when the race was first run—with The Ranger, who carried the colours of Mr Savile, for .whom Cremorne, after winning the Derby, 1872, won the great race at Longchamps, thus returning the compliment for Gladiateur’s performance. The Duke of Beaufort won the Grand Prix with Ceylon in 1866, the Marquis of Hastings with Earl in’ 1868, Mr W. R. Marshall with Trent in 1874, Mr C. Brewer with Robert the Devil in 1880, Mr H. Ry mill with Bruce in 1882, Mr Brodrick-Cloete with Paradox in 1885, and Mr R. Vyner with Minting in 1886 ; while Prince Soltykoff, who may be classed as a British sportsman, won with Thurio in 1878. The American colt Foxhall annexed the Grand Prix, 1881, and the Austro-Hungarian sportsman A. Baltazzi was successful in 18761 when Kisber secured the Derby and the classic race at Longchamps. In that event A". Edmond Blanc has been the most successful of French sportsmen. His first win was in 1879 with Nubienne, who accounted for half a score competitors ; ii years later Clamart carried the orange and blue livery to victory, and the following year Rueil beat nine others ; Andree and Arreau won the tiyely ; last year Quo Vadis (by the Irish horse Winkfield’s Pride) carried the popular colours to the front, and in the race just decided Ajax was successful. Other well-known turf-men who secured the Grand Prix are M. Caillault who has three to his credit ; Baron de Schickler and M. H. Delmarre with a similar number each.

According- to the Sydney “Mail,” the English filly Miss Symington, whom Mr Hart purchased in England and sent out to Pay ten to train, has arrived with her fellow-voyagers, Messrs Moses Brothers three importations, in splendid condition. Miss Symington is a dark dapple bav with plenty of quality. Of the three fillies purchased by Messrs Moses, of Crimhachllo. Tantrum, by ■ Trenton, stands out above her mates. She is a brown, and is much after the style of what Lady Trenton was when a two-year-old. Tantrum is a descendant of Rouge Rose, the dam of Bend Or, whose sister, Rose of Lancaster, by the way, was well represented at the Epsom Spring Meeting in April by Robert le Diable, who won the City and Suburban Handicap. Robert le Diable is by Ayr Laddie's sire, Ayrshire, from Rose Bay, by Melton, a near relation to Ayrshire, from Bend Or’s sister, Rose of Lancaster. A bay filly among the imported trio, by Common —son of Isonomy —is a sweet bit of horseflesh and a perfect mover. She is bred on similar lines to Elba, who won the Great Metropolitan Stakes (2,{ miles) at the last Epsom meeting. The imported filly is out of Royal Mazurka, by Royal Hampton from Mazurka, by See Saw from Mabille, the granddam of the Ha vilah stallion Louis XIII. Elba is by Prisoner —son of Isonomy—from Simoon, bv St. Simon from Mazurka. Messrs Moses Brothers' third purchase, a filly by Cliildwick from Siii'euse, looks like being a valuable addition to the blood stock of the country, for, if she never raced a yard, she has all the appearances that favour her being a first-class breeder, while her pedigree is unimpeachable. * * * *

Chose who have seen St. Amant perform on each of the three occasions on which he has faced the starter this season are forced, however unwillingly, to the conclusion that Mr Leopold de Rothschild’s colt is a rogue (says the “ Licensed Victuallers’ Gazette”). ’J he fact that he distinctly showed the “ white feather ”

when beaten by His Majesty at the Craven Meeting was condoned on the ground that he may have been backward in condition ; but no such excuse could be advanced last Wednesday, and his display was in such marked contrast to the form shown in the Two Thousand Guineas that it is plain he likes to have matters all his own way. Now that his weak point has been disclosed, his rivals are certain to take advantage of it, and though the son of St. Frusquin will doubtless continue to find backers for Epsom, those who witnessed the Newmarket Stakes are scarcely likely to be of the number.

After the umpire trouble in connection with the fourth test match last season, it is consoling to find that A. C. MacLaren has a good word for at least one of the Australian officials. In an article on “The Rights and Wrongs of International Cricket,” in C. B. Dry's magazine, the famous English batsman says : —“ In Australia, two Australians stand throughout the series of test games, just as two Englishmen officiate in the tests on our own grounds, and, therefore, there appears to be nothing wrong about the system. Were the umpires in Australia men of the same experience as our men, there would be nothing to cavil at. But, with the exception of C. Bannerman, they have not had the same chances as our umpires, and consequently cannot be expected to make as few mistakes as do ours, although they have always done their best to carry out the arduous task in front of them as satisfactorily as possible. The only firstclass cricket in Australia, when no English team is there, is the cricket played between New South Wales, South Australia, and Victoria. It can thus be easily understood what little practice an umpire out there obtains. Though there are very few umpires to select from in Australia, I never wish to see a better one than C. Bannerman —a very great batsman in his day, as most of us know —and few umpires, indeed, are really good who have not played a reasonable amount of first-class cricket.”

A race which always attracts a lot of attraction in the Old Country is the annual contest for the German Emperor’s Cup. This is for cruising yachts, and generally attracts a big fleet of starters. Last year the race was won by the Fiona, a remarkable result, as she was the oldest yacht racing in the Cnited Kinodom. This year the Cup was carried off bv Dr. Kerr’s new hundred ton yawl Valdora. which is generally considered to be one of the finest vessels of her class afloat.

The team of South African cricketers now playing’ a series of matches in. England consists of Messrs Frank Mitchell (captain), J. H. Sinclair. E. A. Halliwell. M. Hathorn, R. 0. Schwarz, V. A. Shalders. L. J. Tancred, J. J. Tyotze, -1. Middleton, S. J. Snooke. G. H. Shepstone, G. White. B. Wallach, and S. Horwood. Among the matches to be played is one against All England, and this will be the first time such representative teams have met.