Sporting Topics.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XIII, Issue 769, 1 December 1904, Page 7

Sporting Topics.

(By “ The Judge.”)

There are seven colts and two fillies at Glenora Park this season.

The North Canterbury Meeting- will take place to-day, but not much interest appears to be taken in the fixture except locally.

Quarryman, Signalman, and To-mor-row are to come to Auckland for the big summer meeting.

Slow Tom is said to be looking very fit, and should be in great form by Christmas time.

Beau Seaton, Catherine Gordon, and Czarina will be among the visitors to the A.R.C. Summer Meeting.

So far Cruciform coupled with Savoury and Rubia is the favourite double for the Cup and Railway Handicap.

The Pullack has gone across to Sydney, where it is to be hoped the handicappers will not look upon him as a champion and load him up with weight.

Acceptances for the Auckland Cup, Railway Handicap, and Auckland Steeplechase must be made to Mr Percival by to-morrow evening, at 9 p.m.

There still seems to be a good deal of uncertainty as to which will constitute Mr Stead’s team for Auckland. The acceptances to-morrow evening may throw’ some light on the subject.

Nominations for the Drury Racing Club’s annual meeting close with Mr J. Knott, the secretary, at the Drury Hotel, or with Mr F. B. Massey, High-street, Auckland, on Friday, December 9, at 9 p.m. A good deal has been done since last season to improve the course, and as the programme is a decidedly good one for a meeting of the sort there should be no lack of entries. The meeting will take place on December 30.

The double event totalisator proved highly popular at Takapuna on Saturday, and it was curious to note how nearly accurate many of the investors were. Thus the popular double was Zuleika and Te Aroha, both these getting second, while the next pick was Geordie and Te Aroha, a first and second. Thirteen selected the winning combination and received £32 17s for each £l.

Messrs Duder Bros’, two-year-old Devonport, who made his first appearance in public on Saturday, is a fine looking colt. He w’as hardly ready, however, and although he got smartly away and w’as with the leaders for three furlongs he failed to pace it with them when the business end of the contract had to be taken on. The young son of Soult and Anna will do better later on.

The Wellington Park has had another Joss in the death of Forme, who in her day won the Hawke’s Bay Guineas and other good races. Forme was a brown mare and was bred in 1891 by the New Zealand Stud Company, being got by Nordenfeldt from Formo, by Sterlingworth (imp.) from Pulchra (imp.), by Rosicrucian. She will be best remembered perhaps as the dam of the great Cruciform, one of the most brilliant of her sex which has ever graced the colonial turf. Forme’s death was due to disease of the heart.

“ Give a doo- a bad name and you may as well hano- him ” is a very old adage, and there is a fair amount of truth wrapped up in the saying. When Princess of Thule won at Ellerslie the mare came in for a cry marked expressions of disapproval from the crowd on the flat for the apparent reversal of form, and on Saturday she was again subjected to a hostile demonstration when returning to scale. There is no doubt whatever that on her Ellerslie form in the Penrose Handicap she should have run much better than she did. 31 r Deeble appeared to ride a badly judged race, not an infrequent occurrence with amateur horsemen in Auckland, but I do not see why for this reason he should have been subjected to such an outburst of disapproval for that reason.

On Monday last Mr Andrew Jackson joined the great majority. The late Mr Jackson was on the Auckland “ Star literary staff for a great number of years, writing under the nom de plume of “ Hippona." The deceased gentleman was greatly liked and respected by all his friends and the public alike. He had been in poor health for the past two years.

A sensational dividend came off recently at the Durban (S.A.) Meeting in the Flying Handicap, the winner paying £315 18s and £25 15s for a place (one, two, three).

On Saturday last the Messrs Duder Bros', horse Black and Gold put up a very taking performance in the Cheltenham Handicap by winning under 9st 61b in a most hollow fashion in the good l time of Imin 3 3-ssec.

Horsa showed a fine turn of speed in the Cambria Handicap on Saturday, leading the field from start to finish. The son of Hilad and Monsoon should get’ his name again on the winning list be-

fore long

Kilderkin’s running on Saturday proved rather a disappointment to his admirers, for although the Cyrenian gelding w’as rather harshly treated by the handicapper it was expected he would make a good fight of it which, however, did not prove the case.

The handy light-weight, W. Satman, is riding in good form lately. He scored three wins at the Te Aroha Meeting on Discoverer, and also won on Horsa at the Takapuna Meeting on the first day.

Mr J. Teague had a nice cut of a mare at the Te Aroha Meeting by Leolantis — Muskapeer. She should be heard of later on probably over the small sticks ; she has not been broken in long and ran quite green.

There was a slight falling off in the totalisator receipts on the first day of the Takapuna Meeting, but with the aid of the double tote this was rectified and an increase shown to the extent of £l9l.

Mr Stead’s Savoury is in great demand for - the A.R.C. Railway Handicap in the double betting Cup and Railway, and should see a very short price on the day.

Recently in Sydney (N.S.'W.) a bookmaker was given the option of paying a fine of £lOO or taking it out in six months’ hard for betting on the Melbourne Cup on Tattersail's Club steps in Pitt-street.

Honours were evenly divided amongst the jockeys at the Takapuna J.C. Meeting on the first (lay, none of them getting two wins.

Geordie, who was running badly all last season, has managed to improve very much lately. He has put the St. Andrew’s Handicap to his owner’s credit, making a fair start for the present season.

Six boxes have been engaged for 31 r G. G. Stead’s horses at the Harp of Erin Hotel, Ellerslie, and four for Sir Geo. Clifford’s team at Gall's well-known stables. Green Lane. The A.R.C. Summer 3feeting will be well patronised from afar.

31r E. John Rae has had an addition to his team from 3lr -lames 31uir’s estate at Wairangi, this being a three-year-old gelding by Cuirassier from Impulse’s sister, and is a well-grown youngster.

It is reported that Mr Sol. Green before turning her out for a spell refused an offer of £3OOO for Gladsome.

Wairiki continues to improve at Flemington ; but it is expected that it will be four or five weeks before he will be able to leave his present quarters.

They are staunch believers in the totalisator in France. Over the Prix de Consiel Municipal, run lately in France, the mutuals took 36,360 sovs, the turnover on the day being 104 360 sovs.

At the annual meeting of the Waitara Racing Club last week it is said that owing to the “ Scotch mist ” it was a virtual impossibility to see the horses until they were within a few yards of the winning post What a chance for the strong arm brigade such a state of affairs would be if it often happened

There was a capital attendance at the annual meeting of the Rotorua Jockey Club, which was held at the Palace Hotel on Monday. The financial statement for the past year showed that the club started with a credit balance of £8 9s lOd, and the revenue for the twelve months, including this amount, totalled £277 15s 4d. The expenditure for the year was £271 16s Id. Of this sum, £2OO was given away in prizemoney at the meeting in February last. Officers for the ensuing year were elected, and it w’as resolved to have a two days’ race meeting on February 22 and 23 next A Programme Committee, consisting of Messrs Barron, Clarke, Jones, Maxwell, Naden. 33 r alker and Boyes, was appointed to draw up a programme and submit the same to the Auckland Racing Club for approval. The membership fee was fixed at £l, and it was decided to put the grandstand in thoroughly good order

The Woodville Jockey Club’s Meeting will take place on Wednesday and Thursdav next.

Maureen, who won the Waitara Cup last week, is a five-year-old grey 7 mare by St. Canon! from Juliet.

Betting on the Auckland Cup is almost at a standstill, as backers are waiting for Mr Stead to declare himself belore making a move.

Messrs Simmelhag and Jackson have withdrawn their appeal in the BorisGladstcne case, a step in which it will be very generally agreed they were well advised.

I do not quite understand why Durable’s failure at Takapuna on Saturday should have caused such a disappointment, for on his Ellerslie form he was the worst handicapped hurse in the race.

Agrapus won the Waihi Cup on Saturday, from a very fair field, Hector and Whakahihi filling the places. The winner is a four-year-old bay son of Ben Godfrey and Agatha.

With the exception of the Maiden Plate the entries for the Northern Wairoa Meeting are good, and some capital racing should result.

The Sandhurst Cup, on which there was a big consultation, was won by the favourite Sinnang, a four-year-old chestnut by Eiridspord, from Lady Helen. Messrs Miles and Curnow, of Collingwood, New Zealand, held the ticket on the winning horse.

The sports meeting of that old-estab-lished institution, the Auckland Amateur Athletic and Cycling Club, will take place on Saturday next. A very good programme of events has been put on, and the various events should be well worth watching.

There was a bit of a mix-up in the Flying Handicap at Waihi on Saturday. After quite a number of false starts three horses broke away and ran the course, but the go was declared “no start.’’ Then after a very long delay, the field were got away on fair terms, and Whakahihi won from the pony Little Mabel, with Hector, who had won in the other gallop, in third place. Whakahihi also accounted for the opening event, the Maiden Plate.

The following were the drawers of placed horses in? Tattersail’s Consultation cn the New Zealand Cup, run at Riccarton, Christchurch, New’ Zealand, cn the sth November, 1904. 100,C00 tickets at 5s each, closed with 70,000 drawn pro rata :—lst, Grand Rapids, W. Sexton, East Greta, N.S.W., £4200; 2nd, Mahutonga, R. Pullen, East Maitland, N.S.W., £l4off ; 3rd, Melodeon, Stoney Broke Syndicate, Box 9C, G.P.O. Sydney, £7OO.

Very’ great regret has been expressed by all classes of sportsmen at the fatal accident which happened to Alfred Butler in the Handicap Hurdle Race at Takapuna. Loch Lomond failed to clear the hurdle at the bottom of the straight, and Butler was shot out of the saddle, falling on his head, and appeared to be also struck by the horse which galloped over him. He never regained consciousness, and died within a few minutes of b'eing brought in to the enclosure. Poor Butler came from Gisborne, and had been employed by the Messrs Duder for some years past, looking after their horses. He was verv popular with everyone, and was exceedingly well thought of by his employers, who were much affected by the accident. At the inquest a verdict of accidental death was recorded.

I do not think that much harm would be dene if the hurdle opposite the Press Stand at Takapuna were removed before a bad accident happens there. In the Maiden Hurdles, on Saturday, with the whole field racing for the lead at the corner they charged the jump together, and it was aui'te evident that same of the horses never saw it at all. Jack Brown and Wairaka both came to grief, and for a time it seemed as though matters were going to be serious with Frank Burns, who had the mo.nt on the latter gelding. He was unconscious for a very long while, but fortunately recotered in time to leave the course.

The Tasman gelding, Discoverer, showed that his treble at Te Aroha was no fluke by beating everything in the Melrose Handicap on Saturday but Air Gun. If Julian' had brought the latter a trifle sooner he must have won, instead of making a dead-heat of it, but the son of Hotchkiss and Mantle did rot have too good a nassage. He was galloping over everything at the finish.

Returned visitors from the Waitara meeting speak highly of St. Claimer (a son of the old sprint champion St. Clements).- i St. -Claimer ran -seocawl ..io Confide in the Clifton Stakes, amd should be heard of during the coming season.

The track watchers at Ellerslie are greatly enamoured with 3lahutonga’s chance in the Auckland Cup, and are convinced that he will be first or second in that event. At present he is doing good steady work on the sand track under the guidance of -J immy Buchanan.

Mr Knight, the Takapuna (.Tub’s Handicapper, was rather harsh on the Ben Godfrey gelding, Ben Blair, for a beating he made Ben Blair meet l e Aroha on 81b worse terms.

According to the Paris correspondent of a London sporting paper. Pretty Polly's defeat in the Prix du Conseil Municipal recently was due to the rider’s slight knowledge of the track, and an error respecting her speed. Her rider and. the jockey on Zinfandel were watching each other, thinking Presto 11. would come back to them. Presto 11. was the ugliest horse in the paddock, and little enthusiasm was displayed over the victory of a horse whose past deeds show him to be a mere plater.

* # * * . Black and Gold was made a screaming hot favourite for the Stanley Handicap yesterday at Takapuna, but he got a bad run and finished out of place. His defeat meant that the bulk of the doubles w-ere upset, for the Cuirassier horse was extensively coupled with everthing in the Spring Handicap on the double machine. He was pulled out again for the Cautley Handicap, but finished last of the four runners.

Avalanche was well backed for the big event, the Spring Handicap, at Takapuna yesterday, and the result justified this, for Deeley got the pony well away, and. she was never headed, w inning by fourlengths. It is quite possible, however, that Zulieka might have troubled her, hut the daughter of Seaton Delaval lost ground whne Geologist fell, and as it occurred when she was commencing to make her run, the incident marred her chance. \laro, who fell at the same spot, w’as badlv hurt.

The pony Lucrece, who has been expected to materialise for some time past, won the Fony Handicap on Saturday at Takapuna, after a ding-dong go with Sally Horner, and paid the best dividend of the day.

Old Bellman showed on Saturday that he is still some removes from a “has teen,” for he simply smothered the field in the Hurdle Race, nothing else having a look in with the chestnut son of 'leeford. Wellcast was well backed to beat him, but fell, and the only 7 one to chase him seriously was I-linau.

If she had bsen ridden with better jt figment it is not at all improbable that Zulci a would have won the St. Andrew’s Handicap. Marchant asked the mare to perform an utterly impossible task in the straight, and although she trade a wonderful run, the daughter of Seaton Delaval was unable to reach Geordie, although she passed everything else. Why the mare was kept a bud last for nearly a mile, and then asKcd to make up many lengths in the last little bit was not apparent, but I fancy the tactics cost the mare the race, for if she had been kept within striking distance of the leaders she would have just about won.

Owing to the sad fatality’ to poor Butler in the previous race, Messrs Duder’s racing jacket was not available for Black and Gold in the Cheltenham Handicap, Deeley wearing instead they remarkable “all harlequin” colours of Koss Heaton. The result was that when the Cuirassier horse was engaged in losing the field, but few people were aware of what was in front, the popular opinion being that it was The Middy. Whether he was startled by the gorgeous jacket worn by his rider or not, it is hard to say, but Black ard Gold ran clean away from his rivals, romping home four or five lengths ahead of Te Aroha and La Cigale, who were onlv separated by heads. Truly the pride of the Devonport stable is very fit just now.

Otto Madden now leads W. Lane in the list of winning jockeys in England, but racegoers will be glad to know that the injured jockey is improving, though slowly. Madden had scored at last count 129 times out of a possible 640, as against Lane’s 124 out of 568. D. Maher has got over his century by 7 one, but he has only had 370 mounts. Halsey 7 is next, but a Jong way 7 behind.