Sporting Topics.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XIII, Issue 773, 29 December 1904, Page 7

Sporting Topics.

(By “ The Judge.”)

Melodeon broke a blood vessel while running in the Cup and was eased up.

Mahutonga won the Auckland Cup from end to end, but the time although good was not up to Wairiki’s performance last year.

Mahutonga’s time for the Cup has only twice been beaten, viz., in 1892 by St. Hippo and last year by Wairiki.

The amount handled on the totalisator at Ellerslie on Monday was £20,897, a decrease of £553 on last year s figures. The falling off was in the Foal Stakes and the Cup, the other events showing an increase.

The disappointment of Monday s racing was the poor showing by Savoury, the favourite, in the Raifway Handicap. He carried 1816 tickets out of a total of £3828 invested on the race, but never at any time looked the least bit dangerous and finished in) the ruck.

The Glenora yearlings, which come up for sale on Wednesday next will be brought down to Cambria Park on Saturday , where they can be inspected at any time before the sale. They are a very likely looking lot. *

Times taken during the running of the Cup show that the big event was got through as follows :—Quarter-mile, 26;, sec ; half-mile, 52£sec ; six furlongs, Imin one mile, Imin 44sec ; one mile and a-quarter, 2min 10 A sec ; one mile and a-half, 2min 37sec ; one mile and three-quarters, 3min 3£sec ; two miles, 3min * *

The following are the drawers of placed horses in Tattersall’s No. 2 Consaltation. on the Newcastle Tattersail s Cup, run at Newcastle, N.S.W., on the JOth December, 1904. 50,000 tickets at 5s each, fully subscribed Ist, Ossian M Angelo, 26, Shadier Street, Neutral Bay, Sydney, £4OOO ; 2nd, Stormaway, Lenaghan and Sutton, to J- F, Barrv, Commercial Hotel, W. Maitland, N.S.W., £1250 ; 3rd, Lady Simmer, Mrs W. Cook, Terrica, via Inglewood, Queensland, £750.

The following are the drawers of placed horses in Tattersall’s No. I Consultation on the Newcastle Tattersall’s Cup, run at Newcastle, N.S.W., on the 10th December, 1904. 50,090 tickets at 5s each, fully subscribed : —lst, Ossian, Sceptre and Co., care of R. Murray, Mt. Barker, South Australia, £4OOO ; 2nd, Stormaway, Mallee Syndicate, to W. J. Laroner, Brim, Victoria, £1250 ; 3rd, Lady Simmer, Bob Knox and Co., care of T. H. Garth, Mawhera Quay, Greymouth, New Zealand, £750. These amounts are net.

With the perfectly natural dislike to being compelled to go through the Newmarket Tunnel in a cattle truck, intending visitors to Ellerslie on Monday freely patronised the electric trams. The Company made an effort to cope with the ruch which, however, was quite beyond them. It would have been well to have put a few more cars on the line. The policy of sending out so many quite empty cars to Newton and Ponsonby, when' all the world and his wife were trying to get out to the races, seemed hardly wise, but perhaps there will be an improvement on Monday and Tuesday. It seems certain the Remuera line will have to be duplicated.

The programme for the Autumn Meeting of Lhe Wanganui Jockey Club will be found in our advertising columns. The fixture will be held on March 2 and 3, and as usual eight events will be decided on each day. The programme is a particularly good one throughout, but the events'which may be specially picked out on the opening day are the Stewards’ Handicap, of 150 sovs, one mile ; the Juvenile Handicap, of 150 sovs, six furlongs ; the Westmere Hurdle Race, of 150 sovs, two miles ; the Wanganui Cup, of 750 sovs, If miles ; and the Flying Handicap, of 250 sovs, six furlongs. On the second day, the Autumn Handicap, of 150 sovs, one mile ; the Fordell Hardie Race, of 120 sovs, If miles ; the Jackson Stakes, of 500 sovs, six furlongs ; and the Wanganui Stakes, of 350 sovs, 11,I 1 , miles, are the chief attractions. The Autumn Meeting of the W.J.C. is without doubt one of the most popular gatherings in the colony, and the programme put before owners is well worthy of their attention. General entries close with Mr F. Moffatt, the secretary, on Friday, January 27, at 9 p.m.

The surprise of the day on Monday at Ellerslie was the dividend, £l7 Bs, paid on Numa in the Christmas Handicap. The Pinfire horse had shown form in winning' the opening event, the 1 rial Handicap, and had to carry but two pounds more over his pet distance. Why he should have been so 1 deserted it is hard to say, but if a number of outside speculators had not stuck to him he would have paid the biggest dividend of the day, for on the inside machine his supporters wore very few. Numa led from end to end, and won handily.

Lady Annie has before now given evidence of pace, but I doubt if her most sanguine admirers considered she was equal to spreadeagling the field in the Railway Handicap in the way she did. The time, Imin 15 3-ssec, was smart, but one would have thought there were one or two in the race quite capable of equalling it. The winner was bleeding at the nose on being pulled up. The investments at the Manawatu R.C . Summer Meeting amounted to £39,441, an increase of no less than £8129 on the amount handled at the corresponding meeting last year. * * * * The Cambria Park dispersal sale will take place next Mednesday. A special train will convey visitors up to within a short distance of the farm. * The totalisator money handled at the Dunedin J.C. Meeting amounted to £lO,800 10s, as against £7699 for the corresponding meeting last year. • ♦ * • Manjess must be a great pony. He won the Fernhill Welter Hack race at Wingatui with list 61b in the saddle, giving heaps of weight away to everything else in the race. s ** * * Buluwayo’s younger brother, Quagga, is more than paying his oat bill this season. He scored a double on the opening day at Dunedin, winning both the Salisbury Hack and ’Trial Stakes very easily indeed. Hewitt put up a remarkable performance by winning the double, i.e., both Pony Cups at Ellerslie and Alexandra Park on Monday and Tuesday last. This makes the third occasion that he has achieved this feat. Most of the sporting people were pleased to see Mr Harry Tonks win a double with Lingard at the Thames Summer Meeting, as the wins were long overdue. Wairaka also secured a double win in the two Steeplechases at the same meetSolitary, nicely handled by young Lack Pinker, secured the ’Telephone Handicap at the Summer Meeting of the A.T.C. on the first day of the meeting. Pinker was also successful on Lady Annie in the Railway Handicap, and is certainly one of our best light-weights. * * * * The Lurcher, since going into Percy Johnston’s hands (his old mentor), has run most consistently, having been twice second at Te Aroha and winning a double at the ’Taranaki -J.C. Summer Meeting. • * * • General Average seems to have struck form since Geo. Wright has had charge of him. At the T.J.C. Meeting he deadheated, ran second, and won on the last day. * * * * Most of the double event layers had a real good time over the Auckland Cup and Railway Handicap, as not more than £4OO was taken out of their volumes altogether. After Cruciform went out the betting was brisk, most of the pencillers getting round.

The Price Brothers, W. and G., each secured a couple of races the second day at the Manawatu Summer Meeting, winning with Auratus, Nctamere, Probable, and Kaharoa respectively.

The Manawatu Summer Meeting put up a record for N.Z. in a two days’ meetingin a totalisator turnover, viz., £39,441.

Jimmy Buchanan won his first Auckland Cup last Monday on Mahutonga, and was heartily cheered on returning to scale.

Hewitt had three wins the first day of the A.R.C. Summer Meeting, viz., on Numa in the ’Trial Handicap, on Sungod in the Foal Stakes. and on Reduction in the Pony Cup.

The Alexandra-owned Te Tanawha won three out of six events on Monday at the Club’s annual meeting. The owner, Mr J. Harper, won six out of seven events on the card.

The Railway Handicap turned out a bit of a surprise. The favourite, Savourv, an even money chance, never once feathered his backers, whilst Soult, also well supported, was left at the post. Boris, another well fancied horse, ran nowhere ; this horse did the Fest trial prior to the meeting, six furlongs in Imin I9sec on the course. The winner, Lady Annie, did the best trial of the local horses, Imin 20 1-5-sec from a standing start.

Mr J. Thorpe secured a bargain when he bought Apologue from Mr Simmelhag for 20Cgns. It is rumoured that Mr Thorpe has been offered a substantial profit on his very good bargain. The colt, who has size and speed, looks like blossoming into a Derby and Cup colt.

Mr R. Hannan as usual came in for some good luck. He scored with Bellman in the A.R.C. Hurdle Race, also with Liberator in the Flying Handicap, at Taranaki, and with Pekepeke in the Maiden Plate at the Thames.

Orange and Blue seems a bit of a frost at present. Although well backed in both the A.R.C’. and Auckland Trotting Club’s Pony Cups, she failed in each case. This mare races better in the spring and autumn ; she seemed very fretful on ’Tuesday.