Sporting Topics.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XIII, Issue 775, 12 January 1905, Page 7

Sporting Topics.

(By

“ The Judge.")

The Wellington Racing Club’s Summer Meeting commences on the 21st inst.

Nightfall was left at ellington by Mason on his way South, and she is now working at the Hutt.

The death is reported from Eeatherstone of Messrs r J urnbull and Monk’s Stepniak—Seashell colt Novgorod, who promised at one time to turn out a very smart performer.

Mahutonga’s full brother Veneer is said to be a very line looking colt, who should make a name for himself before long.

A race meeting will take place at Whangarei on Friday and Saturday. The acceptances for the first day’s racing will be found in another column.

The Messrs Hazlett, of Dunedin, have purchased Petrovna’s full brother Astrachan for 400 guineas, a somewhat extravagant figure for a horse having no public form.

Southern punters are said to have had a very bad time over the recent A.R.C. Meeting. If they fared worse than the average local sportsman they must have done badly indeed.

Golden Lily seems to be particularly well treated in the Telegraph Handicap, at Wellington, and she will probably start favourite.

Highly satisfactory entries have been received for the Takapuna Jockey Club’s Summer Meeting, which promises to prove a big success. Weights for the first day appear to-morrow.

The fact that in the two-year-old races at Ellerslie there were six different winners points to the fact that we have nothing in the shape of a champion amongst the youngsters.

Very fair entries have been received for the Gisborne Pacing Club's Meeting, although with such a good programme put forward it was rea onsbl o'‘spirt they might have been better. Still there is plenty of material for the handicapper to exercise his ingenuity upon, so that some good sport should result.

The Summer Meeting of the Vestport Trotting Club proved a great success and resulted in a profit of £585. Considerable improvements are to be made to the grandstand, while the saddling paddock and enclosures are to be increased in area 1 , and nothing left undone to make the ground an up-to-date one in every respect.

If anyone had been asked to prophecy as to which owner would have the biggest cheque to draw after the A.R.C. Meeting Mr Stead would have had a unanimous vote cast in his favour, but the Squire of Yaldhurst could get no nearer than fourth with £9lO 10s. Mr C. W. Wallis topped the list with £1350, Messrs Simmelhag and Jackson coming next with £lO5O ; while Mr D Stewart was third with £950.

The most fancied candidates for the Wellington Cup are Mahutonga and Quarryman, and on Auckland form the latter is particularly -well treated. He ran second to Scotty* in the A.R.C. Handicap with 7st 121 b/ and won the Grandstand Handicap from start to finish with Sst 21b, so that with 7st 91b he can have nothing to cavill at. As Mahutonga won the Auckland Cup from end to end with Sst 121 b he must be very dangerous with but one pound more than was the case at Auckland. Mr Chadwick did not see the three races mentioned or he might have been more impressed with the merit of the performances.

Mr Knight has declared his adjustments for the Takapuna Cup, and has succeeded in constructing an interesting puzzle for punters to solve. Scotty heads the list with 9st cJb, or 41b more than he carried into second place in the Grandstand Handicap. Gladstone, with Sst 81b, has been given a chance, but Strath a von will be preferred by many as he is very well and nicely handicapped. Geordie has shown a preference for the Takapuna course, and is quite master of the weight allotted to him. 1 iitty should prove dangerous at the weights, as also would Waikato if he could stay At present St rathi * T on, Scotry, and Geordie are the popular selections.

Mr J. Chadwick has been appointed handicapper to the Napier Park Club.

Nominations for the Te Aroha Hack Racing Club’s Meeting close to-morrow.

Beau Seaton, who performed very creditably at the A.R.C. Meeting, has been sold to Mr J. Buckley.

The totalisator receipts in Adelaide for the year just ended show a falling off of £49,000 as compared with those for 1903.

Mr Edmond Blanc recently refused £20,000 for the Plying Eox colt Ajax. The would-be buyer wanted him for stud purposes.

Holmes, the Christchurch jockey, is attending the Whangarei J .C. Summer Meeting. Quite a number of the Auckland owners and bookmakers are going up for the meeting.

In France the railway companies thoroughly recognise the effect some of the big race meetings have upon their traffic, and it is in consequence that the five principal companies add £2OOO to the Grand Prix de Paris.

Harry Hayr (who has the working of the totalisator at Whangarei) and party have left for Whangarei by oil launch. They took tents and appliances, etc., and intend camping out, thus combining business with pleasure.

Bill Ryan, the well-known Wanganui penciller, but now located in Auckland, is away on _.a,..fishing excursion

There has been quite a big rush on Mahutonga for the Wellington Cup as he seems to have a very good chance with a pound more than he carried in the Auckland Cup. The bookmakers have no straight out books, but confine their business to the Cup and Telegraph Handicap double.

Our old friend W. Lyons, who is a bowler as well as a cue enthusiast, is at present at Gisborne attending the bowlingtournament, and acting skip for the Auckland team. The wearers of the tricolour ribbon have been having some very close games, but luck has been generally against them.

When Gladstone won the G.N. Derby it was a very popular victory and the owners of the colt came in for a lot of congratulations. Being their first season at racing they must be considered somewhat lucky to be second on the winninglist.

Dolores landed both the Ponsonby and New Year Hurdles in such a hollow fashion for Mr A. Baird that it would not be surprising if the mare was not up to Grand National form. An old racegoer remarked that he never saw an easier won double.

From Melbourne comes word of the death of Mr R. S. Foley, the popular secretary of the Ballarat Turf Club and Ballarat Miners’ Turf Club. The cause of death was cancer, from which he had suffered for about twelve months, but he was able to get about hi« ordinary duties up to within a few days of his death. lie underwent several operations, without getting any relief. The scat of the disease was at the root , of the tongue.

The crack pony Manjess has gone lame and has in consequence been eased up in his work.

The ex-Auckland pony Vulpine won a race at Roseberry Park, Sydney, the other day. This is her third victory out of innumerable starts since crossing the Tasman Sea.

King Paul has changed hands, the alleged price being 150 guineas. He will be prepared for his future engagements by F. Macmanemin.

“ Tartar ” Julian has left Mr John Rae’s stable and is again a free lance. He is open for riding engagements at the Whangarei J.C. Summer Meeting.

The half-brothers, ’the Needle and Needlework, are liberally nominated at the Gisborne R.C. Summer Met ting.

St. Harp is now an inmate of M. Gall’s stable at Green Lane, a patron having leased him from Mr Pat Boulton, of Matahura Valley.

The Phoebus Apollo—Antelope filly has gone into F. Macmanemin’s stable to receive her education.

’The annual sale of the Te Mahanga thoroughbred yearlings takes place at Hastings on Saturday, January 28. The sires represented are Torpedo, San Fran, Mahaki, and Waiuku, while the dams are Nymph, Maude, Melinite, Streamlet, Ua, Kissmary, Waingongora, Amoureux. .Par=.

J. Ul-MAA <-* } . • . J-V. Stakes, in which he. accounted for the New Zealander Nelson ; the A. J.C,. St. Leger, once more beating The Australian Peer ; the A.J.C. Plate, in which he was escorted home by The Australian) Peer and Arsenal. During his four-year-old career he won. the A. J.C. Craven Plate, V.R.C. Essendon Stakes, V.R.C. Place Handicap, and A.J.C. Autumn Stakes. At five years old he won the six races for which he started—the A.J.C. Spring Stakes, the Metropolitan, Craven Plate,! and Randwick Plate, and the V.R.C. Melbourne Stakes and Canterbury Plate, in the latter of which his victims included Melos and Carbine. He was ridden in all his races by the late T. Hales, who used to assert that the son of Chester was the best horse he hid ever been associated with, and was firmly of opinion that had the horse been started with lost 191 b in the Melbourne Cup, won by Bravo, he would have won.

A voting Massachusetts woman, who inherited a large sum of money, has started, near the village of Stowe, scire twentv-five miles out of Boston, a home for horses (says the “Breeder and Horseman’’). The place is called Red Acre Farm, and on it are to be seen all kinds of old, worn-out and crinnled horses, from the thoroughbred to draught tvpe. The farm was opened in Mav,* 1903’ The horses are taken there, given treatment if necessary, and after a long rest and good care mav turn out to be “creditable to the farm.’’ Afterwards these, are returned to careful owners, fitted to bear life’s burdens : but rot until th“v. are entirely rehabilitated arc thev allowed to be taien from the rlace. The farm is the onlv one of, its kind in America, and >ssheltering hundreds of horses which need care and kindness.

The pony Whawhai is to be sold by auction on Friday next.

The ’chaser Slow Tom will probably be sent to Sydney for the Easter Meeting of the Australian Jockey Club.

The “ black demon ” Advance is to be trained for the Alanawatu Stakes, run in April.

Ailsa and Crichton returned South by the Mokoia on Tuesday. The Dunedin pair will race at Wellington.

rhe brood mares Melodia and Eton>a are to join Mr Donnelly’s stud at Hawke’s Bay, where they will be mated with Gold Reef.

Sir George Clifford’s quartette, Quarryman Signalman, i o-morrow, and Golden Vein went South by the Union steamer Tarawera on Saturday.

Berths were at a.premium on the Ngapuh'i ’ last night when she left for Whangarei. Quite a host of sportsmen went North for the purpose of assisting at the race meeting on Friday and Saturday.

Carruthers is progressing favourably in the hospital, but it will be some time before the light-weight horseman gets oven his fall from Marisa at Ellerslie.

A good service of trains will be run from Te Aro and Wellington to the racecourse at the Wellington Kacing Club’s Meeting on January 21 and 23. The times for departure are published in thus issue.

•;p-Alf. Adams has a double book on the Wellington Cup and Telegraph Handicap, and alsq the 'l akapumx Cup and Steeplechase. Double betting is fairly brisk on the events mentioned.

Our ponies racing in Auckland are evidently a very moderate lot when the Southerner Reduction, who is some removes from a champion, can give them all weight and a beating.

The reported sale of Up-to-Date to Mr Caulton Fox did not eventuate, the reason being, I understand, that the son of St. Hippo failed to pass the vet. He was subsequently purchased by Mr W. Lyons, and goes into Rae’s care to be trained.

Jimmy Buchanan, the popular horseman, showed a lot of pluck in riding Mahutonga to victory in the Auckland Plate after getting his foot very badly but when piloting Black and Gold in the previous race. He is still limping badly as the result of the accident.

By this time Otto Madden, who headed the list of winning jockeys last season in England, has become one of the veterans of the saddle ; yet we remember as if it were yesterday the race which first brought him into prominence (says the “Licensed Victuallers’ Gazette’’). This was the Althorp Park Stakes at Northampton, in 1595, wherein he rode a filly of Lord Wolverton’s named Perfect Dream. At the time he was an apprentice in Richard Marsh’s stable, and practically unknown, but upon winning after a terrific finish by a head, he was the recipient of enconiums which might well have turned a stronger head. His opponent on that occasion was Mornington Cannon, then undoubtedly the head of his profession, and it is no exaggeration to say that Madden suffered in no wise by comparison with his more famous rival. Perfect Dream was one of the smallest racehorses at the time in training, and is not a little singular that at the stud she gave birth in Perfectionist to a colt who was built on the most massive lines.

Nothing could well have been more unsatisfactory, or to the general body of Turf “regulars’’ .more annoying, than, the way in which the English racing season of 1904 fizzled out. Many people are disposed to blame the Joe' ey Club (says the “Licensed Victuallers’ Gazette”), or rather its mouthpiece, the Messrs Weatherby, for not allowing the Manchester Meeting to be carried over until the current week ; but this would have been in direct contravention of racing law, since Rule 4 explicitly lays it down that “No race shall be held . . . later than the week which includes the 22nd of November.” It savours almost of ancient history tosay that the Manchester November Handicap furnishes the only instance Of an important race having to be abandoned through stress of weather —a fact which: suggests that the English climate, despite is not so black as it has been painted.

The prominent jockey, W, Lane, had not been moved from Lingfield up to the time the latest papers left England. One of his first remarks on fairly recovering his senses was : ■“ Well, I suppose I must soon pack my bag to go over to France to ride Pretty Polly.” When he was told that the mare had run and been beaten, he was very disappointed, and was also surprised to hear that AV. Halsey had not had the mount, as he had ridden her to victory as a two-j ear-old. Lane is said to be doing well, but bis mind is still affected, and apart from the ■doctors and nurses only his mother and father are a lowed to see him, even his brothers being denied admission to the sick-room. Lane rarely alludes to racing, and as far as possible his mind is kept off that topic When the last race meeting was held at Lingfield the patient’s ears were stopped with carton-wool so that he might not hear the noise.

The following are the drawers of the placed horses in Tattersall’s consultation on the Summer Cup:— First horse, Cato, Bunga'e and Beale, care of T. Hawkins, Tangoline, Auckland, £4,000; Elvo, Rashfield, Dan Holland, Berringa (Vi'toria), £1,250; Notfios, G. James, P. 0., Melbourne, £750. Perth Cup No. i:— Blue Sp-c, Miss Mollie Murray, Speed-street, Liverpool, New South Wales, £4,000; Fifeness, A. Smith, Sherlock Station, Roebum, W.A., £1260; Avalon, Brown and Lowth, Lowth’s Hotel. Townsville, Queensland, £750. Perth Cup No. 2 (which cL sed with 25,000) :—Blue Spec, E. H. Knight, Tattersall’s Club, Sydney, £t,600; Fifeness, J Fuller Commercial Bank, Bathurst, £600; Avalon, Ron, Burns, Sedgefi» Id, S.ngleton, £4OO. The above amounts are net.

The French flat lacing season concluded ift Noyewbi r, and all previous records for France have b< j broken by M. Edmund Blanc, whose st ike w.-uniogß, including the money won in England by Jardy, tot 1 £65,267 2s 6d. To this sum must be add< •; £2,443 4s, amount of breeders’ premiums placed to the credit of his account, so that his stable is at the head of the list with £67,710 6s 6d. Denham has sent Out 84 hor.-es and secured 38 brackets, which, if not a record, is a performance which has not been surpassed in France.

The tattooing of the horse is said.to be the latest fad, which had its origin in Paris. Prominent leaders in society in the French capital have had their family coat-of-arms punctured into the sides of the hcrses, and the new craze has already spread throughout Europe.

LJnsoundness in a horse may frequently be determined when he stands at rest. Place the horse on a level floor, watching for a few minutes, and if he is sore footed, the foot that causes pain will be stuck out in front of him, or the hind feet turn about persistently.

Discussing the chances in the next English classic events, the “Licensed Victuallers’ Gazette” says “All the ‘crack’ two-year-olds have now completed their work for the year, and the result of the running has left students of public form in a state of utter confusion. That Cicero is entitled to be reckoned the champion admits of no argument, and to him we must look to tackle the French representative in the Derby. That Cicero ib a colt of highclass w r e feel certain, and if he turns out only as good as his sire, Cyllerfc; Jardy will have to be all that his fondest admirers claim to beat him. Whilst giving M. Blanc’s colt full credit for his victory in the Middle Park Plate, we hold the opinion that Cicero, in the same form as when he landed the National Breeders’ Produce Stakes in July, could have treated the opposition with similar contempt, and we sincerely hope nothing will happen to prevent him coming out in his best form at Epsom next summer. That M. Blanc possesses real good youngsters in the Flying Fox colts, Vai d’Or and Jardy, hardly admits of doubt. Vai d’Or keeps Jardy company in the Blue Riband, and as the pair are also in the Two Thousand Guineas, from which the name of Cicero is missing, M. Blanc’s chance of winning at least one of the ‘classics’ looks particularly rosy. Nor may the colours be dangerous only in the Two Thousand and Derby, for according to all accounts Denman has discovered a very smart filly also. This is a daughter of Flying Fox, by name Muskerry, who made a successful debut last Sunday in the Prix de Saint-Fir-min at Chantilly, when with 7 to 4 betted on her she won like a stayer. Stamina ought to be her forte, as she is out of Maskery, the dam of Masque, who was a thorough stayer, and will be remembered as having won the Ascot Stakes in 1897, when with 7st 91b on his three-year-old back he made all the ruhning for the two miles, and scored in fine style. Muskerry is in the Oaks, and as the French Oaks takes place twelve days before the Epsom race M Blanc' - may attempt to land the double revent.”