SPORTING.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume V, Issue 647, 15 August 1891, Page 2

SPORTING.

[SPECIAL TO THE STANDARD.] Christchurch, last night. The Grand National Steeplechase resulted —Freeman 1, Christmas 2, Waitangi 3. The Hunters’ Hurdles was won by Camera, and Leone won the Ladies’ Bracelet. Oouranto pulled off the Grand National Hurdles, and Lyndoora took the Maiden Steeplechase. The Welter Handicap proved a victory for Erin-go-Bragh, and Kangaroo oame first in the Final Steeplechase.

The finishing touches were given in Committee yesterday afternoon to the Poverty Bay Turf Club’s Spring race meeting to be held on 21st October. The only alteration from last year's programme is the adoption of the following weights in the Maiden Plate : 3 year-olds, 77; 4 years and upwards, 8.2; mares allowed 51bs, geldings 21bs. A Maiden Hack Scurry of half a mile gives an extra race, making a total of eight on the. programme. This forms a most suitable programme for the opening of the Turf Club’s new grounds at Makaraka. The programme of the Poverty Bay Trotting Club's meeting, to be held on the Club s new course iu Childers Road, now in course of formation, appears in this issue ; there is very little doubt that the Club’s meetings will be well patronised. As showing the growth of the sport in New Zealand, it may be mentioned that whereas there were fourteen affiliated clubs racing under the N.Z.T.A. rules last year, there are now 54, exclusive of Auckland Olube, not yet affiliated. In the South, where trotting has flourished for some time, the improvement in the breed and speed of their horses is very marked, this has been the result of a judicious crossing of the American imported trotter and half-orea Colonial mares. The following records for New Zealand, made during the season just closed, will speak for themselves :-One mile • Princess (saddle) Dunedin, 2na 38$*; two miles : Calista (saddle) Christchurch, 5m 22s • three miles: Wanderoo (saddle) Dunedin, 8m ; four miles : Joe (harness) Christchurch, 11m 17s. The best English mile record is

held by Shamrock, 2m 335. American records are as follows One mile: Maud 8,2 m B}s; two miles: Fanny Witherspoon, 4m 43a; 3 miles: Huntress, 7m 21Ja; 4 miles: Satellite, 10m 524 s ; 5 miles : Lady Msok, 13m ; 10 miles: Controlled, 27m 23|5;15 miles: Gmder, 47m 20a ; 20 miles : Captain McGowan, 58m 25s ; 50 miles: Ariel. 3b 55m 4OJs; 100 miles: Conqueror, 8h 55m 53a This year, for the first time, and in future, the Turf Register will also contain a record of all trotting meetings held in New Zealand. The importation of one of _the many young trotting stallions, now doing duty in Canterbury end Otago, might prove a profitable speculation for some of our local horse breeders during the coming season, _ A strange thing occurred at Brighton (England) on June 4'-h. In arranging the order of running overnight, an inteival of five minutes had been allowed (instead of the usual half hour) between the Juvenile Plate and the Southdown Welter. The jockeys for the latter were weighed out in Capital time, and reaching the post several minutes before necessary, they were sent away on their journey. Two horses finished a dead beat, but almost before they had weighed in an objection was lodged as to the validity of the race. There was no doubt the race had been started before it ought to have been—in fact elevon minutes before time, and the Stewards decided that the race should be run over again, which was done, only the two deadheatera however starting.