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COURSING.
NOTES BY THE WAY.
BI SKIDDAW,
The Victoria Club opened the season at the
Oval last Saturday without let or hindrance.
Formerly it has usually been found absolutely
necessary to postpone the commencement on
account of the lone spell of dry weather, and
last year the terrible way in which the grey
hounds suffered from the adamantine state of
the ground, as well as the extreme heat, will
not readily be forgotten. The three or four
days' rain that came down so persistently
last week, therefore,! was in the very nick of
time for good, sound coursing, the con
sequence being that the greyhounds at the
end of the stake generally had not the sem
blance of a scratch upon them. The running
ground, moreover, I never remember to have
presented so verdant an appearance. Pretty
well every bare patch, thatformerly was an eye
sore, is now covered with herbage, and the
result on Saturday last was as perfect a
stretch of running ground as the most en
thusiastic and ardent disciple of modern
coursing could by any means desire.
The card was of attenuated dimensions;
but in this respect the Victoria Club iB no
worse off than its neighbours; indeed, there
seems to be a general depression ana want
of animation in the sport all over the colony;
whilst the poor display made by the New j
South Wales Club this week shows matters
to be quite as discouraging over there.
The running at the Oval on Saturday was
far from productive of anything likely to ex
ercise influence on coming events, though the
fact of Mr. R. Chirnside winning one stake,
and running up for another, is perhaps an
augury of what may be anticipated at the
more pretentious meetings later on in the
season. Mr. J. B. Scott Bhowed a similar
bold front, and but for the guarding of Sher
wood, Star, and Solano in the third round
of the Ladies' Stake, he wonld have
seen the end of all three events.
By the bye, the guarding of the two grey
hounds in question, to anyone who knows
the rules of coursing, was not correct; It
appears, however, that the Victoria Club
have Bome sort of rule making this permis
sible. Such being the case, why was there
not an announcement on the card to the
i effect that the meeting was ran under the
National rnles with that exception? As it
was, there was considerable confusion.
Really, it must appear to most people that
the Victorians, being the premier club in the
1 colony, ought to set a good example to other
clubs in such matters.
Match Girl fully deserved her position in die
principal stake, albeit it took her all her time
to defeat Silver King, the faster greyhound,
who was only just beaten. Silver King does
not appear to have lost any of his pace of last
season; but the way he hangs off his hare iB
far from impressing one with his chances for
a big stake After his distressing course
with Mary Mines, Mr. Scott's dog was lucky
enough to get a short-running hare for his
bye. This circumstance did not please some
people; but it was quite enough to constitute
a course, iqasmuch as the dog knocked his
game about twice before killing. The bril
liant style in which old Wherry man won^his
two courses made it appear quite on the card
thathemight land tne stake: but, like all
greyhounds in the sere and yellow leaf, Mr.
Whittingham's veteran wasnot to be depended
on any further, and Match Girl defeated him
with no trouble. Sky, the winner of the
second stake, ran a much improved grey
hound from the only occasion on which she
appeared last season. She evidently is a fast
bitch, and had the credit of leading and de
feating Werribee Dove, one of the smartest
puppies of last year, in the decider. It may
be explained, however, that Mr. Chirnside's
bitch had previously jumped the covert fence
and run herself to death amongst the hares.
To-day the second meeting of the season
over the now well-established Sherwood-park
Plumpton beginst and will be concluded on
Monday. In addition to the Derby and Oaks
a couple of all-aged stakes have been added to
the card, sothattwodays'good sport should be
provided The first brace of gneyhoundB are to
be in the slips at 11 o'clock on Saturday.
Sherwood-park is three miles' drive from
Camberwell station, where omnibuses meet
the trains. Conveyances also run from
Chapel-street, Prahran.
Tne recently-amalgamated Prahran, Co
burg, and East Bourke Clubs announce what
they term a "grand coursing pic-nic" for the
25th of May, on the Bald-hill Estate, Donny
brook. The stake is the Prahran Cup, for an
unlimited number of all-ages, to which Mr.
G. W. Taylor, the Mayor of Prahran, adds a
piece of plate. Arrangements have been
made for cabs and omnibuses to leave
Prahran and Coburg on the morning of the
coursing. Should the day be fine, an enjoy
able time ought to be spent after the good
old-fashioned style of coursing. In the mean
time, Mr. J. P. Denehy, the secretary, will
supply all particulars at the Prahran HoteL
The Sandhurst, Maldon, and Baringhup
Club hold another meeting on Wednesday
next; and the Woodstock Club's postponed
fixture is the following day. Nominations
for the latter meeting close to-day.
What is coursing coming to? Last week
the well-bred bitch, Bashful Maid, was sold
by auction at Hamilton for a guinea and a
half. A brace of her saplings, Dy Rebellion,
likewise went for 15s. apiece 1
Mr. James Perry, the secretary of the New
South Wales Club, Bends particulars of the
second Waterloo Cup to be ran at Rooty-hill,
on the 20th of May and following days. The
Btake is, as last year, for 32 all-ages at 15
BO vs. each, open to members of any club.
The winner will receive 150 so vs., and a piece
of plate value 60 so vs., presented by Mr.
Edwaid Lee; the second, 75 so vs.; third and
fourth, SO sova each; the next four save
their stake, and eight dogs £7 10s. each.
There iB also the Waterloo Parse, for dogs
beaten in the first round of the cup, the
winner taking 40 sov&, the second 20 BOVS,,
and the third and fourth 5 sova. each. The
cud will likewise contain the St. Leger, for
an unlimited number of puppies at 4
sova. each, the pronerty of members of
the club. Meanwhile, I may add that
applications for nominations for the Water
loo Cup will be received by Mr. Perry,
at Tattersall's Club. Sydney, up to 4 p.m. on
Thursday, the7thot May; each application
to be accompanied by 5 BOVS. deposit. The
entry and draw is on the 19th of May. Nomi
nations will be allowed in the order in which
applicatiohs are received, and it only remains
to express die hope that the 32 nominations
will be disposed of at once, and that Victoria
will be as well represented as last year, when
the prize came over the Murray.
The Ballarat Club meeting this week was a
complete success from a sporting point of
view, but it is to be regretted that so few
people can be induced to undertake the 16
miles' railway journey from Ballarat to Bur
rumbeeL A day's outing at the Ercildoune
Plumpton, when the weather is favourable,
as it aecidedlywas on Thursday and Friday,
is nothing more nor less than a pic-nic, in the
centre of glorious wood and mountain Bcenery;
whilst the coursing man can here rely upon
most legitimate sport over one of the finest, if
not the finest enclosure in the colonies, so
perfect is every detail connected therewith,
rhe committee of the club are certainly to be
commended for their dogged perseverance
year after year: though I near of stepB being
on the tapis whereby, if the Ballarat people
cannot be persuaded to go and Bee conning
in its present situation, it will be taken to
them on the confines of the city. There
will be little difficulty in securing a piece of
ground; bat the chief point for consideration
will be the wherewithal to defray the cost of
laying out, which in the case of the Ercil
doune Flumpton has now footed up to a large
sum. In the meantime, Mr. Cadden, the sec
retary, this week informed me that it was
proposed to shift the spectators' boundary
fence ICO yards further in. This can easily
be done without detriment to the straight
away course of the hares, inasmuch as it is
very rarely the case that a hare breaks round.
On the other hand, they seem to know their
way about so well that one and all head at
once for the escape coverts at the far end.
These coverts are now sufficiently numerous,
and so well screened with pampas grass, as
to reduce the chances of distressing trials to
a minimum.
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