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SPORTING,
Roebuck was scratched at noon oa Friday
for to-day's Steeplechase,
The Attorney-General, Hon, H, E, Downer,
has invited the Hunt Club to lunch at his
residence, Hilltop, on Saturday, June 7, foe
the first meet of the Beason.
The Hnnt Club will hold a general meet
ing to confirm the new rules on Friday, June 6,
On Monday next Messrs, Barker & Cham
hers will offer at auction at 2 p.m. Mr. W. R,
Wilson's horBes My Lord, The Author, Alle
gro, and Legend, At 3 p,m, on the same day
Mr, Cornelius will submit for sale at Boase's
Bazaar the whole of Mr, Ferry's stud, in
cluding Simpleton, and others.
At Tattersall's rooms on Friday evening,
after the acceptances for Saturday s racing
were poBted, double event books were opened
on the A.R.O, Handicap and Steeple, a num
ber of wagers being laid with the leading horses
in the jump. No straightout books were opened
on the Handicap, but 3 to 1 would have been
taken about one horse (not named) had the
money been forthcoming. For the Steeple
Mahdi was Btill in request at 100 to
40, and EJaBtio baoked for a good
amount at the same figure. Skylark II.
was backed by the stable at tens to
one, and Emlie and others had supporters
at the same figure. Late at night a commis
sion was executed for the Catrington-stceet
stable about Dingo for the Steeple, over 600
being secured, closing at hundreds to twelve.
Those who doubt whether a plumpton could
be made to pay in Adelaide should give a
glance to what Mr, Cox is doing at Moonee
Valley. On Friday next, the 5th June, nomi
nations will close for the richest stake ever run
for in the world, namely, the Australian Cham
pion StakeB, for 128 all ages at 10 aovs. each, to
which Mr. Cox has generously added 1,000
sovs.. which handsome priza will go to the
winner, while the entrance money will be out
up amongst the other moat suoceasrul per
formers in the following proportionRunner
up, 350 sovs,; 2 dogs, 100 sovs. each; 4 dogs, 50
govs,! 8 dogs, SO bovb. eaoh; 16 dogs, 10 sovs,
each, This is a princely stake, and it is to be
hoped that coursiDg men and owners of grey
hounds in the four quarters of Australasia will
i nominate and support Mr. Cox'b praiseworthy
project in a manner which will encourage the
i worthy entrepreneur to persevere in his efforts
to popularise coursing. This stake is in value
equal to what the Melbourne Cup was only
1 two or three years ago.
Messrs, Barker & Chambers held a success
ful sale of Mr. Ralli's Werocata horses at the
John Bull Bazaar on Friday, when 24 lots
were disposed of, including Richmond b g by
Sir Edmund, £20, to Mr, Hunt; Pyrmont,
c g, by Rippling Wave, £30, to Mr, A, E.
Rosb ; Roebuck, c g, by Sir Edmund, £41, to
Mr. Hughes; Romany Lass, £17; Red Rose,
£17; and Relate, £17 10s„ all by Sir Edmund,
to Mr, Davies; Ransom, £30, to Mr, T._ H,
Murray; and various others at fair prices,
Later in the afternoon Mr. Jordan's EdwardB
town yearlings were submitted at Boases
Bazaar by Mr. Bennett, but they were passed,
as satisfactory prices were not forthcoming, A
number of good ponies from Mr. Hutchinson s
i Morambro station were all disposed of at
remunerative figures.
A London cablegram states that Mr,
Mauton's bay filly Riviera, wbioh last year
won '£12,000 in stakea, broke her back on
Tuesday while being exercised. Riviera was
entered for the Derby and Oaks, for both of
which races she haB been freely baoked.
An ingenious method of evading the pre
visions of the Lottery Act has been successfully
put in practice by a firm of storekeepers at
Molong, N.S.W. The firm in question sought
to push business by offering to cash purchasers
of goods to a given amount a chance in a prize
drawing. The matter came under the notice
of the police, and a prosecution followed, _ It
was showD, however, that the foim of drawing
the lottery was gone through in a boat some
1 miles from the coast, The case waB dismissed,
The WilliamBtown races take place to-day,
I and the horses most fancied are for the
1 Hurdles Last Request, Souter Johnny, Cross
rail, and Venus. Trial Stakes—Wiora, Little
Bob, and Merry CbriatmaB, Autumn Han
dicap—Betsy, Prattler, Dawn, and Gazette.
Selling Race—Moonstone and Squire. Steeple
—Ladybird, Curiosity, and Studley. . Bay
View Handicap—Propounder, Don Giovan,
Rich Ruby. *
The A.R.C, Birthday Cup will be run to
day at Sydney. Tae following are the quota
tions Birthday Cup—100 to 17 Swing, 100 to
15 lEBignia, 100 to 14 Hilda, 100 to 8
Muriel, 100 to 6 Stamford, Tartar, Kingsley,
100 to 5 Mantilla, Eclipse, Magnus, Highborn,
Goldmaster, 100 to 4 The Queen, Au'.ceua,
Moscow, Honey dew, Jack, Bustler, 100 to 3
juittle Lady, 100 to 2 Sir William, Pet Girl,
Golden CrowD, Eveleen, Souvenir, Lancer, 100
to 1 Marvel, Chintz, Antelope, Bonnie Spec,
Miss Thhza. May Queen, Gay Time, Little
Berne, and Federation. .
We were under the impression that such
baifaarisicg customs as dogfightiug, cock
fighting and bullbaiting had gone out of
fa-hion in England, but it appears from the
following by an eye-witness that the contrary
is the case. A writer in a home journal says:—
"Few people are aware that dog fights are
carried on to a great extent in the London of
to day, Such is the case though, and, if I live
to be as old as Methuselah, I shall never forget
the one I attended one evening. Although I
had notice quite three weeks before that a fight
was to come off, it was not until the last
moment that the word was passed to me to be
at a certain corner in, let us say, the West-Ead
of London, I went, and, after an introduction,
was ushered into room, from the ceiling of
which hung a balance, a scale of the old
wood and rope order, As I entered a white
dog was in the scales, and a brindled one "had
just been weighed, and both registered 28^ lb,
Nov; these dogs were trained to the_ minute,
Their loins were wasp-like and their ribs stood
out like fiddleitiings, but at the same time the
muscles on the hind quarters and shoulders
were lumpy and as hard as nailB, Both wore
muzzles and everything was carried on with a
business-like sort of air. The room wherein we
were located was decorated with fighting pic
tures; in fact, the whole surroundings savored
of the ' ring,' On entering the room my eye
detected one or two acquaintances ; in fact one
man was told off to look after me, and see that
I got through all right, for the fight was not to
take place where the dogs were weighed, After
the weights had been taken the company filed
out, and my companion kept on talking about
other matters as if no fight was coming
off at all, I said that_ I thought it was
time to move, and he replied, 'You leave it to
i mo, my toy,' bo I soon found out tli&t my busi*
ness was to bold my tongue. Well, things
went on like this for quite half an hour, and
i then my guide said, 'I think we'd better shift,
and soon we were out in not over well-lighted
streets, We crossed roads, took short cuts
through courts; in fact, right through the thick
of course the West- End—London, and after
covering a" distance of a mile and a half or so,
arrived at a club, where in a long room were
quite 100 men. At one end of this apart
ment was a drinking bar, while at the other
was a pit, wherein the fight was to take place.
However, the order went round to get to
business, and I was favored with a Beat next
the referee, The seoonds then made their ap
1 pearance in the ring with the two dogs,
Each took up his corner, and a pail of water
! and a sponge were handed to each man. The
dog3 were then washed down, especially about
i the neck, to make sure no fake or poison had
been placed there, and without much more
ado the dogs were Elipped at one another.
And they did fight! For two hours less five
minutes the two dogs worried one another.
Not a cry of pain escaped their Iip3, although
their appearance was shooking. _ Once they
parted for about a minute to a minute and a
half, but were eood to work again, and away
they rolled and ohewed as if they had only
been fighting 10 minuteB. One could not help
admiring the pluck and endurance of both
dogs, for they were bb game as pebbles. No
fighting for three minutes and one minutes
rest, but a fight for dear life for two hours.
The betting was all on the_ brindle dog. He
was on top most of the time and doing the
work, while the white dog lay on his back and
took the gruelling without a murmur. I asked
the referee his private opinion, and ha said,
" Ob, it's 3 to 1 on one—the brindle," But a
change waB about to happen, and the contest
assumed a IreBh aspect, The white dog had
been fighting with some jadgment. The
brindle dog grew weak from his own exertions,
i and like an uncarted stag, the white sprang
| up and wrb over the brindle dog in half a
minute, The betting immediately veered
I r,.und in favor of the white. He set to and
killed the brindle in about seven to tan
I minutes after he had got the upper hand. Tna
s( cords at this time were down on their hands
and knees blowing up the dogB' nostrils aid.
along their backs, but to no great purpose, and
when the white let go his hold the aeconds
were ordered to their corners. The Bponges
were requisitioned at once, and the dead dog
was washed with all the care that was bestowed:
on the livingone.' Let him go.'criedthe referee,
and the white dashed across the ring, but re
. fused to 'mouth' the dead dog ; and amidst all
tie din, cheering, shouting, and oaths, there
came tbfi clear and emphatic decision of th8
referee:—'Gentlemen, / give the fight to the
dead dog,' Such then are the rules of tha dog
fighting ring, and this is the wiy they are
oarried out."
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