The Sun.
London, England, 1857-01-07 00:00:00

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SPORTING NOTES.

THINGS TALKED ABOUT.

Steeplechasing for many seasons has furnished a long
, record of chicahery and mal-practices, but of all the
I daring dodges which were ever coticoced by the jumping
fraternity foi duping the public those which have been
recently brought to light in connection with the Waltham
Abbey affair are, perhaps, the most disgraceful. Surely
the homely saying about rooted quarrelling and honest
men heiiring the truth never received a more strtkit g
illustration than with reference to the very pretty quar-
rel which existed amongst the people connected with the
recent Waltham Steeplechase ; and it is hard to conceive
that any person should be so indifferent to the opinion a f
the public as the man who could deliberately publish
to the world his participation in schemes the most dis-
creditable and dishonest. Mr. Reynolds, "the owner of
Janus," seems to have taken but a poor revenge when
he exposed the "arrangement" which he was willing to
enter into ; and amidst the shout of in&gnation which
his precious epistle has raised, he may well exclaim,
with the lady in the play, "Oh, that foc.liih letter—l
'could cut my fingers off for having written it." Rad
the steward decided the matter in favour of Janus
would Mr. Reynolds have been eager t- make the
public acquainted with the facts ?
Racing men are, after all, easy dupes, and experience
seemingly has for them no lessons. After their Sairnw
ventures and previous " doings" at Walt him
might have been expected that they would
.not
have so readily fallen into the hole that was pre-
pared for them. They, however, allowed them-
selves to be " sportingly " garotted, and with as
much quietness nod submission, as the ducks waggled
up to the old lady when she shouted, "Dilly, dilly, come
and be killed." Certain members of the jumping frattr-
nity have, however, now made their last dying speech.
and confessi, n, and the public, for a time, will not, per-
haps, be again victimised. Mal-practices in the steeple-
chase world, however, are soon forgotten, and evil doers,
by a few months' quietness, obtain a ticket of leave to
prey again upon the unwary and uninitiated. The
jumpers of the Waltham Abbey fraternity must have a
care, or one day they might be indicted for a conspiracy
to, &O.

The Chester Cup bas closed with 187 subscribers—
nine less than it obtained last year. The numetical
falling off is, h?wever, more than counter-balanced by
the character of the animals entered, and if Mr.
Top:iam only executes his difficult task of handicapping
with his wonted ability, the interest of the race will be
undiminished. Neatly every horse backed figursli
among the nominations the exceptions are M..D.
(s,ho it is riporte,i has recently become the prope-rty of
Mr. Howard) and one or two others of item importaLce.
;'hr entry for the Liverpool Steeplechase may also be

deemed numerically satisfactory, albeit the list shows
what a " plentiful scarcity" there is of real steeplechase
horses—animals capable of following the It Funds witk
any respectability over a stiffish country. The Metro-
politan, City and Suburban, Gieat Northern Handicap,
and Northamptonshire Stakes closed yesteriay, and at
the time I write no list of the nominations has been
placed before the public.
Within a year four members' of the Bell's Life staff
of reporters have been stricken down by %he hand of
death. Mr. John Ruff went first, then followed suc-
cessively Mr. Frank Clark, Mr. William Ruff, and now,
only four days after the death of the last-mentioned
gentleman, Mr. Massey has also died. The deaths of
these gentlemen bear ample testimony to the living
labours and exertions which the reporters to the sport-
mg press are compelled to undergo.
Since the above was penned I have received the
entres for the Warwick Spring Meeting, and I am glad
to state that Mr. Merry has used his well-known tact
in preparing his programme and filling his stakes. There
are 44 nominations for the Steeplechase, and 47 for the
Hurdle Race. Of the legitimate events, the Great
Warwick has obtained 30 subscribers, the Willoughby
23, and the Two-years-o,d Stakes 11. So far as lam
at present able to judge indeed the turf prospects for
1857 are most cheering.
Speculation on Derby and Chester Cup is at a dead
lock. On the former event no important demonstration
seems likely to be made until the weather breaks, and
horses are enabled to resume work, and on the latt r
betting will not be briskly pursued until aftvr the pub-
lication of the weights, which the official list announces
will be declared in due time.
Jan. 7

A FRESH MAN.

BETTING AT MANCHESTER—TuEsDAY.

Considerable time was taken up in making preliminary
arrangements for the future conducting of the Subscrip-
tion-room, and di,,cussing.the probable weights at which
several horses will be handicapped for the Chester Cup.
For the Darby, 2,500 to 250 was taken about Lord
Clitden's lot, which includes Loyola, Beeswax, and Blue
Devils colts ; 3,500 to 35 was taken about Pyrrhus the
Second, 550 to 25 about M.D., 450 to 15 about Gold-
finch, and 300 to 6 about Blue Jacket. We were
informed that 50 to 1 was taken to upwards of
201. about Comeoian. The odds against horses for
the Chester Cup continues much the came as they were
before the entries appeared, nor is it likely that much
more betting will be done, or any great change take
place until the weights are published for tbat event.
To-day 1,000 to 20 was taken each about. St. Giles and
Centurion, that price and sum were offered each against
Alice Wentworth and Miucepie, 1,000 to 15 would
have been taken about either of them. 100 to 7is
offered on the field for the Liverpool Steeplechase, and
100 to 6 bar Escape-200 to 10 was taken about
Minerva.
Tfie following are the closing prices :
LIVERPOOL STEEPLECHASE.
100 to 7 agst Escape (offered)
100 to 6 agst bar one (offered)
20 to 1 agst Minerva (taken)
CHESTER CCP.
40 to 1 on the field (offered)
50 to 1 agst St. Giles (taken)
50 to 1 agst Canturiou (taken)
50 to 1 agst Alice Wentworth (take 66 to 1)
50 to 1 agkt Mincepie (take 66 to 1)
50 to 1 agst Magnifier (taken)

DERBY,
22 to 1 agst M.D. (taken)
25 to 1 apt Zuyder Z,e (taken)
30 to 1 agst Goldfinch Oaken)
50 to 1 agst Blue Jacket (taken and offered)
50 to 1 agst Pyrrhus the Second (taken)
10 to 1 agst Lord Clifden'e lot (taken and off.)

CHEISTER CUP.—Elli.ngto❑ is not entered ; and Peto
and Cardsharper have been entered without the consent
of their owners, and will be struck out by the time pre-
scribed, unless specially ordered to remain in.