MANAWHENUA'S ANCESTRESS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 206, 1 September 1933, Page 10

MANAWHENUA'S ANCESTRESS.

An interesting story of early racing in New Zealand comes from Palmerston North. The scene was set at a meeting held in a paddock just above the Oeo Hotel, in Taranaki, and the supporters of Cuisine, the dam of Country Picnic, and g'randam of Manawhenua, Tanerifi, etc., were essaying to win a treble in the one afternoon. Cuisine had accounted for the .opposition at her first two outings, but was beaten by a maiden performer named Kathleen in the third contest —a scurry event. The winner was owned by a former Australian and a protest was immediately entered on the grounds that the filly was a "ring-in" from across the Tasman. Actually, Kathleen had been bred at a place named Hawhitiroa, just out of Eltharn, having been got by Fraternity out of a Vanguard mare. It so happened that the newcomer to the Dominion had seen the foal shortly after her birth and he there and then made up his mind to purchase her when she was a yearliug. The intention was duly carried out, and it was as an "unknown" that Kathleen made her appearance at Oeo to upset a very confident party of backers to the delight and satisfaction of the bookmakers, who were then operating freely -in the Dominion. Fortunately for the owner of Kathleen, he had advised one of the stewards —he is a well-known Pihama sportsman to-day—to support the filly, and the owner was of the opinion that that gentleman was a good friend on his side at the subsequent inquiry. Although the stakes were for a mere £10 or £12 10/, there was so much money involved where the treble was concerned that feeling ran high for quite a time, and it was at the suggestion of a Maori that the owner of Kathleen quietly left the course with the filly and sought refuge in a neighbouring homestead. Then, under cover of darkness, a party of two men departed in a gig with two horses behind, the one being Kathleen and the other a pony named Coorina, who had won the pony event the same day, with a 40 mileEi journey ahead of them. They were not unthankful when they sighted home at daybreak. Subsequently a match was arranged between Cuisine and Kathleen, but the latter again proved her superiority. She was later sold to a Mr. O'Donnell, of Manaia, who bred Avena and another promising sort in Guianforte. Avena in turn produced several foals, including Avola, Troilus, Rossferry, Sovena, etc., and now to-day there are racing on the racecourses of the Dominion offspring of those two principals of those earlier days.