COLTS CONQUER CRACKS IN THE SAVIDAN STEEPLES

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 193, 16 August 1941, Page 4 (Supplement)

COLTS CONQUER CRACKS IN THE SAVIDAN STEEPLES

(By MELANION)

Four junior members of the Technical Old Boys' Club dominated the J. \V. Savidan Steeplechase for the Hallyburton-Johnstone Shield, held for the first time at the Auckland Domain by the Auckland Amateur Athletic. Club last Saturday. J. Robinson was the first winner of a splendid trophy, and he thoroughly deserved his victory, showing excellent judgment in his running. He was followed home by M. J. Halliday, J. D. Long and R. J. Long—all four boys being well clear of the field. Conditions were far from ideal, the going being very heavy, and after the competitors had traversed two of the five laps it became slippery, especially at the hurdles. It was a"good race to watch, and, the tactics of the various entrants were interesting. Most harrier races are run on the sealed handicap principle, but on this occasion the runners were set off on, their actual time starts. The first four to finish were the only ones to make full use of their smarts, all going off well and taking advantage of the pace of the men preceding them. Without exception, those on the back mark seemed content to run their own race, and took little advantage of any pacing— with the result that for quite a good deal of the race the leaders were running every bit as fast as the "cracks." The winner, J. Robinson, was most impressive. A nicely built young athlete, he runs with an easy stride, carries himself well and possesses a good finish. Robinson took the first lap easily, and after making himself acquainted with the course he proceeded to move up to the front and establish a handy lead. He took care once he was in the lead that neither Halhday nor Long came within striking distance. This boy has run well throughout his first season. He should have a bright future. Halliday Impressive There is no more popular junior in harrier circles than M. J. Hallir£ y 'J vho runs in tne summer with the Papatoetoe Club. He possesses possibilities, but does not seem to take the sport seriously enough to do as well as he should. On Saturday he was in fine form and set off right from the start to catch up the leaders £*}s lo £ g ' easy stride was most noticeable, and the way in which he S 2?TU h l b£^ k hm was reminiscent of J. W. Savidan. Halliday made nv£, re ?vL r °F t . to , catch the winner ovei the last furlong, but Robinson n«d too nv.ioh in receive.

One of a trio of brothers, J. D. Long has not been to the fore as much as the other pair; nevertheless he runs easily, and certainly can stay. Off a longish mark he made certain to use the pace of those in front to help him, and he kept going well throughout. Had he possessed more speed he might well have troubled the winner. Long's younger brother "R.J." has shown up well in those races in which he has taken part, and he was moving up nicely on Saturday until he hit a hurdle. This certainly affected him for quite the best part of a lap, but he was making up ground at the last. Technical certainly has four juniors of great promise. Champion Revels in Heavy Going Ansell Browne (Lynndale). off the scratch mark, made fastest time, and went well considering his hard race with W. J. Potter the previous week. Browne found little difficulty with the course, and he is definitely a better runner in heavy going than on a firm course. H. Burt (Technical), who was second fastest, handled the conditions well, better than his club captain, W. G. Long, who, after a good first lap fell right away and finished quite distressed. The Lynndale runner, A. Mclnnes, has always favoured steeplechases rather than cross-country races, but lack of training throughout the season prevented him from turning on the usual good race that he does on the Domain circuit. Two Auckland Club men, H. Farley and A. Savage, let the first four get too far away from them. Both are newcomers to harrier racing, and they will do better with more racing experience. R. Henshaw (Auckland) has caught the eye on more than one occasion this season, but he did not run nearly so freely as usual.