AUCKLAND ANNUAL RACE MEETING.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 12, Issue 817, 12 January 1867, Page 3

AUCKLAND ANNUAL RACE MEETING.

(Fromthe report ofthe "Southern Cross.") FIRST DA Y.— January 1. The Annual Race Meeting of the Auckland Jockey Club commenced under the most favorable circumstances. In the first place, the weather was just about as delightful as could possibly be desired. A fine fresh breeze was blowing throughout the day ; which, iv addition to a somewhat cloudy sky, added no little to the thorough enjoyment of the spectators, as it moderated very pleasantly the somewhat excessive heat that might be reasonably expected at this season of the year. The fact of yesterday being such a general holiday caused the town to display quite a recreative . appearance at an early hour. Nearly all the shops and houses of business were, as a matter of course, closed, and the few that did open their portals, with any expectation of realising a profit by so doing, must very speedily have come to the conclusion that such an idea was a fallacious one. Right and left, from the houses in and about the vicinity of the town, the inmates poured forth in ceaseless streams, their aspect at once denoting that pleasure .was their sole object. A more general holiday than was the case in- Auckland yesterday, we never remember to have seen. Every one seemed thoroughly to enjoy themselves ; and I must say that it would be hard indeed to wish for a better day's pleasure and real sport than occurred on the first day of the races. Should matters progress as favourably for the next two days — and I can see no possible reason for doubting their doing so — the Auckland Annual Race Meeting for 1867 will take a place very far ahead of any race meeting that we have yet had in the province. As will be observed from the running, the races were pretty well divided between the favourites and outsiders. The preparation bell having been rung, a rush was at once made to the saddling paddock to see some of the competitors strip engaged in the- Maiden Plate. One ofthe first from which the clothing was removed was Marchioness, a bay filly, three years old, by Herald out of Blink Bonny. She is a very prettily-shaped filly, and shows a good deal of breeding. She was very fat, however — in fact, so much so that it almost became even betting about her being one of the very last. Report, too, which always pretends to know so much, ancl really knows nothing, stated that Merrimac was very many pounds the superior of the filly. The amount of astonishment, therefore, that was occasioned by the excellent running made by Marchioness was a perfect caution, and, had she not come hard against one of the posts just on entering the straight running for the last time, it was quite on the cards that she would have secured second place. As it was she ran anything but an indifferent third. I really believe Mr. Paton has got a real plum in this filly, and, if well taken care of, she is bound to do him credit at no very distant day. Utu stripped far better than I had ever seen him before. He showed a great deal of muscle, and was as hard as nails. He certainly, however, did not look in any way capable of competing successfully with some of the others, as his appearance very surely indicated his being a cocktail. Satellite, a raking, powerful-looking colt, looked pretty well to the eye, but far too stout for my money. He did not give me the idea of a colt that had done sufficient hard work. He is bound to be a good horse, however, hereafter, I really believe. Monitor, a very well-bred-looking horse, I have noticed several times before ; his condition was not first-class, he being far too big, added to which, the way he went on his near fore-leg was not indicative of great success. Mountain Maid decidedly belongs to the duffer division, and is not worth writing of. Orlando, on being stripped, at once became the great centre of attraction, and infinite credit did he do to his trainer, Mr. Smith. The colt was all muscle ; he looked fit to run for a man's life, and he proved most conclusively that he was so by the very hollow way in which he cut down his field. Almost from the first jump the colt was in front, and from thence out he maintained that position with most consummate ease, amidst repeated cries of "Will they ever catch him?" a cry that never was so true as in this instance. Robert Smith rode the colt, and perhaps the. best thing I can say about his riding is, that he performed like an old 'un, He has a capital pair of hands, and catches hold of his colt's head as if he meant it Moreover he sits well into his saddle witt a firm grip, which all sporting men understood. The race was never in doubt froir the commencement, and 2 to 1 on hin: against the field was offered before he hae gone three-quarters of a mile. Orlahdc I really believe to be, without exception the very best horse in the province of Auckland, and there are not many better, i you were to search this and the neighbouring colonies through. Brunette, from th< hands of Georgo Cutts, stripped, as all hii horses do, superbly. Whether she coulc have been improved at all I of course can. not venture to say ; but I know this, tha as regards appearance, nothing sfcrippec better on the course. ' For the Epsom Plate all the horses pu in an appearance, with the exception o Sportsman and Contractor. Native lookec very well. Upon my word I like tha . hospital of Captain Reeve's. The horse notwithstanding he won his race, was sonu . pounds from being so fit as he should hav< been, as how could he be otherwise con ; sidering his condition a few weeks since ! i Brookes rode him, and rode him excellentl; [ well. He had the race in hand from thi ■ commencement, and he won ifc very easily a i last, hands down, with plenty to spare, i necessary. Moss Rose looked very fit, am her handsome appearance caused genera ; admiration. She has thickened very con t siderably within the last twelve months, ani is altogether a fine mare . she is no weight i carrier, however, and never will be, but wit . a light weight on her back in handicap must always be dangerous. The mare ra f a very good race, but was fairly out-pace fc under the weights from jump to finisl - Policy did not strip quite so fit as lex pected she would do. To my eye sh i seemed beefy, and, from her build, I shoul 3 take her to be a mare that should train fin< - What I feel sure greatly assisted in stoppin her was shortness of work. The beef tht I was on her seemed somewhat flabbier tha . one would like to have seen it. She ran , good honest little dame, however, and h« defeat by such a mile horse as Native doe

! not, in my opinion, deteriorate one ounce from her goodness. Nourmahal, a isne upstanding raking mare, with the most- racey appearance of the whole lot, was v cry far too beefy. The complaint is thai? they can't get it off her, and certainly until, they do she can never be herself. Had she been i fit I must believe, from her previous peri formances down South, that she must inevitably have run a desperate mare for . the money. For the Jockey Club Plate, Orlando being drawn, Day and Martin at once became a very hot favourite ; and certainly his general appearance fully warranted all the encomiums relative to his fitness that were heaped upon him. I never saw a horse strip fitter; it is a great assertion to make, but I am certain I never did. I believed the condition that he displayed was bound to carry him through, and I was mistaken, and the least ' said about it, perhaps, the better. Wait until the handicap is run, 1 and then tell me if lam very far wrong. Old Volunteer, the noble old horse, I have persistently stated from the first, would strip fit, and I have been pretty well laughed at for saying so. That he did I think everybody will now admit. He ran a grand horse, was grandly ridden too, and most sincerely and heartily do I congratulate Mr. Wild on the superb condition in which he brought him to the post. He deserved to win, and he did win ; and, without actually knowing it for a fact, I have every reason to believe that his stable has landed a good stake. Of course, when the race was over there were the usual amount of assertions made and opinions ventilated as to what would have been the case had George Cutts got up a little sooner. In my honest opinion the result would have been precisely the same. Volunteer polished off the Blacking Merchant, most thoroughly, on his own merits; he won like a race-horse and he was ridden by an artist. Poor old Dainty Ariel stripped anything but his former self, and, as a natural consequence, was never in the race, and was very judiciously pulled off by Donald Taylor when he found all chance of his winning was hopeless. Billy Barlow, the Maori, did just what might be expected of him ; he ran away with lead at by no means a slow pace until he ran himself out, and then quietly retired into the background. Merrimac I never expected any very great things from, and I have no reason to be disappointed. The Innkeepers' Purse found only one absentee in Moss Rose. " Old Bird," not that extraordinarily knowing Old Bird who, I guess, has been " knocked, off his perch by an outsider," stripped very well, perhaps better than he haa ever done before here. He seemed fretful, however and sweated considerably before being saddled. Borealis looked the pink of perfection, and stripped all over a winner. Her running greatly disappointed all her backers, which I think may be partially accounted for by the mare having been in season for some days past. For the first half-mile the mare ran very unkindly, and really looked as if she would have been actually last. After this, she began to improve her position, and finished a good third. Lord Lyon — what shall I say about him ? To say he was in excellent condition would be to make an assertion which I cannot believe in ; however, he proved quite good enough to settle the pretensions ofthe lot behind him, and they were no mean lot, too, as will be perceived below. The Count stripped about as well as he could be made to strip, but I never believed in him, and he ran iust exactly as I expected he would do. Moss Rose was drawn, the mare having cut the front of her her head when she fell with Mr. Atkins, as recorded above. The Innkeepers' Purse, the last race of the day, brought out only two fresh horses in the Miller and Numa ; the former was not fit to run for straws, whilst the latter both looked and ran well, and reflects much credit upon his owner, who trained him , himself. ' .■ - :• -