WAIPUKURAU RACES, 1868.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 12, Issue 927, 21 March 1868, Page 2

WAIPUKURAU RACES, 1868.

The inland race meeting, held on Tuesday at Waipukurau, was more successful than we could have expected from the small number of horses which put in an appearance. The , programme iiad to be considerably modified, as will be seen below. The weather, which, on the two previous days, had been threatening, fortunately cleared up, and a finer day could not have been wished for. The course was in first-rate order, and affords a marked contrast to ours at Napier. The attendance was more numerous than at any previous meeting at Waipukurau— the takings afc the gate showing that there could not have been fewer than 300 persons on the ground. From Napier there would, no doubt, have been a larger muster of townsfolks, if the previous day had been finer. The three first races on the card nofc having been filled, a Free Handicap and an additional Hack Kace Were substituted, and we believe the alteration gave pretty general satisfaction. Free Handicap, 1 mile; 40 soys.; entrance to acceptors, 3 soys., to go to the second horse. Mr Walters' Orlando, 5 years, lOst 51bs. (French) i Mr. Walters' Numa, aged, lOst 71bs (Taylor) 2 Mr. Ormond's Warren Hastings, 5 years, 9st (Mahoney) 3 Mr. Cutts' Krotherto Glengarry, 3 years, 7sfc lOlbs(Munn) ... ... 4 Mr. Claypole's Petrel, 3 years, 7st 9lbs ...dist. Mr. PowdreH's Black Boy, 6 years, 9st 91b5... dr. The Handicap was one ,of the best ever made in this province, and, to judge from previous performances, ought to have brought the horses together ; that it did not do so was no fault of the handicapper. Black Boy, unfortunately, was not sent for this event, his owner not being able to ride the weight. Warren Hastings ran very unkindly, and, though he was kept on the course, evidently did not mean to try. Orlando won on sufferance ; his stable companion could have run over him afc the finish. The time, considering the state of the course, was slow — 1 mm. 58 sees. The next event was the — Hack Race, l mile ; 10 soys,, with 1 soy. entrance added. This event fell to the share of Zoe, who had no difficulty in disposing of the local crack Dnmboy and another. Scurry Stakes, l mile; 25 soys., with a sweepstakes of 2 sovs. Weightfor age. The four original entrances were reduced by the absence of Warren Hastings. This proved a really fast ancl strong run race, although looked upon with much less interest than the Handicap, -and terminated as follows : — Mr. PowdreH's Black Boy, 6 years, lOst lib (owner) i Mr. Walters' Numa, aged, lOsfci'lb (Taylor)".! 2 Mr. Walters' Orlando, 5 years, lOst lib (French) 3 Numa and Orlando went away at a strong pace, evidently intending to cut Black Boy down. He seemed, however, to he in better form than he was in Napier, and had no difficulty in passing his horses at the distance, and landing his race, hard held, by a length and a half. Time, 1 mm. 55 sees. Black .Boy was. the only horse from Napier that did nofc seem the worse of his journey. We are glad his owner has been able to do something to support the honor of the province, as this year Napier horses have been far from successful. Had this event happened in a sporting community, it would have been a good thing for those who back the field ; as it was, we did not hear of any money changing hands. Then followed a second — Hack Race, i mile j 5 soys., with a sweepstakes of 10s. This afforded Dumboy an opportunity of distinguishing himself; he had no difficulty in disposing of the three which started against him — Zoe not being allowed to start. The next event was the — Consolation Handicap, of 15 soys., with a sweepstakes of 2 soys. This was the last race of the day, and brought only two horses to the post : — Mr. Walters' Numa, lOst 101 b (Taylor) ... 1 Mr. Cutts' Brother to Glengarry 9sfc (Munn)... 2 The handicapper did his best to bring the horses together, and the race was a close one, although scarcely ever in doubt, as the colfc was known to be much astray. Settling took place at the Tavistock hotel afc 6 o'clock that evening, and everything passed off satisfactorily. The stewards had no disputes brought before them, and, with the assistance of Mr. Cooper as starter, and Mr. M'Kenzie as clerk of the course, had no difficulty in bringing the meeting to a successful termination. Should the annual race meeting at Waipukurau bo revived, as we hope it will, our inland friends will see the necessity of the time of holding ifc being more carefully arranged. It ought to precede tho Napier meeting, and that, too, by sufficient time to enable horses to get over one meeting before having to go to the other ; otherwise, with the many attractions Waipukurau offers, the race meetings there will, to some extent, he a failure.