HOMES' HURRY WITH HURIMOANA.

NZ Truth, Issue 120, 5 October 1907, Page 2

HOMES' HURRY WITH HURIMOANA.

A Well-Planned Coup.

A few years ago % there was not a more shrewd man on the colonial turf than /W. ' Homes, who used to train : a big team of horses at Bulls. "Billy Homes," his friends called him, -and the said Billy did many clever things on the racecourse, landed some big coups, broke many bookmakers and finished up by sending himself and his punters to the wall. Many are the stories told of Kalmea's famous victory m the Spring Handicap at Feilding a few years back, when a mint of money was put on this good mare from the North Cape to the Bluff. Sensational stories arc also told of how Tupuhi, Ngaturi and. Sabreur won fortunes for their owner and his confreres, and there is also a little story about J. R. Corrigan (now .under life disqualification) and the way he showed Homes a point with Cora Linn, but this will do another time. It was Homes who brought out that great horseman Charley Jenkins, ..and I well remember the pair of them making periodical trips to Wanganui to explain various matters to the Wanganui Metropolitan body. Let it be clearly understood that the " explanations were always deemed . satisfactory, as neither of them were ever outed, but m the end Homes was told not to apply for a license. Then a few years of bad luck followed, and the Bulls owner-trainer could not climb int6 -it at* all, but at •the last Otaki meeting he espied what he thought was a good horse, and he leased him from Tom Quinlivan, who was actino- for Mr E. J. Watt. This horse was Hurimoana. After a short rest lie was put into work again and carefully schooled. Eventually he was' given a run at Marton, but it was only a run. This performance was repeated at Bulls, and then Wanganui was selected for a win. He was weighted at 10 stone, only 3 lbs less than he had at Marton and Bulls. The company at Wanganui was superior, but Hurimoana was allowed his head half a mile from home, and away he went with ten lengths' lead, which the field were never able to reduce. The dividend returned was. £3 18s, and had it not been for the presence of some bookmakers on , the course, who sniffed danger, and put some money on the machine, the horse would have paid the limit. Tne next day he was a- trier again, but. the extra 161 fes which the handicapper put on him told its talc, . and Te Kainui beat him by a couple of lengths. Such is the story, of Homes* Hurry with Hurimoana.