AMATEUR ATHLETIC CHAMPIONSHIPS.

NZ Truth, Issue 136, 25 January 1908, Page 3

AMATEUR ATHLETIC CHAMPIONSHIPS.

BASIN ■ .-, Saturday, February 1, 1908. Provincial d3!ia;mpioA*_ifr(>^i of : .;-:Z;fa J <Wj£&M io TBEM^ATBf, _V# omsS,'- . Arid'a host c_t Cracks. THE ATHLETIC GATHEBING OE THET SEASON^! v ' - Saturday, February 1. ADMISSION—ONE SHILLING.

Berengaria is very like her sire, Coeur do. Lion. Mystification will not strike out dnthe hard tracks. Playmate is honest, but" li miles over the sticks is his dart. " F Apa' appears" to be still suffering , from his accident at Ellerslie. '•Through an oversight Aeolus was hot nominated' for the Dunedin Cup. - Chantress is a smart filly and likely to improve. She slips out of the barrier very smartly. King Post finished very fast at the conclusion of the Hack Welter on Wednesday. Bear this m mind. - : They have been dinning into my ears all this week that when they slip Orisis its take out. Remember that. ■ . • Blue Bell ishculd shortly break her maiden, status. She is a' fine, big mare, and just at present looks very well. The winning jockeys on Wednesday were •:■ R. Hatch 2, L. Wilson 2, F. E. 'Jones 2, A. Chapman 1, and F. D. Jones 1. ...Culmination ran very badly m the Poneke Hack race, but her burden was a heavy one, and weight stops the best of them. Medallist looks as if he wants a spell. His Christmas season was a pretty severe one, and apparently he is not over it yet. . Kui'awaka took the lead for about 6 furlongs m the. W-R-C. Handicap, but when It came to the 1 business portion she was done with. , Swimming Belt is very well at present and won the January Handicap m a. very smart manner. He is a little beauty under a light, scale pf weights. •'"' Chatterer rah respectably m the January Handicap, and she and Aeolus put up a good finish for second place. Gooseman's mare looks a bit light on it. Immediately after the Midsummer meeting at "Riccarton; Jockey L. G. King will depart for Melbourne, and steer Dave Price's numerous prads m their Australian engagements. Moloch performjed very creditably under his increased poundage, but a very -ba^d -bump at the half-mile post knocked Mm ( back from fourth ' position to near the tail of the field. i Fleetfoot was turned out m great nick for the Wellington Stakes. She is too good for Armlet as soon as four furlongs are past, but the Yaldhurst filly is, a flyer up to that distance. ■-■.■:, Despite the fact that Gold Crest was raised 121tf for runnin"- second m the Cu** the public made him the favorite on the machine for the big Handicap oiv Wednesday. He ran a, good horse, but could only finish third. ■ The : Libyan and Medallist both ran like Holmes' horses usually do. vHow people could back the .former, m the Hack Welter the writer knoweth not. Holmes must mag well and -set them m hot and heavy. Ataahua was: whispered about as better than Playmate for- the Mungarpa Welter, but m the early stages he was never prominent, and only appeared m the straight. He was m receipt of two stone from Martyrium, and . went down by a head, though many .thought he had Aeolus, 8.9, was top T/eight iri the January Handicap. Contrary to expectations he was ridden by a, stable i lad and not L. O. King, but, despite I this, he was -a genuine trier. The wisdow of this was •doubtful, but the' fact that the owner is a -steward of the club probably accounted for it, Nevertheless, the horse has been too long off the scene to be trusted to see out a fast mile, -and a race into him wpuld have made all the difference. The Wellington Racing Club runs its own luncheon ropins, and, generally speaking, the good things provided are of the very best, but what the deVil is the little game that it got up' to bn Saturday and Wednes- , day last. Advertised to open at nOon, hundreds were kept waiting nearly an hour, and then there was an rush. Result, confusion and cursing. The waitresses hardly, knew whether they were on their heads or their heels. • Then there was no tea provided, which, of course, meant the best of -business 'for the grog-seller on the premises, and even the waitresses wouldn't rush away for a bottle of beer, but timidly mentioned that they couldn't leave the table otherwise they'd get the sack. When, however, a waiter who "ran the cutter" came along, people, who paid for a small bottle of English found themselves called on .to pay 2s 6d for it. It was a "have," that is what I prefer to call it. The club, or the club's caterer, seems to have been m league with some grogseller, and the public were plundered once again. It's mean, and even contemptible not to provide a .cup of tea with a meal, and on top of it to make the patrons of the luncheon rooms pay an exhorbitant price for their beer. The club, or whoever is responsible, ought to lend 'their •'lug'? and remedy matters to-day.