SPORTING.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1319, 22 September 1880, Page 2

SPORTING.

OMARAMA RACES. (from a correspondent.) These races came off on the 17th in«» and as usual the attendance was l ar '' and a more orderly meeting could uotY desired. The weather was fine, and th° sport good, as every event was well cos 6 tested The fields of horses were larn than at any previous meet on the rive there being no less than nine horses in iv' Maiden Plate, which was carried off k Mr. M'Millan's Wildboy, beating She/ herdess and seven others. The event j the day, which was looked forward to with interest, was the Cup, which was carried off by the great Unknown, Seating Honest Jack and the Maid easily,' thereby re , trieving his lost laurels at the Otematatn which we were glad to see. The Shepherd, was won, after a grand contest, by ciati, beating Belle and Bella by a length" whilst the Hack was won by Pukak a ' beating Annie Laurie and another by half a length. ' The Trot was a "boil over" as Goai won rather easily ; although the, game old grey horse Charley travelled beautifully and was ridden well by J Grant, he could not catch him. And the, Consolation could not be obtained b\r another horse than " Consolation Jack who won a grand race from Shepherdess, and the Maid of Waitaki. The result is as follows :—■ Maiden Plate—L9. Mr. M'Millan's Wildboy (Robertson), i Mr. Bain's Shepherdess (A. M'Kay).,. 2 Mr. Sutherland's The Rake (Smith) 3 Nine horßes ran. A good start' was effected by Mr. A. Thomson, Wildboy getting slightly the. best of it. At tho n oß t Paddy gave him the go-by, and led them, at a merry pace for about half a mile op so, when Wildboy passed him, and kept the lead to the finish, winning rather easily. The horsemanship of Robertson was much admired, and to him was due the winning of the race. Omarama Cup Handicap—Ll7, Mr. Hill's Unknown (W. M'Kay) ... j Mr. Lefevre's Honest Jack (W. Smith) 2 Mr. Cairns' Maid of Waitaki (M'Kay) 3 Three ran. Magician and Flirt wore scratched. At tho fall of the flag Unknown took the lead, with Honest Jack in close, attendance, and the Maid a length behind. This order was maintained until tho milepost was reached, when the Maid ran up* to her horses, but it was only 011 sufferance, as she fell back as rapidly as aho went up. Unknown maintained the lead and won easily by a length from Jack' the Maid being two lengths behind. This was a grand race. Shepherds' and Station Hands' Hancicap—Lll. Mr. Gunn's Magician (A. M'Kay) ... 1 Mr. Gunn's Belle (G. Robertson) ... 2 Mr. Smith's Bella (W. M'Kay) ... 3 Three ran. As usual, Mr. Thomson despatched his horses on equal terms. Magician being quickest on his pins, led the van, closely followed by Bulla, who also was hard pressed by Bella, who run a game mare, but could not get on equal terms with Belle, who was a length behind Magician at the finish. Hack Race—L6. Mr. Grant's Pukaka (G. Robertson).,,,. 1 Mr. M'Kiiinon's Annie Laurie (Smitt) 2 Mr. Sutherland's Wouder of the West (A. M'Kay) 3i Three ran, A good Btart was effected,. ! when Pukaka jumped off with tho lcad„ and was never collared, though strenuous efforts were made by both Smith andl M'Kay to overhaul him, but all attempt* proved fruitless, as he won easily by a length from Annie Laurie, who was a length in advance of Wonder of tho West. This was a splendid race. Trotting Handicap—L7. Mr. Dewar's Goai, 400 yrds, (Owner), 1 Mr. Sutherland's Charley, scratch 2 Mr. Munro's h Jamie, 050 ynia 5 Five ran. A splendid start waa made. Little Jamie was made a favorite until tho half-mile post was reached, when ho showed temper, and was soon passed by Goai and Charley. The latter put on a magnificent spurt but could not catoh Goai, who ran very well considering the weight he had to carry, viz. 16 stone, Mid landed a winner by 100 yards; Jamie a good third. « Consolation Handicap—L& Mr, Lefevre's Honest Jack (Smith) 1 Mr. Bain's Shepherdess (Robertson) 2 Mr. Cairns' Maid of Waitaki 3 Three ran. At the fall of the flag Honest Jack took the lead and was closely followed by Shepherdess and the Muid. The latter at the back of the course ran. up and passed Shepherdess, but could not. get on terms with Jack, who was determined to uphold his cognomen, via,* ''Consolation Jack," although ho was; almost beaten on the post by Shepheidess,, who was splendidly ridden by that promising jock, George Robertson. This race concluded one of tho bosk meets we have had on the river. No accidents occurred, and no protests were* entered, and I believe more money for sweeps were forthcoming than we hate ever seen, and to Mr. A. Thomson an be attributed the success of the same. In fact tb& meet, taken as a was a decided success. The arrangements and I the carrying out of the programme was perfect, and to the stewards we are in-. debted for a most enjoyable meeting. Tha usual up-oountry toasts were indulged iu oyer a good few bottles of champagne* and I thiuk the time is not far distant. 1 when the Upper Waitaki race meetings, will put in the shade our Waitaki JockeyClub and other meetings. After thehealth of the host and hostess of theOmarama Hotel was drunk, tho meeting broke up, and every one went homo wall! pleased with the sport affordod at Omarama. And so ended our mooting off 1880. '