BIRTHDAY HANDICAP

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27384, 9 May 1950, Page 5

BIRTHDAY HANDICAP

SPORTING

Outstanding Record Built Up By Rorke’s Drift SUCCESSFUL THREE TIMES By the Sporting pditor The Dunedin Birthday Handicap, the principal race on the flat on the first day of the Dunedin Jockey Club’s winter meeting, has at different times been raced over distances ranging from one mile to one mile and three-quarters. Since 1945 the distance has been one mile and a-half. The records show, that the race was first run as far back as 1873 and the winner, Merryman, carried 6.5. That is not, however, the lowest weight that a winner ever carried, as Taiaroa won in 1884 with 5.10. Only one dead heat has ever been recorded in the race and that was in 1893, when Mr S. Waddell’s Captive and Mr G. G. Stead’s Melinite split winning honours. Four-year-olds have the best record in the race, horses of that age having won on 22 occasions. The last four-year-old winner was Dark Arrow, who was successful in 1948. A three-year-old has not won since 1932, when Fast Passage led the field home. In the same season she won the New Zealand and Auckland Cups. Many other fine gallopers have their names on the list of winners, and Rorke’s Drift has a record which will probably never be beaten. He won in 1916 with 10.0, in 1918 with 9.6, and in 1921 with 8.4, and in his first win he carried the highest weight ever carried by a winner.