NOTES BY BEACON.

Otago Witness, Issue 1584, 1 April 1882, Page 20

NOTES BY BEACON.

Otautau races are fixed for April 10th, and the programme shows that there will be seven or eight events, with about £80 distributed over them in, prize-money. The second annual races of the Waikouaiti Club seem to have given general satisfaction, and the fixture may now be looked on as a permanent and gradually-improving one. A report of the proceedings appears in this issue. i At a meeting of the Palmerston and Shag Valley Race Club, held last week, tho programme was brought up by the sub-committee and adopted. It provides for tho giving of about -£BO in stakes. The stewards and other officers of the club were appointed, and a successful meeting is anticipated. The Hyde meeting was also a success, though it opened inauspiciously with a walkover by Mr G. Gordon's Cinderella. The Maidon Plate proved a good thing for Mr Rouse's Blackboy, who beat Kate Kelly, Darkey, and Typo; while later on he won one heat of the District Handicap from Peeping Tom, Skipper, and Queen Anne. Blackboy is a three-year-old cult, by Bucephalus -Black "Bess. Tho Hyde Cup was secured with groat ease by Mr Bock's Peeping Tom (10&1 7lb), whose opponents were Skipper (list), Black Bess (!).st 41b), and Queen Anne (7st 41b). The Trotting Handicap was won by Mr Elliott's Randal (200 yds). In llic District Handicap, already mentioned, Mr Beck's Peeping Tom won the second and third heats by dint of hard riding and severe punishment, and thus fully deserved tho stakes. The Consolation Handicap and the Hospital Itaea fell to Mr Cormn's Kate Kelly, and the Hurry Scurry to Mr A. Trotter's Miss Chatham, to whom Mr M 'Donald's Alice Le Dane ran second.

In connection with the preceding the Mount Ida Chronicle has the following :— " Very often yaoehorses are muoh punished— cruelly so—and

! we are informed that few have ever been more cut up than was Peeping Tom _at Hyde. He was spurred from start to finish. We can scarcely credit it, however, that after winning the two principal races there, his owner, without rubbing him down, or even feeding him, rode him straight home to Maniototo Station that night. Such is the report, however." "Beadsman," who has taken "Keuelm's" place as New Zealand correspondent of the Australasian, states in a review of the Dunedin races, that Libeller had to meet a thrownin " animal in Lady Emma. .Considering that the mare was giving Libeller a year I cannot tsee where the great "throw-in" was; nor, strange to say, did Libeller's party, Lady Emma's party, or the general public. The following are the acceptances for the Canterbury Grand Autumn Handicap, of 300 soys : — sfc. lb. St. lb. SirModred ..9 3 Salvage .. 7 7 Natator .. ..9 1 Mataku ..7 7 Lure .. .. 810 Tosman ..7 6 Lady Emma . . 810 Bundoora ..70 Chancellor .. 8 8 Legerdemain .. 0 9 Dauphin ..8 2 Poet .. ..6 8 Luna .. .. 711 Holderness .. 0 « Libeller .. ..7 9 Emir Bey ..6 0 As we are left ' entirely without betting or training notes from the Christchurch papers I shall leave all conjectures as to the result of this race until next week. ! At New Brighton races on Saturday last the Maidon Plate was won by Mr H. Derrett's Haidee, from five others ; Trotting Handicap by Mr J. Farrar's Billy (125 yds) ; Publicans' Purse by Mr Eobert's Fair Play; Cavalry Handicap by Corp. Orange's Supplejack ; Cup Handicap by Mr Bracker's Bijou (9st 71b), beating Fair Play (9st 51b), Farewell (loat7lb), and two others; and the Consolation Stakes by Mr W. C. Webb's Farewell. 1 Weights for the Hokitika races have been declared as under : — HOKITIKA HANDICAP. st lb st Hi Fishhook .. 30 4 Boro .. ..7 0 Longlands .. 10 0 Dick .. ..7 8 Talent .. ..9 3 Mary Stuart .. 7 (i York .. ..8 6 Blde-a-wee ..7 6 Half Cast ..8 6 Whalebone .. C 4 Bawdon .. ..8 1 HUBDLE HANDICAP. st lb st lb Dick .. .. 10 12 Bat .. ..9 4 Whalebone .. 9 7 Zoe .. .. 812 A very foggy account of Reofton races is to hand, from which all that we can gather is that Mr Toohill's Fishhook won the Goldfieldw Handicap of 50 soys, and the Autumn Handicap of GO soys, beating half a dozen horses in each race. Mr Gallagher's Lillipea won the District Plate ; Mr Carter's Hercules two Hurdle Races of 20 soys each ; and Mr William's Forester the District Handicap of 25 kovs. j The privileges in connection with the Nelson races, exclusive of the gates, realised £40. 1 In a race at the Greymouth meeting a good deal of unpleasantness arose from the ruling of the stewards in declaring Shark the winner, although he ran second to Dick. Incoming home down the straight Dick had the race well in hand, but for some reason or other slackened speed, while Shark on the other hand was thundering behind, evidently intending to run it out to the last inch. As Dick was riding somewhat wide in inside place, Shark apparently intended to come up on the inside between Dick and the fence. Upon discovering this movement, young Freeth pulled his near bridle rein, which turned Dick in towarda the fence, thus preventing Shark getting in between without a collision. As is usual in disputes of the kind, sides were taken and considerable warmth displayed in arguing, the pros and cons ; and as soon as it became known that the stewards ruled that Shark had been crossed and was therefore entitled to the stakes, a subscription list was started with the objecL of collecting the amount of the stakes (£3O) and presenting it to Mr Freeth. At a meeting of the Palmerston and ShagValley Race Club, held on Friday, the programme was brought up by the sub-committee and adopted. It provides for the giving of about £80 in stakes. The stewards and other officers of the Club were appointed, and a successful meeting is anticipated, i " Soukar " gives the following explanation of the simultaneous appearance in the Wanganui Chronicle of a full account of the Turakina races, and his tips for the same events, "My tips for the. Turakina meeting appeared, with 1 some other sporting items, in the Daily Chronicle, of the 28th February, three days previous ten the meeting, which took place on the 3rd March, and were republished in the weekly ot I the following Saturday, Therefore I consider that * Beacon ' owes me an apology for his unfriendly insinuations." For my part I consider the person who owes the apology to " Soukar " is the sub-editor or the printer of the paper, who placed "Soukar" in a false position by inserting in the Weekly Chronicle of March 4th his tips for races which took place the day before. At the settling on the Wanganui races the gross amount paid over to winning owners was £1904, of which Mr Powdrell took £500 for Hailstorm's win in the Cup; Major Morse £395 for Odd Trick's victories ; Mr Westinacott £225 for The Dauphin's win in the Wanganui Stakes and third in the Cup. The Wanganui Herald was recently so untruthful as to state that the Dunedin meeting was extremely dull. It has now been compelled to admit that the great Wanganui gathering was "as solemn as a funeral, and that the proceedings flagged considerably. At the settling in connection with the Hawke's Bay Jockey Club's late meeting £1393 was paid to the various winners. Mr Allan M'Lean received £4G5, and immediately gave a cheque of £100 to the local hospital, i A Napier telegram informs us that P. H. - Murtagh, well-known in racing circles, waa arrested on the 22nd inst., while going on ; board a steamer for Auckland, on a charge of larceny aa a bailee. Murtagh had given a bill of sale over his racehorses, and had sold some I by auction, retaining the money. , For the Auckland Autumn Meeting the following woights have been declared : — EASTER HANDICAP. Bt. lb. B t. lb. ltandwick ..9 2 Lara.. .. 7 o Maid of Honour ..8 8 Yatapa .. C 1-2 Mischief .. ..8 4 Dewd'rop .. 6ld Libeller .. ..8 2 Lone Hand .. (i 10 King Quail ..8 0 Luckpcnny, ..6 8 Slander filly .. 710 Comet .. 6 f> TimWhifflor ..7 9 St. Patrick .. C i OMiello .. ..7 7 Harkaway .. (5 1 Lonio .. ..7 6 Nor M .. 6 i I Angler . . ..72 Gilderoy ..GO STEEPLECHASE. j st. lb. St. Hi Lone Hand .. li 0 Hard Times ..10 5 An,rlcr .. .. 11 32 Harkaway ..10 0 , Grey Momua ..11 7 Catoh'em ..10 0 1 ! Spoitsnian .. 11 0 Wild Day rell .. V "I To Whctu . . 13 0 Rakau . . 10 0 Matau . . . . 11 0 Nor M „10 o ; Mr Allan M'Lean, owner of Louie, has I bought Virginia Water from Mr Murray for fjOO guineas. A special meeting of the Cambridge Jockey Club was held a fortnight ago, when the secretary, Mr Scott, explained the situation of the club, which was of a very unsatisfactory nature. So much so, indeed, that Mr Fantham had on the morning preceding the last race meeting threatened, to close the gates if the

club did not come to some definite and satisfactory terms about the purchase of the course. Through prompt action in dealipg with the matter a few of the members of the club obviated, this undesirable circumstance by arranging the matter to Mr Fantham's satisfaction. The business of tho meeting then sitting was to settle permanently the dispute between Mr ITantham and the club, otherwise it was impossible for them to proceed us at present, and they all knew it was useless to hold meetings in the present condition of the club. After a very warm discussion the matter was adjourned for a future meeting to deal with. The Auckland Herald in its account of the Henderson's Mill races describes Outcast as follows :—" She is a fine, upstanding mare, with a splendid body, but too much legs, and was unable to gallop." This is putting it in a nutshell.