RACING IN AUSTRALIA. V.R.C. AUTUMN MEETING. First Day—Saturday, February 27.

Otago Witness, Issue 2244, 4 March 1897, Page 34

RACING IN AUSTRALIA. V.R.C. AUTUMN MEETING. First Day— Saturday, February 27.

The day was oveccaat and gloomy, but no rain fell. The course was in magnificent condition. There was a large attendance of the public, and speculation was very brisk, but punters experienced a terrible reverse in the first two races by the downfall of favourites. Waraka. won the Hopeful Stakes like a racehorse, but Manfred lost a lot of ground at the start. Still, when the favourite g6t out, Waraka battled aloDg resolutely The stable did not profit much over The Officer's victory in the St. Leger, albeit Cook had evidently trained his colt to the hour, aod as a result he stuck .to Newhnven, forcing the pace for 10 furlongs. Conditiou was bound to tell. Newhaven never made tHe semblance of a struggle when The Officer made his dash, whether from internal injury or cowardice must remain an open question. Results :— HOPEFUL STAKES, Of 150sovs ; second horse 30sovs. Five furlongs. Mr J. Redfearn'B eh c Waraka, by Malua— Cypriote, 7.10 (W. Redfearß) l

Mr W. R. Wihon's b c Manfred, 7.10 (H. J. Morrison) 2 Mr R. Barr-Smitb's b f Lady Augusta, 7.7 (H. Gardner) 3 Also ran : Wild Raven, Good Shot, Table Talk, Lustre, Nudity, and Carita. Betting : 5t04 on Manfred, 4 to 1 agst Waraka, 7 to 1 Lustre, 12 to 1 the others. Lady Augusta, Nudity, and Waraka were first away, the favourite in the rear. Entering the course proper Waraka ran up into first place, followed by Manfred ; Waraka eventually winning by half a length, Lady Augusta two lengths and a-half away, followed by Wild Raven, with Carita last. Time, lmin 4J3eo. ST. LEGEa STAKES, Of 500so'vs ; second horse lOOsovs, third 50sovs. One mile and tbree-quarters. Mr S. G. Cook's br c The Officer, by Robinion Crusoe— Marie Louise ... (H. Holmes) 1 Mr W. Cooper's eh c Newbaven ... (Gardner) 2 Mr W. R. Wilson's b c Resolute ... (Morrison) 3 Betting: 5 to 2 on Newhaven, 4 to 1 agst Resolute, 6 to 1 The Officer. The Officer was first away, but was steadied before going half a furlong, Newhaven and Resolute running locked together till five furlongs from home, when the favourite led by half a length. Coming to the home turn The Officer ran up and settling the favourite in a summary y fashion romped home the easiest of winners by two lengths, the whip having to be brought into requisition to enable Newhaven to gain a long neck advantage over Resolute for second money. '(Time, 3min 6Jiec. NEWMARKET HANDICAP, Of 750sovs ; Becond 200aov», third lOOsovs. Threequarters of a mile. Mr T. Hales's eh c Carlton, by Carlyon— Sylvan Queen. 8 3 (B. Power) 1 Messts W. and C. Wilson's b c Wait-a-bit, 7.11 (Anwin) 2 Mr W Bailey's eh c Coil, 9.0 (Harris) 3 Mr H Hawkins's b g The Don, 7.4 (J. Murray) 4 The other starters were : Hova 10 2, Lieutenant 9.12, Ayrshire 9.5, Valiant 8.13, Survivor 8 ]2. Wakawatea 8.7, Beverley 8.7, So and-So 8.1, Staffa 8.0, Cartridge 8 0, RekaS.o, Dora 7.13. Pilatus 7.13, Loch Fad 7.12, Sunbury 7.11, Acton 7.10, Bacchu* 7.8, Miss Gladstone 7.3, Orient 73, Musgo 7.2, Cronstad 7.0, Sailor Boy 6 10, Benedict 6.7. Betting : sto 1 agsb Valiaut, 10 to 1 Ayrshire, 12 to 1 Sunbury and Wait-a-bit, 14 to 1 Survivor and Orient, 20 to 1 Carlton, So-and-So, Hova, and Miss Gladstone, 25 to 1 Bacchus, PiUtus, and Sailor Boy, 33 to 1 Lieutenant, 50 to 1 Coil, 100 to 1 The Don. At the start Hova was on the rails, Miss Gladstone, Hova, Filatus, Boverley, and Ayrshire being the first to move. After traversing a furlong Mhs Gladstone was still in front, pursued by Acton, Valiant, Beverley, and Ayrshire. Entering the course proper Miss Gladstone led from Sailor Boy, after whom came in order Wait-a-bit, Dora, Ayrshire, and Coil, with Carlton making a dash from the general crowd. Ho strong was his effort that at the distance he assumexl a two lengths lead from Wait-a-Bit, behind whom were Beverley and Miss Gladstone. Sweeping on, C*rlton maintained his advantage to the finish, defeating Wait-a-Bit • easily by two lengths. Coil was third, a length away, The Don fourth, a head behind Coil, and Beverley fifth, and So-and-So sixth. Then came Ayrshire, Sunbury, Peiatus, Cartridge, , and Raka, the last three to pass the post being I Musgo. Lieutenant, and Wakawatea. Time, lmin 14|sec. sires' produce stakes, Of SOOsovs. tFor two-year-olds. Colts 8.10, fillies 8.7. Three-quarters of a mile. Mr W. R. Wilson's b cAurum, by Trenton— Aura ~ (Morrison) 1 Mr S. G. Cook's br C The Hy notist, by Trenton— The Charmer (Holmes) t Mr W. Bailey'B b c Keera,> by Neckersgat — Hortei>Be (Harris) t El Norte was the only other starter. Betting : 5 to 4 on Aurum, 4 to 1 agit The Hypnotist, 6 to 1 Keera, 8 to 1 El Norte. When fairly in their stride Keera led from Aurum. The latter assumed command after a couple of furlongs had been traversed, and romped home comfortably by two lengths and a-balf, whilst El Norte was three lengths astern of the dead heaters. Time, lmin 15Jsec. ESSENDON STAKES, Of 250bovs ; second s'sova out of the stake. Weight for age. Mr W. Bailey's eh c Coil, by Abercorn — Copia, Syrs. 8.1 (Harris) 1 Mr J. Monaghan's b h Valiant, 4yrs, 9." (Cox) 2 Mr E. Power* bl h Warpaint, aged, 9.3 (Power) 3 Also started : Hova, Preston, Fadladeen, O'Trigger, and Bloodshot. Betting : 2 to 1 agst Warpaint, 3 to 1 Coil, Bto 1 Fadladeen, 10 to 1 Hova, Preston, and Bloodshot. Bloodshot was very fractions at the post. Preston led off, followed by Hova and BloodBbot. After going 50 yards Hova ran up top, but at the river side was displaced by Bloodshot, who led till entering the straight, where Cojl, on whonp Harris had ridden a patient- race, came through, winning easily by a length and a-quarter, Valfont second, half a head in advance of Warpaint. Then came in order Bloodshot, O'Trigger, Preston, Hova, Fadladeen. Time, 2min 40?ec. BRUNSWICK STAKES, Of 200hovs ; second horse 50sovs. One mile and a-q.ua> ter. Mr J T. Field's b m Lilith, by Creawick— The Pet, 6yrs, 7.9 (W. H. Pearson) 1 Mr W. Murray's eh f Mora, 6.8 ... (R. Lewis) 2 Mr C. Barlow's b g Don John, 6.12 (T. M'Namara) 3 Eleven others started. Betting : 3 to 1 agst Cinderellen, sto 1 Mora, 6 to 1 Akarini, 7 to 1 Lilitb, 8 to 1 Homespun. Response, the favourite, got badly away. A tremendous finish resulted in a half-head victory for Lilith, the same distance between second and third. Response was fourth. Time, 2min 9sec.