REAPPEARANCE OF W. MARTIN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2358, 4 May 1899, Page 42

REAPPEARANCE OF W. MARTIN.

("Philibuster," in the Australasian.) Although Martin — the Irish-American cyclist —only landed in Melbourne on April 10, after a voyage from South Africa, he took a very active part in all the leading battles for prizemoney and fame which were held on Saturday afternoon and night on the Melbourne Exhibition track. His arrival was opportune for the promoters of St. Vincent Fail sports. Years a<ro Con. Dwyer. the mamger of the sports, did Martin a good turn. Martin paid then that he would repay it if ever it was in his rjower, so when Dwyer ai=ked him to race at, St. Vincent sports he said he would do so with pleasure, and he refused any remuneration. The way the people rolled up to see 'Martin, and Walne race must have turned over £100 into the coffers of the fair .committee. In the^afterndon the St. Vincent's Wheel Race provided "nine heats. M. Stevenson won the first, G. C. Macgibbon captured the sec- " ond in. an easy manner ; J. F. Hassett, coming with a great rush in. the third, won by half a dozen yards. Wilksch wa» first in heat four, and the hardy Tame secured the fifth ; iB- Howard, J. Filsell, and W. S, Wedd yrjm,

the sixth, seventh, and eighth respectively. The ninth heat saw W. Martin face the sta.T ter, with eight others. Martin lost no time in getting up in the field, and when he won by a length and a-half from L. M. Jackson he received quite an ovation. The final was reserved for the night. The mile first-class scratch race was eagerly looked forward to by the spectators, about 5000 being present. In the first heat W. Martin made his first appearance. He has discarded his old colours, and entered the arena clad in a jersey costume of all pink. The colour suits him all right, and I fancy causes him to look bigger on his wheel than ever he did before. He was riding a Dayton. His appearance was the signal for an exceedingly warm welcome from the onlookerß, and his manner betokened his pleasure, and evidently made him feel as if he was home again. Broadbent wa& the pacer, and the going was merry right through, and when the bell rang Hunt led, while Martin was in the rear behind Beauchamp and Lewis. Entering the straight Martin had the lead, and though Lewis and Beauchamp came after him, straining every nerve, the pink 'un flashed over the line a winner, R. W. Lewis second and F. S. Beauchamp third. The second heat gave D. J. Walker another opportunity of achieving his great desire to beat Walne — but the deed is still undone, as Walne beat him this time by a full length and a half, while U. R. Morgan chipped in third ; Scharp and Parsons having retired before the mile was through. The third heat was the slowest, and A C Forbes won it by beating L. Barker ahd L. M. Jackson. Two minor events — a police and warders' handicap and the Victory Club mile handicap— ended in a victory for A. Norris in the fir3t event and W. M 'Donald in the second.

NIGHT RACING.

A more perfect night for bicycle sports it would not have been possible to obtain. The young moon retired early, leaving a starlit firmament and still, balmy atmosphere. The arena was brilliantly lighted with electricity, and fully 10,000 persons surrounded the ironrailed enclosure. The programme started punctually at 8 o'clock with the first semifinal of St. "Vincent's Wheel Race, in which G. Carpenter and G. C. Macgibbon were the placed men. Amongst the ten starters in the second was Martin, and he raced so vigorously from the start that he collared the field in the fourth lap, and then the pace of the leaders, prominent amongst whom was Brooker, flagged until the bell rang. Martin was leading then, but apparently not wanting to force the pace he allowed others to supersede, him, no doubt fancying he could sweep up to the front at the home turn and scamper up the straight as he liked. He soon found out, however, that the Melbourne Exhibition track is only a pigmy compared with the broad sweeps of America, and when he reached tho corner two "duffers swerved out wide towards the fence, and Alar Lin, in the midst of a full-steam-ahead sprint, had to back pedal for all lie was worth to save himself from being spiked on the iron fence. It was a most aggravating baulk, as he had simply to sit up and watch his opponents sprinting out the finish. W. G. Symonds and J. W. Parsons were, the winners. J. Robertson and J. F. Haspeil scored in the third event, and A. E. Tame, -after a fine race, led Filsell'home in the fourth. The final saw .T. F. *Basselt, wilh.3lo yards start, leading for seven laps. At one time, he was Half a lagf- ahead, and if he had had a comrade to pace him. Jhe^-might have maintained the lead. As it wa?; however, his case was hopeless, and, at a mile and a half, his legs were r.a heavy as lead, and -when the field caught him his energy was gone. Carpenter had made a big rush after Hassett, which, likewise, spoilt his chance. When the. bell rang, Robertson was leading from Filsell and Tame ; The latter was full of vim, and ran in an easy winner from W. G. Symonds, with Macgibbon third. The final of the mile scratch race was composed of R. H. Walne, W. Martin, R. W. Lowis, F. Hunt, A. C. Forbes, and D. J. Walked. Both Walne and Martin were warmly welcomed on appearing. Walno was certainly fresher, Martin having workecf much harder during the afternoon and night. Hunt was the pacer, and from the pistol fire he spun away at a lively pace, Martin, Walne, Walker following in the order named. This was the order up to the 'bell lap. At the dome side Martin was in front, with Walne on his tracks, and the racing was fast and furious. It would have been better for the American had he been behind, but there was no hope for it now — he had to watch the Australian champion with his a side eye, and keep going on the verge of a sprint. At the south-eastern turn Martin tried to bolt, and the pace became so furious that only Walne and Lewi^ were able to keep company. At the north-eastern turn Martin was first into the straight. A couple of smart digs at his pedals and Walne was up level and thapair came up the straight together. For a. moment it looked as -though Martin would win, but Walne rode magnificently, and flashed across the line a winner by six inches^ R. W. Lewis a- many yards behind third, the others nowhere. Walne's victory was a mont popular one, and he was greeted with a perfect storm of applause.