TAIERI RACES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2408, 26 April 1900, Page 39

TAIERI RACES.

In the seventies and the early eighties, what racing there was on the plains to the southwest of Dunedin had a^ its centre Tokemairiro, and in the year of the Taieri Amateur Turf Club's birth it was a very respectable meeting that was held at Toko, whilst the new club attracted no hoises of quality. I speak of April in* 1581. Nautilus, ilamekike, Atlantic, and Quamby were amongst the performers at Tokomairiro ; at the Taieri meeting there was nothing better lacing than MiAndrew Thomson's Castro, winner of the Hurdle Roce, and the chief trot went to an junnar.ied grey gelding owned ty Mr Neil JSl'Lean. Some of the "Witness readers may remember the spills that year in the Tokomairiro Handicap. Tom King fell and brought down _ little Malcolm Allan, who broke a toe ; and Dolly Barw on's fail stunned Tommy Bowie. Both these riders are still with us. They hove *survived the Toko meeting, which has dropped out of fiprht altogether in recent years, while, on the other hand, the Mosgiel fixture has gone on steadily, ix slowly, increasing in importance. For some time after the inaugural races, however, ib was a very small affair. I■« ell remember the fixture of 1882, when Mr Charters, the judge, made his stand in a dray. One of the competitors in the Pony Race came to grief by failing to turn a sharp corner, and got stuck in a hedge ; Toledo went cranky in the Ladies' Purso, eventually tumbling over a fence and giving young Smith such a shaking as to knock the seven senses out of him; and one of the ridoivs openly challenged another one to fight. It was pretty rough racing. Katerfelto was the hero of the day; he won tho Hurdle R.ace, and then beat Bougblsen Dlioun in the Taieri Handicap. This was six weeks before Katerfelto made himself famous by beating Clarence in the Grand National Steeplechase, in which race, by the way, he was ridden by Clifford. The Taieri meeting was allowed to lapse 1 in 1883, but the next year the "club raised 117sovs in stakes, and bestowed 30;>0v3 on the leading event, which was won by that game little horse Hazard by a length from NeEera, who was killed afterwards up at Palmerston or Waikouaiti. Glenara, once owned by Mr Percy Laing, pulled off the Hurdle Race, and the Trot went to Mr Melro^e's Svangeline, who afterwards won a trot at the Forbury, and would have paid a dividend of £4-00 odd if there had been anything on her. In the season of 1884-P5 the Taieri Club starved the Spring meeting, and was content with that effort ; and the following season again only the Spring meeting was held, this being the day on which Faetorv Girl won the Taieri Handicap, in which event the first of Le Loup's stock to race in public made his debut — I refer to the three-year-old Torpedo, owned by Mr G. M'Diannid, and ridden by Hastie. For two more seasons the same arrangement prevailed —Factory Girl won the double in 1866, and Oamerine was the winner of the Handicap in 1887, when Boojum got disqualified for the Trot because M'Laren struck Maniac over the head with his whip, but in the 1888-89 season the club, having had a very successful meeting in the spring, when Occident made his first appearance and won, revived the Autumn meeting, and for the first time held two meetings in one season. A very good meeting it was, from the club's point of view. No fewer than 17 started in the Trot — a race that gave rise to a dispute. 'Mr W. M'Kewen's roan maro Rosa came in first, but was disqualified for 'breaking, and the machine paid out on Ida, Maid in spite of th,e threat of legal proceedings. Trapper won the President's Handicap, and Stable Jacket (who, if really a Tradueer, was the lasfc of the Traducers seen on a racecourse) accounted for two of the hack races. That was the beginning of the President's Handicap, and since then this race has kept alive, the following being a complete list of winners: — Taieri President's Handicap. stlb £ s. d. S3— Trappe-. aged 7 n W. Oof on ... 4 8 0 90— Milord, 3yrs ... 7 3 Lardner ... 1 14 6 31— (T»ltoe, 3yr=s ... (i 12 R. Garrt'e ...13 12 0 92— Don Pedro, syrs 9 2 J. l.oughlin... 2 8 0 9*— Conjurer, 4yrs 8 7 A. King ... 2 0 0 94— Captive, 4yr^... 7 S A. Rainbow... 4 6 0 95-Winchr>.an.syisß 5 Telfo.-d ... 3 19 0 ?6 Emmeline, 3yis 7 7 T. Budrlicomb 1 18 0 97— Winrhmui, a. 8 2 Hendriek ... 2 fi 0 SS— Sequin, 3yrs .. S 8 Emeivon ... 1 4 0 99— Abevc om'ie3vrs 9 0 T Chapman 210 0 00— BhcltPool, syrs 8 4 M'Eldowney 412 0 The racing this year does not call for lengthened comment. Somehow or other — why, it would be hard to explain — while jnost of us booked Black Pool for a win during the day, it was generally thought that the Easter Handicap would be 'his dart. The idea in my mind was that if he started in the milo race Maremma would outstay him. That turned out wrong. The Trident gelding fairly outstayed Maremma at the difforenoe in weights, and repeated the dose in the Easter Handicap. The explanation that suggests itself is that Maramma, in his old age, doesn't like heavy burdens. That is a common experience wilh horses when they get up in years. Motto ran well in both her races. She won the Easter pretty comfortably, and might, perhaps, have got home in the President's but for Mr Ruthven, the owner, hanging on to her head too long in his excitement over the start for -the President's. Mr Ruthven was manly enough to own up that the throwing away of the mare's chance was entirely his own fault, and that the starter was not to blame,. Lakefield, winner of both 'selling races, is by Digby Grand. Some thought that Sweep had won the Novel, but all who

had places on the little stand were satisfied | that Lakefield got home. As for the trotting ' •protest, I think the stewards' decision was • , vrrong. That Bunthorn's performances were j , inconsistent must be admitted ; bul he is not i a horse from whom consistency has ever been \ obtained, and inconsistency, apart from fraud, f is surely not a ground ior disqualification, j All lacehorses are inconsistent in some degree, i In this case no one said that they saw Bunthorn pulled, and .nobody had any evidence that there was a motive for pulling — indeed, the evidence, such as it was, all went the other way. As I was not present I do not ' profess to write from personal knowledge, ; but from all that I have read and can find from conversation with competent judges, I J am inclined to think that the stewards paid ' too much heed to the clamour of Clings backers, who were quite a crowd by comparison with the backers of Bunthorn, and that an injustice was done to the latter. Stewards j ought to stiffen themselves against the shriekj ing of an interested -crowd. The voice of the ! people, though generally right in the long 1 run, and when uttered after consideration, is [ often wrong and very misleading when taken j i hot from the throat. I don't begrudge Cling \ her victory. She is a splendid little mare and trotted very consistently. But, in all . fairness. Bunthorn ought to have got this stake — 20, at lsast, it appears to my judgment, and I fear that the weak decision to the con- '■ trary will not do trotting, any good. I