SECOND DAY,

Otago Witness, Issue 2527, 20 August 1902, Page 45

SECOND DAY,

The weather was again beautifully fine for I the second day of the meeting, and a large j attendance was again present to participate ' in the day's sport. The track had dried up somewhat, and was much firmer than on the fir s t day. The day's racing waa com- , menoed with the Summer Handicap, in which race 12 lined up for tho contest, and the well-bred Shellback (Nelson — Hestia) won after a good race with Scylla and Count of Kolinar. Flame ran a good mare for about a mile- and a furlong, bufc died away towards the finish. Blazer v.'aa expected to , retrieve pome of his lost laurels in th© August Handicap, but he failed to do so. After getting fairly well away he lay fourth until reaching tho straight, bufc ho was then ■ shut out, and never afterwards got an opening. W. Clarke had tho mount on the , Dniiedin horse, and the horse appeared to ' be travelling well at the finish, but was I hopelessly blocked. The surprise of the race was the bold bid for victory made by old Goldspur. Ho ran a great race, and had he not been short of work ho must have won. Some two or three weeks back ho was attacked by rheumatism in tho shoul- i der, and was thought unlikely to see the post at the National meeting. J. M'Comb had the ride op tho ancient Rubezahl geld~iug, and many blamed him for not using tlio whip at tho finish. In this the critica may have been right, as old (ioldy has gallantly responded under punishment in tho , past" and the finishes ho fought out at the fast Oamaru meeting was quoted as an instance. But it must be remembered that (ioldspur was a differently-conuitioned horso at Oamaru. He had previously raced at Dunodin and at Oamaru, and was probably a fitter horse than he lias been eince he J first broke down some ycartt back. Another ancient steed in Titoki provided the winner of tho race. He was fonlod in 1891, and considering the length of the turf career of the a\Pras« racer must bo considered a bit of a \rtcran. Titoki has lately displayed fconip of the tlash which distinguished him in lils younger days, and it is not too mbch to say tlifit there are a few inoro good races left in tl>e Pur.'ri gelding. Lady Brandt distinguished herself by sticking to Goldspur in the early part of the race, and should oe worth wr tuning in weaker company m future. Seven was the main in the Hunt Club fun, and Zither, admirably ridden by F. Lnitl, outpaced the oppoMtion, and won comfortably. The winner struck some of his fencen. and required handling to keep on his legs. Of the 19 that figured on the card for the Grand National Hurdles, the scratching pen was put through Ul3 names of Tho | Grard, Moifaa. Haydn, Cannongate, Strath- ' I'airn, Winsome, Smithy, and Surrey. Tresham created a favourable impression a1?a 1 ? he walked round tho saddling paddcok, and j was evidently in rare nick After he and Scottish Minstrel had carved out the running I up to the last fence, Tresham came away and won, full of running, by a good three lengths. It would have taken a good horse to have downed tho winner, a? he won with a lot in hand. Battleaxe was travelling well for a niPo and a -half, and appeared to posi>esr> a chance in the running, but he died away in the last couple of furlongs. Tresham is a good cut of a bay geiding, by Oftteiby from Alabaculia— a mare by St.

Leger from the Traducer mare . =navyv Tresham's sire, Catesby, is by Musket from Prunella— a full sister to Frailty, the dam of Trenton and Co. So that on the score of breeding there can be no fault to find with this year's winner of the Grand National Hurdles, as he is bred on good etout lines. The combination Haydn and Tresham was well supported for th« double, and the fielders will have to disgorge a fair cum to meet the successful punters on settling day. In the Beaufort Steeplechase Cannongato looked a out above the opposition, bufc ran off when he appeared to posssss an excellent chance of winning. Pipi's race in the National Steeples took a lot of the steel out of him, and he did not run so well in the race under notice. Only the placed horses in the race finished, and Sultana ran home an easy winner. In the Enfield Steeples, on the first day, Sultana could not foot H over two mile* with Shyloek, but ran a different race over three miles with 111b less on his back. The Second Hunters' Hurdles proved to be a good thing for Slow Tom, and he had no difficulty in placing the race to his credit. In the Islington Handicap The Shannon was made a fairly strong order, but was "badly left when the barrier was released. Scotty won all the w,ay, and Ardnarff got through on the inside and finished second. The day's sport was concluded with the Jumper** Flat Race, and Tresham gained additional honours by etridin.fr home a comfortable winner from Hurricane and Skobeloff. Tufto ran well for a mi!o and three furlongs, but nothing in the race had a chance with the winner.