THE QUEENSTOWN MEETING

Otago Witness, Issue 2652, 11 January 1905, Page 50

THE QUEENSTOWN MEETING

Anyone who has attended the last three or four meetings of the Lake County Jockey Club will agree with the opinion that it will require, a Herculean effort to restore an interest in racing in that part of the woi'ld, and it is difficult to suggest anything that might tend to enhance the interest in the fixture. A liberal addition to the prize money would' be the- simplest method, but the question is, Where is the money to come from, as already private purses have undergone a considerable amount of taxation in previous* efforts to make the meeting as attractive as possible. The prize money question is the all important item, because the cost of bringing horses to "Queenstown is sufficiently high to permit of thejr attendance only when there is a reasonable chance of winning a stake proportionate to the cost of bringing a horse to the post. A big prize money list and. small expenses are two factors which tend towards success, and clubs anxious to move with the times must bear these facts in mind. Perhaps a re-adjustment of dates between some of the country clubs would be to their mutual benefit, as there is no doubt Queenstown and one or two other clubs suffer principally because they receive the backwash of olubs whose fixtures precedte them on the calendar. Apart from the value of the gathering as a race meeting, a trip to jhe Lakes is one. which cannot fail to give pleasure to anyone who makes even a brie-f stay in the- district, and the .writer has no hesitation"" in recommending it to those- who care to /combine a little racing with a great deal of sightseeing. At last -week's meeting, although the speculation indulged in by those «n the ground was remarkable for its paucity, still the racing was of a fairly interesting nature, and in one case a close and exciting finish between' King Dick and the Trump Card mare Miss Criffel was well worth going a journey to witness. The pair locked together in a little less than a furlong from home, and in a "ding-dong battle the mare gained the judge's verdict by a short head: The .principal race of the day was the Lake County "Handicap, and, -as the slake was worth 40sqjTl, it is worthy of better patronage from owners. As ii was, ,>ifc resolved itself into a duel between Sirius and Visionary. The ' latter was looking particularly well, and had her solitary opponent beaten ?. long way from home. The * rest of the events on the card, does not call for special comment, except that a protest was lodged against Maggie S. receiving the stakes attached to the Mile and a-half Trot on ihe ground of alleged inconsistent running. In the first trot the mare exhibited no pace at all, and showed a strong inclination to mix her gaits, but with a change of riders she gave an entirely different display. The stewards were probably influenced by the changing o-f riders when they threw out the protest, but if the changing of riders was always deemed a sufficient explanation for a shange of form it would be a prolific cause of fraudulent running. The stewards had also to hear a protest agains't^Pisionary on the ground that her rider struck the tidei of Sirius with his whip, and thereby intefered with the latter's chance of winning. There was no question about M'Kay being hit,, as be bore vivid traces of the blow 9 across his face. In support of his case. C. White, the rider of "Visionary, contended irhat M'Kay, the rider of Sirius. interfered with his mare by holding on to her reins. It is regrettable that the meeting was not more successful^ from ft financial point of view, and' it is to be honed that the club will meet with better Tuck and a . inorp liberal patronage from horse owners "in the future.