THE TAHUNA AUTUMN MEETING.

Otago Witness, Issue 2660, 8 March 1905, Page 54

THE TAHUNA AUTUMN MEETING.

Thi? year's f.iuumn meeting 1 of the Tahiuia Fark Trotting Clivb compared very favoarably with that of any other meeting which Las been held by the club. The- gathering: was not so successful from, a inancial point ot a lew as some pfe\iou» meetings held at the Pai'k, but on tl c second day there was foi mid able opposition to be contended against in the shape of the Australia-Otago Ci'icket match. The attendance, however, was very good under the civcuni&tances, and the sport of a fairly hjg-h standard, and well W0i -f h witnessing, particularly when hm^es of tlie "Vickery and Queen "V. class \te i- e on the trcck. The former went two nules in the Telephone Handicap in 4-min 54- 4-ssec, and il was a treat to see the handsome daughter of Specification lying down to her work •when travelling along the back stretch. On the second day she v onld have had to go in the neighbourhood of 4mtn 45soc to got with Big Jim, whom tho writer noticed make one skip only in pulling u;> hit. smm 1 4-s^o. which is a good record for such a big-gait<?d horse, tv put up at Tahuna Park. C Korr capably handled tho Kentucky gplding, and negotiated the sharp turn,? at the southern

end of tho track wiih =kill and judgiuen^-

Victor Huon shaped well in his race, but

mivfd a. <x)uplo of times before ho scored \ovy eoniforrably in smin- 14 3-s*^o. Ho shaped much kindor than ho did when lim mad." his fir t appearance on the traok

last s?«srn, when, it will be remembered,

j hhri r bad breaks co->t him a couple of raeos I which ho appeared to otherwise have at his mercy. Tho narrowne-3 ot the straight, which the writer has previously commented on, was forcibly brought into notice on the second day. when Jim Jim cannoned into Withing'ton's sulky and wrecked one of the wheels. Fortunately Withington was being pulled tip after breaking badly, and this to a, ereat -extent prevented what might have proved a serious acoident Withington was travellina- along- in about the middle of the track when ho broke, and was followed afc an. intcival of over two lengths by Jim Jim. When Withington broke he swerved arro&s tho track, and Jim Jim was forced into making a bump or ofcp had the option of going over ihe fence. There is no doubt that the straight is too- narrow for harness racing-, as throe horses oannot finish in close order without a good deal of unnecessary danger, whilst in the event of one of them breaking and swerving nothing could pre*,ent a \evy serious accident; in fact, last season such an accident was narrowly

averted in.

one vac» by a bit of sicilful

driving. The? club should make a strong effort to improve 'is course-, as it is. at present held in anything but high esteem by riders aud dmers accu^omed to tho Christchurch tracks, and it "% about time the leading spirits of the club woke up to the fact that although there are stablefuls of horses at Christen urcli we see- by a very small percentage of them competing in Dunedin. The principal reason of this

is the bad trgck, and until it is remedied

much better things cannob ha expected. Another much-needed improvement which the club should insist upon is that riders should be made to wear appropriate cos-

tumes. and not allowed to go out as they are at present. The management of the meeting was otherwise very good, as tho various events were get off promptly and the various officials worked hard to make the gathering a success.

THE WAIMATE MEETING.

The list of horses engaged at the annual meeting of the Waima*e Racing: Clul» presents quite a formidable array, and if a, lengthy list of nominations and carefully compiled handicaps can be taken as a criterion, then this year's gathering of tie club will be the most successful one ever held at to« city of strawberries, as not ouly is quantity engagsd. but quality is also strongly represented in the haps of OrloiF, one of tha test handicappers of his ime, whose form also boasts classic credentials, as witness his record Derby of 2min 37 l-ss=»c, together with bis semi-classic form in tho Welcome Stakes, backed by his efforts ; a the Dunedin Cup, Wanganul Cup> Great Ecster Handicap, and ChaPenge Stakes. Well-performed ones like Convoy, Calibre, Secret Society, and others of less note are also found figuring in the various events. A lengthy list of > trotters helps to swell cut an attractive card, whicn should be responsible for a great >itfccnii-. ance of the "bhoys" at Waimate on St. "Patrick's Day.

THE PvIVEP.TON MEETING.

The^ Riverton Racing Cmb has issued a programme for its annual Easter meeting which should be calculated to meet the requirements of owners, and at the san<e time attract the approving notice of tho sporting public generally, who liko to se*j that a. club is keeping in advance of tLe times. The principal item on this year's card i a Steeplechase, of 75sovs, to be> decided over three miles country, whi^sii the Riv-erton Handicap, also to be- got o:£ on the firs* day, it. to be contssteJ over 10^ furlongs, and 70sovs, minus lOsovs for live second hors-e, will reward the winnmjr owner. On the second day ther - ; is a 50sovs Steeplechase and a +ssovs Eastev Handicap, of eight furlongs. Two 25so.'s hurdlo races find a place on. the programme, tiie balanca or which is made up with. events which should meet with the approval and patronage of district and visiting horse owners. Nominations for all handicaps close on Tuesday, April 4. a-nd weights are due to appear about Apiil li

DEATH OF E. POWER

Regret will be felt in racing circles at the news of the death on Thursday, 16£k nit., ,at his residence. ''Darebin Villa," Ascot Vale, *of the well-known jockey and trainer, Edward Power, at the age of 45 years. For many years (says the Leader) Power \yas one of the most successful jockeys in Australia. He rode for many influential owners, amongst them Messrs F. Y. and W. E. Dnkin, William Pearson, W. Gannon, J. "SVhite, W. Bailey, Allan Selman, and "Joe" Morrison. Always a. handy weight and possessing splendid judgment of pace, and having physical advantages which few jockeys possess, Power was easily able to command the best o€ riding. As far back as ISBI he won tie Derby for the late Mr F. F. Dakin on Dai-ebin, aftor whom he named his residence. Amongst a numerous list of otl sr victories credited to Power were the Oaks on Quality, the champion of 18S5, the> Bagot Handicap and numerous other races on Commotion, the Bagot Handicap on Hopotoun and O'Trigger, the Newmarket Handicap on Carlton, the V.A.T O. Debutant Stakes on Fryiugpan, Cavlneld Guineas aa Fiyingpau and Annesley, A. J.C. Derby on M?!os, tho Adelaide Cup on Warpaint, the Adelaide St. Lager on Darebm, and tho A. J.C. Birthday Cup on Harbinger. He a^o ran second on Bloodshot m the Melbourne Cup won by Newhaven in 1896, and at different times was successful in important races in Tasmania. Some timo ago Power gave up riding and devoted himself to training, on-a of h ] s best remembered charges being tho Carbine mare Mario Corelli, who singularly enough has recently returned to her foimer training ground at Fleniington after a successful period of racing in Qn-ccr.s'and aud New South Wales. Tho co-nplieations whifh caused Power's death had ranged h'3 absence- from the racecourse for a long time, the only fixtures ho had attended during tho past 12 months being- the New Year's Day meeting at Flemir.gton and a recent meeting at Moonee Valley. His funeral was largely attended by ail classes of racing men.

A JUDGE OF PACE

Say-. flip Au^tra'aM.m viitir " TorlniL,a " : "When hv j wd« at his Lost iv a jockey Power's Drinciual

rivals were T. Hales, M. O'Biien, anct A. Itobertson.. All are dead now, and Hales ■was th-e only one of them to get beyond 50. Power was a very fine horseman, and was particularly valuable for riding work. Mr F. F. Dakin used' to tell me that when he put Power xip to ride a gallop he only had to tell him the pace he wanted. end Ke could rely to half or a quarter cf a second on the jockey doing what he •wanted. Mr C. L. Macdonald says the late H. Cusdiu had' the same faculty. He could say, 'Go 14 or 15 to the furlong.' as the case might be, and Cusdin could "be depended upon to do it to the- tick. Moreover, in a gallop in which three or four horse 3 had taken part, both Power and Ousdin could tell the ' boss ' afterwards exactly tow all the horses had gone. It is a gift that few jockeys possess, and a, trainer who can get a Power or a Ctisdia to ride his Avork is fortunate. I met E. iPower first about the time Mr Dakin engaged him. Darebm was a two-year-old at the time, and he was a very buraptious customer. M. O'Brien, the stable jockey wntil Power came in, seemed too vreak for Darebin, and Mr Guesdon, I think it was, suggested ihafc a stronger man should! be ■engaged. Power's first ride on Dterebin . was an unlucky one. The colt was taken, to Adelaide* for ths Adelaide Stakes, at the A~R-O. meeting. This^race he shoukl have vroxc^ By 100 yards, btrb the starter dropped the flag ■when Darebin was turned — the -wrong w?^. He got no run, but later in the meeting he- met the same two-year-olds and made hacks of i^iein. Power won the "Victoria Derby on Darebin. beating Santa ' Clatts. Commotion, Somuus, Somerset, etc. This was Power's first win in an important race, but before he i-etired, I think, he had won nearly all the important races in Australia. One race he never won was the Melbourne Cup. He threw that away on Commotion through. over-confidence in 1884. and the mistake was one he never forgot." THE SOUTH CAISTTERBTTRY MEETING. The South Canterbury Jockey Club ih •ut with an attractive programme for its autumn meeting, which is set down to take place .on April 12 and 13.- The principal events oa the programme are th-r Timaru Cup" (of 80sovs; one mile and a-quarter) and the Autumn Handicap (of 70sovs ; one mileK The principal sprint races are the Myinsc Handicap' (of SOsovs: s?x furlones)..- ' the Farewell' Handicap (of 50sovs; s : x furlongs) and the balance "of the card is ' made up with . well-endowed welters, hack «ven£s, and district races, whilst two 40sov trotting events also find a place on the bill of fare. The cost of nominations has been, set at a very low figure, and tbe date .a* which all entries must be handed _in is , Sasurdav^ March 25. Weights are ~ Hue fox the fir-st day on April /o, and ■> acceptances on Friday, April 7. j THE CENTRAL OTAGQ TROll'iN^ r . . MEETING. ' ] The; Central Otago Trotting> Olnb- iiac- : issued =a six-event programme for 'ts sepon-S annual jngeiinjjv and the-- principal priss*? 1 set down for decision is th» GoldtieMs Cup Handicap, _ of 4Qsovs, two nailes ; wiiiut next on the list comes the Middle- CJlass Handicap,, of SOsovs. one mile aucl a-haiN j for all horses entered will be handicapyJ i to do imih 15sec or better. A 15iOv a I Maiden Trot,, a Ladies' Bracelet of 15'ovs, 1 tihe Central Handicap of 20sovs. -*nd a j IPareweli Handicap of £12 10s -naae up [ the balance of the- card. NosniiiaUua} | close oh, Wednesday, March 15, for ih'! ] Goldfjelds Cup. Bracelet, and r^ c oilier , events, except the Maiden Handicip,'whi.hJ close on- March 2S. Handicaps are due to appear on March 20. . TWR. BETTl,7ff* HAJtXRTV { Messsra Baraett and Grant report the following business.: — EASIER AND AUTUMN HANDICAPS. 1000 to 7 Stronghold and Starshoot » 500 *■ — 5 Machine Gun and Quarrynian 250 — 5 Achilles, and Nightfall 200 — 2 Ma«tex Alis and^ Achilles 2DO — 6 Golden iiily and Nightfall-