ELLERSLIE FOOT RACES.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2133, 4 November 1875, Page 2

ELLERSLIE FOOT RACES.

The starts For the forthcoming footraces at Ellerslie have been published and we give them below. The entries certainly are numerous, how many will ac-cept-their starts remains yet to be seen, out of so many, tlie. majority of whom have not run much in public, it would be a matter of very great difficulty to pick out the winner of dny one race, while as to the " hardship* of attempting to select the winner of the cup itself (i.e., the man who scores most points in all three events) the state of ' the betting in Auckland—which is we are told 20 to 1 against naming the winner-^ gives sufficient evidence. We may say a few words, however, about the handicapping, which seems to have been the result of considerable care. In no case is the duty of the handicapper an easy one, or the office enviable; while when, as in this case, a number, of the men are totally unknown, the difficulty of framing a handicap which shall please even a fair majority of the spectators and runners is increased tenfold* We are very glad to see that the handicapper has not, followed the plan now too common in London and Sheffield, of handicapping the men from some supposed scratch man who can do the distance in what is called "level " time— i.e., 100 yds in 10 seconds, 300 in 31| seconds, and half-a-mile in two minutes—but has taken the best man, or the one he supposes the best man in the handicap, and placed him at scratch and»given the others what he considers fair starts. The other plan of handicapping' from a supposed "level time" man has this great drawback, that instead of the full distance being run, not more than three-fourths is often gone over and consequently less chance.afforded the rear men to catch the leaders. This is particularly observable in the great All England 205 yards Handicaps, as they are .called, where the least start which has yet been accorded to anyone has been 47| yards,,thus shortening what .should be a 205 yard race to one only 157£ yards, in length. As regards the starts, we have not much to say. They may be found to be well adapted for what should be the object of every handicapper, viz., close finishes, or they may be virtually " runaways" for some dark horse — time will show. We cannot help, however, remarking that if Ellis wins the 100 yds he must be an unexceptionably good man or the 8-yds men very inferior. In our opinion a hundred yards race is so short a distance, and the result so much affected by the start itself that nothing over 5 yards should be allowed to any man, and if he can't win with that allowance why he ought not to be allowed to do it at all. We have seen the experiment made before of allowing long starts in short distance races to inferior men when some great gun had entered, and the result, as far as the great gun wa» concerned, has always been disastrous. Mr C. A. Absolom of cricketing fattiei in 1867 completely spread-eagled a field, of 10| seconds men with a start of 8 yards in 120, and he was at that time only a 12 seconds man, if that, and it cannot be expected that Ellis will beat lOf seconds for his distance. In the same year Mr J. H. Ridley, then amateur champion of England at 100 yds, gave 8 yards in 200 to Mr Nicholson in a strangers'race at (Oxford, and was beaten by nearly a yard;. Eidley never ran better than he did that year, and Nicholson was only a second rate man. It is true that Ridley had to get through a field of 6 men, while Ellis will have the advantage of running in a roped course —an innovation by-the-bye which we owe to the jostle between Pitman, Colmore, and Corfe (now of Chrisfcchurch) in the Inter-University races at Walham Green in 1866—but if j the long start men are any way in decent form, eight yards in 100 certainly seems too much to ask anyone to give. The following are.the starts: — One Hundbed Yabds. — E. Ellis, scratch ; Joseph Bradley, 3 yards; King Hedley, 3 yards-, E. O'Hare, 3J yards; D. Maione, 3| yards; G. Jennings, 4 yards; E.H.Duder, 4yards; B.Thompson, 4 yards;-George.Waite, 4£ yards; W. Regan, 4| yards ; J. H. Coates, 4| yards; C. T. W. Barton. 5 yards; R. Brennan, 5 yards ; Eugene Donovan, 5 yards ; J. McLean, 5 yards; J. Barren, 5 yards; J. M. Russell, 5 yards ; W. McMillan, 5 yards; George Saunders, 5 yards ; W. Patterson j 6 yf*ds ; A. Good, 6 yards; T. Joughin, 6 yards; J. Began, 6 yards ; IT. Sheehan, 6 yards; J. Eenwick, 7 1 yards; Ifeli Whisker, 7 yards ;;A. Mansfield, 8 yards; F. W. Merriman, 8 yards; A. Kelly, 8 yards. Theee Hundred Yards.—-E. Ellis, scratch ; Joseph Bradley, 5 yards; Robert H. Duder, 5 yards ; D. Malone, 8 yards ; B.Thompson, 8 yards; William Regan, 8 yards; C. T. W. Barton, 0 yards; W. McMillan, 9 yards; George Waite, 10 ya?ds; E. Brennan 10 yards; G. Jennings, 10 yards; John McLean, 10 yards; J. H. Coates, 10 yards; George Saunders, 10 yards; E. O'Hare, 10 yards ; Eugene Donovan, 10 yards ; King Hedley, 12 yards; John Barrow, 12 yards ; J. M. Russell, 12 yards ; William Patterson, 12 yards ; A. Kelly, 14 yards; A. Good, 14 yards; A. Mansfield, 15 yards; J. Regan, 15 yards; Thomas Sheehan, 15 yards; Neil Whisker, 16 yards; T. JougMn, 16 yards ; John Renwick, 16 yards; P. W. Merriman, 18 yards. Half - mile. — Robert H. Duder, scratch; Joseph Bradley, scratch: E. Ellis, scratch; D. Malone, 10 yards ;B. Thompson, 15 yards ; C. T. W. Barton, 15 yards: W. MpMillan, 15 yards; William Regan, 20 yards; John McLean, 20 yards ; R. Brennan, 25 yards; George Waite, 25 yards ; George Saunders, 25 yards ; John Barron, 25 yards ; T. Joughiß, 25 yards r J. H- Coates, 30 yards; J. Regan, 30 yards; Eugene Donovan, 30 yards j E, O'Hare," 80 yards ;A. Good, 80 yards; A. Kelly, 30 yards; J. M. Russell, 35 yards; King Hedley, .35 yards; William Patterson, 35 yards ; G. Jennings, 40 yards ; John Kenwick, 40 yards; Feil Whisker, 40 yards; Thomas Sheehan, 40 yards; A Mwasfield, 50 yards ; P. W. Menitnan, 50 yurclg