RACING REVIEWED.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume IV, Issue 200, 24 May 1894, Page 5

RACING REVIEWED.

[By

Borderer.]

The opening chapter of the Takapuna Jockey Club’s Winter Meeting was a i great success, and the attendance and favourable surroundings of last Saturday’s gathering augur well for the prospects of the Queen’s Birthday meeting. !■ The events were well run off toj time, and in no respect could the management of the meeting be called into question or ' unfaVourobly criticised. Every detail i was carefully supervised, and Mr Robert Wynyard, the secretary of the club, may be congratulated upon the smoothness '■ jwhich characterised the meeting. The good effect produced spoke well for the ' way in which 1 he had fulfilled the many . duties’which fell to his lot as secretary. The weather was all that could be de- - '-airedp but' there is little doubt that the one or two) slight showers which fell in * i thi morning ’unfavourably affected the gate. Given <>a fine day on the 24th, there should be a bumper attendance to '‘ good programme arranged by f -the club. *As for the going, it was fairly good, but ’was to a certain extent heavy. One satisfactory feature of the meeting . ‘was the absence of accident, the crossn country event being raced in perfect safety, all the performers keeping their

i i legs/ and not a single spill being recorded. ■4 Nothing but unstinted praise can be . given with respect to the starting, and Mr Halstead deserves the thanks of . everyone for the clever way in which he - ;sent his .fields away. I have never had .occasion to unfavourably comment upon ti; this gentleman’s starting, and I was glad - to 'see that his. efforts on Saturday did not fall below the successful standard which his work of the past has estab- . lished. Taken as a whole, and viewed from any standpoint, the meeting was entirely successful, and I sincerely trust the fine opening which has been made h will be followed up successfully on the < Queen’s Birthday. There Were no defections from the opening race of the day, the Handicap Maiden - Plate of 30 sovs, one mile, and the seven competitors Were well backed by the r public. St. Patrick, whom I tipped to Win last'webk, was placed in a state of 1 1 favouritism With Swiftsure, who was with favourable eyes by rH 'babkdMi.' A’falsestart sent the two , ; Sa£iiW z Bt. Patrick andSt. Mary, gallop--1 " ing round td the stand, and - three ''mhfo breakaways were made before Mr Halstead saw them on even terms and dropped the flag. When that took place 8t Patrick rushed to the front and Stanley showed up in the rear. ujlTriol bud-i'A lu . n

Passing the stand St. Patrick’s jockey was seen to have a big hold of Mr McManemin’s colt, and St. Mary was noticed to be striding along in great form. Rounding the bend to go to the back stretch St. Mary raced into second place, and Stanley ran third. Opposite the stand Mrs Lennard’s colours were carried along by Dorothy, and the pale blue on Edna flashed along in a dangerous manner. St. Patrick’s rider was, however, sitting still, and kept his colt well in hand in view of a possible struggle for supremacy with St. Mary in the straight. But there was no necessity for the precaution, as the namesake of the Irish saint passed the post a fairly easy winner with St. Mary next and Edna third. The time was imin 53fsec, and the dividend on the winner f z 12$.

Five withdrawals took place from the First Handicap Hurdle Race of sosovs, one and three-quarter miles, viz., Bombardier and Fishmonger, who were being reserved for the Steeplechase, and Try Fluke, Killaloe and Platch. This left a field of nine, and Belmont and Belle showed up well in the betting. A beautiful start was effected, and Mr Russell’s Belle obtained a flying move, sweeping up well extended on the outside just as Mr Halstead dropped his flag. Pansy was hurried along in a manner that at

once showed her rider was going to pursue his usual policy of making the pace warm. My favourite, Skittles, was going in a very steady manner, and when they swept past the stand she was well with them, and was, moreover, fencing faultless!/. Belmont was at the back, and Warrior was close to Skittles, who was in second position. Opposite the stand the navy blue body of Belle’s rider was carried into third place, and Skittles was sticking close to Pansy’s quarters ' The hurdle in the straight saw Pansy still in command, with Skittles second, Belle third, and then came Warrior and Belmont, who was commencing, not a second too soon, to try and get on even terms with the leaders. Rounding the betid leading to the back of the course Skittles rushed at Pansy, and after a few fighting strides, beat Mr Macmanemin’s mare, and Belle tried • hard to catch Mr. Stenning’s mare. The little Kohimarama representative however kept at her work, and running as game as a pebble led the visiting mare to the last hurdle. Skittles took it cleverly, but Belle struck, although the striking did not affect herchance one iota. Skittles had the winning power and triumphed in a manner that clearly convinced me the favourable opinion I have al way held respecting her Was acofrect’one. Belmont, who was allowed to run tob rnuch behind jdi ojjuai ti’io-nno-'.l £

his field, and whose run was made too late, ran into third position. One thing the race determined for me, and that was to relinquish Belmont for the Grand National Hurdle Race. After Saturday’s display I must pass him by. Skittles ran her mile and three-quarters over sluggish going in jmin and took her jumps in finished style, and her owner and trainer may be commended for the polish and clever fencing power he has put in this mare Her backers. were paid the nice dividend of 16s.

Backers were next confronted with the principal event of the day, the Britannia Handicap of 60 sovs, nine and threequarter furlongs, for which Folly was scratched This left a quartette to fight it out, viz.. First Nelson 8.0, St. Kilda 8.0, Sunbeam 7.8, and Master Pat 7.0. Mr Burns’ mare Sunbeam was made favourite, and Master Pat also carried a fair amount of money. On recent running St. Kilda was indifferently supported ; but recent form is not much to go by, as the sequel proved. Master Pat took the lead, and St. Kilda stretched along in a way that clearly proved he was in great fettle. Rounding the bend the gelding and First Nelson improved their positions, and by the time the centre of the stretch opposite the stand was reached, St. Kilda was in command,

Master Pat was second, and First Nelson third. Sunbeam was last. From this out the result was never doubted, for St. Kilda won hard held by two lengths. From start to finish nothing could live with him ; and so backers of recent form went down. The time was 2min Ifisec, and the dividend £3 16s.

When the Pony Handicap of 30 sovs, six and a-half furlongs, came up for decision, the owner of Norina was requested to produce an A.R.C. 14.2 certificate, and as he could not, the two-year-old was not allowed to start. Mr Wynyard was asked to measure her, but I think he was perfectly right in refusing to accept the responsibility. None of the others fell out, and so backers had to choose between eleven runners. The start was delayed for a long while, owing to the way Carbuncle was handled, and fully half-a-dozen good starts could have been affected had Mr Massey Baker’s mare not been held by her trainer some two or three lengths behind everything else. Mr Halstead, naturally enough, did not want to see her left, and so good opportunities and time were wasted until, wearied at the sight of Carbuncle being held by the bridle at the rear of everything else, the starter dropped his flag. As could only have been expected, Carbuncle by this time was cold and would not rei i • <•/ • ’ ) s. . ■

spond to the call to go, and bo she lost two or three lengths. I would seriously advise Mr Halstead not to allow this holding business at the post. If a boy is not capable of holding his mount he ought to be ordered back to the paddock and the owner asked to put up another rider. Speaking to Mr Halstead after the races I was glad to hear him say he would adopt such a plan in future. Quite right. It is not fair to other owners to have the start delayed as it was on Saturday, and the sooner jockeys are compelled to hold their own mounts at the post the better. Kathleen was the quickest on her legs, and Carbuncle once set going, raced after her field in a way that showed her chance, with a good start, would have been some justification for the position of favouritism which she shared with Riel. Nelly and Kathleen were the only others in it, and Reil won fairly easily with Nelly second and Kathleen third. The time for the 63- furlongs was Imin 32sec, and the dividend £6 17s.

Now followed the best Steeplechase I have seen since I have been in New Zealand, and a gratifying feature was the absence of accidents. There was no horse asked to share the fate meted out to poor Isidore and the many other ’chasers who saw their last glimpse of earth on the North Shore

course. And a more even race than that run between Bombardier and Belle 'it would be hard to see across country. A dead heat in a steeplechase has not often to be recorded, and although there are those who will question the accuracy of the placing, there is no appeal from the decision given. Once a judge opens his mouth it is not my place to say whether I agree or do not agree with him. One thing I am very certain oi, and that is, the decision given on Saturday was a strictly honest one. And if there was the slightest doubt in the judge’s mind (not that I say there was) he was quite right and deserves commendation for placing Belle and Bombardier upon a position of equality. All ; the contestants jumped well, and Belle in particular cleared her obstacles splendidly. As for Bombardier I have never seen him fence so well before, and the way he battled up the straight with Belle shows that he lacks nothing in the region of heart. Fishmonger raced gamely and led for three parts of the journey, but after the way he finished on Saturday I will hardly stand him for the Great Northern Steeplechase. Chester was ran to a stand still, and Potentate carried his weight in the pluckiest manner possible. But the burden and the hills told on him and he had to succumb. A word must also be said in favour ■ ■ r • ’ • '■ ‘ '

’ 1 of the pony Platch, who stuck to the work in really : plucked fashion, and his race shows he is as honest and game as a bull- , dog. Belle’s performance was very meritorious after her efforts in the Hurdle Race, and Bombardier ran up to his best form. It was a fine race and well worth the journeying over to the Shore to witness. Belle was a big favourite on the machine, and Bombardier was quite the reverse, so had the decision been in his favour he would have paid a nice dividend. Belle’s backers got £x 12s, and Bombardier’s £2 13s.

For the last race of the day, the Royal Handicap of 40 sovs, five and. a half furlongs, there were four withdrawals, viz., Ladybird, Master Pat, Joe Sedley and Her Ladyship. This left a field of seven, viz., Tingara 8.10, Norina 7.10, Dorothy 7.8, Swiftsure 7.4, Brown Mantle 7.2, Ivy 7.2, and St. Mary 6.10. At the weights backers of course considered that the race was almost a gift for the top weight, but the indifferent support which the machine disclosed made people pause. Many investments were held back for a time to see if a bunch of support would came at the last moment; but it did not, and the Nordenfeldt—Tres Deuce mare went out ata price altogether below her abilities. The two-year-old Norina was well inquired after, and Dorothy was very well supported. Backers argued the distance would suit her to a nicety, and they were right. Ivy’s speediness at this distance when she gets a clean run is so well known that many a £1 went on her chance, but when the

machine stopped it was seen that the majority were confident of Mrs Lennard s mare downing her opponents. After some trouble at the post, principally owing to Brown Mantle, Mr Halstead sent them off on even terms, and after one or two changes in the leading position Dorothy was asked to race, and won as she liked. St. Mary was second and Tingara third. The time was 1.175, and the dividend £3 Is. Taken as a whole, it was a most enjoyable meeting, and the punctual way in which the races were got off to time reflects credit upon the management. Given fine weather, there should be a fine attendance on the occasion of the second day’s racing, for which my anticipations will be found elsewhere.