HAWKES BAY.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume VII, Issue 318, 27 August 1896, Page 5

HAWKES BAY.

FusiJade changes ownership—The popularity of the ‘‘Acme” starting machine — Tenby in work again — The

Napier Park Racing Club.

Mr W. Rathbone, of Waipawa, has sold his stud horse, Fusilade (by Musket), to Mr Orerar, of Wanstead, Waipukarau. The committee of the Hawke’s Bay Jockey Club have decided to erect one of Mr S. Ellis’ “ Acme” starting machines upon the grass track. Although not using the machines for their own race meetings, they are not slow to recognise the fact that numbers of our trainers visit, with their charges, several meetings where the automatic starter is in use, and, in several cases that have come under my own personal knowledge, local horses have been severely handicapped by not being thoroughly used to the machine. By the committee’s forethought, this difficulty will now in a great measure be remedied.

Tenby, who got knocked about a good deal in the Trial Steeplechase at Wellington, last month, is all right again, and is doing useful work at Napier Park.

I notice that the New Zealand correspondent of the Australasian, in commenting upon Rainbow’s win last month at Wellington, says that it was his first win during the season. This is not correct, as he won the Ladies’ Purse on the second day (15th February, 1896) of the Town and Suburban Hack Metting, and, also, won the hack double at Waipukarau on Easter Monday. The adjourned committee meeting of the Napier Park Racing Club was held on Thursday afternoon, Mr T. Close in the chair, when the programme for the season was further considered. The Spring Meeting, with a similar list of events as that of last year, will take place on October 13th and 14th; the Autumn Meeting will be held on the 23rd and 24th March, the only alterations in the events of that of the preceding year being that the Second Hurdles is reduced 20 sovs, bringing it now to 80 sovs; the 12th and 13th May are the dates alloted for the Steeplechase fixture, the Napier Park Steeplechase being increased to 200 sovs, and two welter races of the value of 45 sovs each will take the place of the hunters races that occupied a place on [the”past Winter Meeting’s card. •