After the Races.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume VII, Issue 359, 10 June 1897, Page 4

After the Races.

[By

Atlas.]

THE NORTH NEW ZEALAND GRAND NATIONAL MEETING. FIRST DAY. This has been a record year in the history of the Turf in New Zealand. The Canterbury Clubclaim to have achieved an unprecedented success, but that pleasing result has not been confined to Canterbury—it has been enjoyed, possibly, to a greater extent in Auckland, where the officials and stewards of the metropolitan club can look back with pleasure at the successful result of their efforts for the year. Ellerslie is naturally a pretty place, and the stewards have done much to improve it, and the fact that the club was able to race in the moist weather of Saturday last is testimony to the sound nature of the tracks, both on the flat .and across the country. It was wretched weather for racing, but it was plain from the excellent attendance that the Auckland, public are too enthusiastic supporters of the sport to permit of the discomfit of a wet coat to prevent their attendance at Ellerslie, especially when a Grand National has to be decided. It was wet overhead and sloppy under foot on Saturday, but Jthe trains and the busses from the city were well patronised, and the capacious grandstand afforded an excellent shelter. The ladies, of course, did not turn out in such numbers as usual, and the few who were present were to an extent prisoners on the grandstand, for the usual pleasure of a stroll on the nice green, but now mud-besmeared, lawn could not be thought of. The sterner sex, however, ploughed through it regardless of consequence in their eagerness to get the latest tip, so that before the last race had been disposed of the vicinity of the totalisator presented a stirred-up appearance, but all things considered the meeting, so far as the first day was concerned, went off splendidly, and it is a fact worthy of recording that notwithstanding that the course was heavy, and in places was probably slippery, not a single accident occurred to mar the pleasure of some really interesting racing. That the bad weather did not damp the ardour or confidence of backers is evidenced by the amount of money passed through the machine—/

£5,498. This brings the total passed through the machine at Ellerslie for the year up to something approaching £90,000, upon which the club gets seven and a half per cent, to assist in the promotion of racing and a consequent encouragement to the breeder to produce high-class thoroughbreds. The bookmakers, too, during the year have not played an unimportant part, and I have reason to believe that a sum not. very far short of £IOOO has been given by them for licensing fees. The licensing of respectable men only to bet will be conceded, I think, to be a protection to the general public, but it has been the fashion in other parts of the world of late to go for the bookie, and I regret to hear that a desire has been evinced by officials in Auckland to be in the fashion. On Saturday, I understand, that Chief Detective Grace took the names of all the bookmakers who were plying their calling at Ellerslie, and, of course, it is highly probable that the metallicians will be the recipients of bits of blue paper, charging them with outraging a law that was never intended to be made applicable to racecourse betting. It is not Chief Detective Grace who is to be blamed. Left to themselves the p dice would probably never attempt to disturb the custom of a century, but behind the scenes there are wire-pullers at work as intolerant as that wretched English clergyman who recently turned Mr Dunn’s son out of school because he was the son of a bookmaker. This beautiful specimen of the sky pilot subsequently had to express his regret for the slanderous language he had used, and I think it is just possible that the libelled bookmaker holds a higher position in the estimation of the public than the whitechokered anti-gambler. Betting on racecourses is legalised by the machine, and if it is not sinful in the eyes of the law to bet by means of machinery, why should it be regarded as an outrage on the law to bet with the licensed bookmaker? The club on Saturday announced publicly that all persons of questionable character would be excluded from the course, but I understand that there were several undesirable persons present, but the police were unable to turn them out because they were unable to obtain the attendance of any <>f the stewards to authorise their expulsion. Of course it should be remembered that the stewards have other and probably more pleasant duties to perform than attending to blacklegs. In all other respects the management was excellent, and the various officers of the club discharged their duties to the satisfaction of all present. Major Banks, as usual, officiated in the judge’s box, while Mr G. Cutts was as successful as ever in getting his fields away on even terms. The totalisator, as usual, was under the capable management of Mr Blomfield. An excellent luncheon was provided by Mr T. McEwin, and as the atmosphere was just keen enough to provoke an appetite the good things were enjoyed. Impey’s band was present, and although no fault be found with their selections, music and wet weather do not seem to blend. The field in the first race, the Maiden Handicap Steeplechase, was just ten minutes late in lining up. Of the eight starters, Tim, Rhino, and Perform were the best backed. North Shore form showed that there was not much between Tim and Perform, while Rhino had yet to make an Ellerslie reputation. When I saw him on Saturday I had an idea that he was on the big side, but he is unquestionably a good looking gelding and a beautiful jumper. -Very early in the race Rhino appeared as pilot, Ditto, Forella, Sam, Tally-ho, and Perform all being close up. The field kept on good terms with the leader, who always seemed to gain a decided advantage at the jumps. Going up the hill for the last time, Forella was close on Rhino, who made an effort to shake off his oppo-

nent coming down the hill, but it was of no avail, and the pair were together at the foot of the hill. Perform was just in front of Rhino at the last jump, and, fairly wearing his opponent down, won by two lengths, while Rhino was about the same distance in front of Ditto, with Sam fourth, and Forella fifth. Tim was never prominent and evidently did not relish" the soft going. The whole of the fourteen on the card for the Winter Welter Handicap started, which must be

accepted as flattering to Mr Evett’s adjustment of the weights. The popular selections were Regel, Retaliation, and Pyroxylin, but not one of the trio troubled the judge at the finish. Pyroxylin, however, showed a bold front from the start, and was first away, attended by St. Gordon and Panoply. That order was maintained right round to the home bend, when St. Gordon began to creep up on the leader, while Panoply also moved forward and Regel was going better than anything else behind, with Donovan and Cleopatra just in front of him. When once fairly in the straight, St. Gordon shot past Pyroxylin, who at once shut up, and the top weight (Panoply) made a gallant effort to get on terms with St. Gordon, but failed, the latter winning by two lengths and a half. Cleopatra was only beaten by a head for second place, but that was owing to Panoply momentarily taking matters a little too easy. Donovan was fourth, Seabreeze fifth, and Pyroxylin sixth. St. Gordon paid the acceptable dividend of £lO. It will be remembered that he was one of my fancies for the leading event at North Shore, but on that occasion he performed very indifferently. The event of the day, the Grand National Hurdle Race, created a lot of interest, and every one of the nine starters received substantial support, with perhaps the exception of The Friar. Even the ex-hack, Hairy Legs, had a following which mustered up £157 in his favor, but the best backed horses in the race were the North Shore mare, Annabelle, and the West Coast gelding, Dummy. When the horses came out for their preliminary, the interest in the event which this year has been the medium of a considerable amount of betting began to intensify. The top weight (St. Simon) moved with both freedom and determination, but although the public are good judges and thoroughly believed that St. Simon is a great horse, they doubted his ability as a four-year-old to carry such a load as 12st 121 b to victory over a heavy course, more especially when they remembered his sorry display at North Shore only twelve days before. To that may be attri-

buted the fact that only 112 out of the 1428 on the machine voted in favor of New Zealand’s champion hurdler. Annabelle, the popular pick, appealed to be in great fig, and her respected owners made no secret of the fact that they expected her to run a great mare. Had it been her good fortune to win, her victory would have been a most popular one with every one except the “ books,” who, as a rule, I think, had laid her in doubles with everything else in the Steeplechase. Everything in the race bore the appearance of having undergone a thorough preparation. Our Dunedin friends swore by Ilex, who certainly looked well; and, regarding Troubadour, I was told that if the pace was sound from the start he was certain to hop in, while of Hairy Legs it was murmured that he had smashed all the watches that had been put on him in his trials. With eight horses so well fancied it was no wonder that the spectators forgot all about the rain and had only consideration for the equine heroes who were ranging themselves into line in front of Mr Cutts to do battle for the Grand National of 1897. And it is a battle that will livelong in the memories of those that saw it, because it brought to light the extraordinary quality of the greatest hurdler of the day, St. Simon. They jumped away in splendid line, St. Simon Dummy, Annabelle, and Miss Nelson being all together, with the rest in a bush, but it was not St. Simon’s mission to make the pace, and his cool-headed rider (Fergus) steadied the brilliant son of St. Leger, while Dummy, Annabelle, and Hairy Legs went on together. As they swept round the bend out of the straight there was just time for the thought that Hairy Legs, with his light weight, was quite right in making the pace, but was it wise for Annabelle and Dummy to race him for the lead thus early, but they did, and in doing so they were escaping the flying muck which was smothering horses and jockeys in the ruck. ' St. Simon during this time was hugging the rails, the watchful Fergus saving every inch of ground and keeping his horse to-

gether for the final struggle in the end, while by his side, ploughing along with determination, were Ilex and Troubadour, with the light blue colours cf Miss Nelson on their girths, The Friar by this time having fallen back the cause being the bursting of a blood vessel in the head. Along the back the order was very much the same. The pace began to tell on Hairy Legs and he dropped back, while Ilex closed on the leaders, and St. Simon doggedly kept on in their wake while the whole field fenced magnificently. Annabelle was always in the lead or very close to it, and in the back stretch she seemed to have Dummy’s measure, and then at the bend for home it seemed as if the North Shore mare had the race in hand as she made a gap between herself and followers. Ilex was incapable of the task of catching her, but at the last jump the black and red hoops of Fergus on St. Simon came to the front like a flash. Morrigan on Annabelle made one last effort, but although she was game enough she was not equal to the task, and St. Simon won the Grand National of 1897 by a length and a half, while the Dunedin representative was third five lengths away, Troubadour, Miss Nelson, Prince Charlie, and Dummy following in the order named. Although the majority of the public were not winners over the event a mighty cheer went up for St. Simon and his jockey when the horse returned to the scale. It was a flattering and generous testimony of the public to the great deed of a splendid horse. They had forgotten his failure at North Shore. All that had been wiped out and St. Simon was the hero of the hour. Annabelle performed splendidly, and all her connections had reason to be pleased with the run they had for their money. The Selling Steeplechase did not create much interest, it being generally looked upon as a foregone conclusion for Mozel; and so it proved. Soon after the start he went to the front and left his opponents hopelessly in the rear, and wonpulling up. His stable companion, Reflection, ran very creditably for her first attempt over big country. The Maiden Handicap Hurdle Race brought out a field of six, and an exceedingly interesting race between Muscatel and Dentist resulted in favour of the visitor, who finished very gamely. The Pony Handicap Hurdle Race brought the day’s sport to a close. Libeller cut out most of the running, and rounding the bend into the straight looked like the winner, but here Bob came with a wet sail and won by a couple of lengths at the finish. Recruit was third, Pororua fourth, and Clayton fifth. SECOND DAY. Beautiful weather on Monday, the second da!y of the Great Northern Steeplechase Meeting, made it a pronounced success. There must have been nearly 4000 people present, and they were rewarded with an excellent afternoon’s sport. The secretary of the club is certainly to be entitled to praise for the excellence of the management all through. Speculation was brisk, the sum of £7,248 passing through the machine, making a total for the two days of £12,746, or £967 more than last year. A couple of accidents occurred during the day, but neither of them were of a very serious nature. Daisy Bell fell in the Pony Hurdle Race, and gave her rider, T. Waldron, :a nasty toss. When picked up he was insensible, and was evidently suffering from concussion of the brain, but subsequently I was glad to hear that he had considerably recovered. The othbr accident happened to the unlucky Bombardier in the Tally-Ho Steeplechase. This time it was ndt over a fence he came to grief, but while raciiig on the flat. He evidently slipped and crossed his legs, and came down very heavily, Denny Morrigan in consequence sustaining a fracture of the collar-bone. The afternoon’s sport was commenced at one o’clock with the Maiden Hurdle Race, eleven, or just half the field entered, being content with Mr Evett’s adjustment of the weights. Dentist, Glauvena, and Hairy Legs were all well backed, but punters were astray in their calculations, as the, formidable .North Shore stabled supplied the winner, in Lady.-Agnes. The start was an excel-

lent one, arid Lady Agnes, Glauvena, arid Hairy Legs showed the way over the first hurdle, but soon afterwards Glauvena led the- others by a length, Atlantic already being a long last. Going round the bend Lady Agnes and Glauvena were racing together, Dentist laying third, with the rest of the field in trouble. At the back Lady Agnes drew away from Glauvena and was never afterwards troubled, winning very easily by five lengths, while Dentist was an indifferent fourth. Reflection was fifth, and Muriwai sixth. Seven saddled up for the Pony Handicap, and although Clayton was the absolute favourite a commission in favour of the good looking Recruit, effected almost at the last moment, made h'itn second favourite on the machine. Clayton never flattered his supporters, but the race, particularly between Becruit and Bob, was a splendid one? These two with Libeller formed the front division during the whole of the journey, but when the straight was reached the contest was virtually between Bob and Becruit. The latter, when heads were turned for home, had a short lead of Bob and a ding-dong battle all the way down the straight ensued, both ponies finishing very gamely. Becruit, however, lasted long enough to win by a neck. The. winner, I believe, comes from the Paeroa district, and is by Tetford out of Virginia. He is'a splendidly made little fellow and this should hot be his last victory, as I fancy he can carry weight as well as gallop. Napoleon, when running well forward, fell, and Daisy Bell also came to grief. The private reputation q£ this pony is certainly in advance of her public form. j When the numbers went up for the Great Northern Steeplechase the only absentees were found to. be Bombardier, Sepoy, and Repeat. After his performance in the Grand National Hurdle Baee, it was not surprising to find that StJ Simon was made a strong favourite, but .it certainly did take a few by surprise to notice the hearty support that was accorded to Levanter. His failure with eight pounds less in the saddle at Wanganui did not appear to be a recommendation, and during the past fortnight he had been but little mentioned in the betting until Saturday night, when a representative of the stable showed that the choice was Levanter, not Kingswood, as some people had imagined. Public form, as usual, was knocked sideways, because the hero of the Grand National Hurdles was ignominiously beaten, while the defeated of Wanganui romped home at Ellerslie, and second and third to him were Tally-Ho and Miss Nelson, whose performances on the first day of the meeting certainly did not flatter their prospects in the Great Northern Steeplechase; but all this, of course, is what cnstitutes the glorious uncertainty of the sport, and also demonstrates to a certain degree that the ability of a steeplechaser cannot very safely be gauged by his performances over hurdles. When the field for the Great Northern was despatched by Mr Cutts, Mozel and The Eriar were momentarily in front, but Bhino soon took up the running, arid going up the hill was from ten to fifteen lengths in front of the others, Mozel, The Eriar, and Kingswood being at the head of the main body. That was the order right round and over the water jump, where Bhino still had an advantage of fifteen lengths, the order then being Mozel, Kingswood, Tally-Ho, The Friar, Miss Nelson, St. Simon, Levanter, Dromedary, Ditto, and Glenlora. At the jump near the cutting Bhino blundered and lost ground, hut he still led up the hill. fn the plantation Tally-Ho ran into second position, the order along the crest of the hill being Rhino, ten lengths in front of Tally-Ho, who was a length in front of Mozel, and five lengths further away were Kingswood, Levanter, Miss Nelson, and St. Simon. Going down the hill Rhino commenced to come back to his field, and at the double was only three lengths in front of Tally-Ho, who was going strong and well, andthen cameMozel, Miss Nelson, Kingswood, Levanter, and St. Simon, the latter evidently having had enongh of the cross-country work, and Fergus had to shake him up. Rhino led to the bend, but he had now had enough and resigned the lead to Tally-Ho, who was going so well that her backers already became jubilant.

The mare led up the back, her nearest attendant being Rhino, who in turn was followed by Mozel, Miss Nelson and Levanter, the others, and particularly St. Simon, being out of it. Rhino fell at the post and rails, while Mozel slipped and came down. The race now looked a good thing for Tally-Ho, who was nearly a dozen lengths in front of Levanter, but Jack Rae in the latter end with his usual patience bided his time,. There can be no doubt that he is a grand general, and it was soon evident that he had nursed his favourite, who was now full of running, for the bitter end of the long journey. Tally-Ho was still going strong down the hill, but the shout “here comes Jack Rae ” denoted the fact that Levanter was at last in hot pursuit and would fight out the battle for the Great Northern Steeplechase for the honour of the North and the dollars of his owner and rider. Gradually the gallant old son of Captivator drew on the leader, and when Tally-Ho faltered, although only slightly, at the stone wall the black and cream hoops on the Auckland horse were only a little behind the black jacket and gold sash on Tally-Ho. The latter had gamely fought out the battle, but the Aucklander was not to be denied, and rushing to the front he had the race in hand at the last hurdle and finally won by nearly half a dozen lengths, while Miss Nelson was ten lengths away third, and Dromedary a dozen lengths further away fourth, the rest being nowhere. St. Simon, who was so enthusiastically cheered on Saturday, walked in almost unobserved. His display over the big fences was certainly disappointing and calculated to make one think that more has been said of his North Shore failure than was wise or j ust, his running in the North Shore Steeplechase and the Great Northern being on all fours. The Handicap Hurdles brought out a field of seven, nearly all being good performers, and after her creditable display on the first day it was not surprising to find that Annabelle was made the favourite, although she had gone up considerably in the weights. Dummy, Tim, and Annabelle

formed the front division for most part of the way, and the trio entered the straight almost on terms, but Annabelle was the first over the last hurdle and she raced home a comfortable winner by three lengths from Tim, who would have paid a remarkably good dividend had anything happened to the bi or th Shore mare. Eight faced the starter in the Tally-Ho Steeplechase, and as just half that number had competed in the Great Northern Steeplechase it could not have been expected that they had much chance with the fresh horses, and the consequence was the bulk of the public money went on Perform and Bombardier, but Kingswood was also well supported. Rhino for the second time during the afternoon acted as pacemaker, and he made matters pretty lively for once round when he ran off at the double. Perform then took charge and led up the hill, followed by Tally-Ho and Bombardier. At the jump on the top of the hill Bombardier blundered and soon afterwards fell. Perform was never afterwards headed and won very comfortably by three lengths, while TallyHo just beat Sam for second place, and whatever honour is attached to fourth place fell to Mozel, the rest being nowhere. The last race of the day, the second Winter Welter Handicap, brought out the biggest field of the meeting, namely twenty, and it was unfortunate that the light was getting a little uncertain when the competitors ranged up in front of Mr Cutts. In such a field the advantage of the start is a big codsideration, and Mr Cutts had a little difficulty in restraining the boys. He succeeded fairly well, however, but from what could be seen in the dim light Swordfish and The Sharper were the slowest to move. Pyroxylin, Lady Anna, and Lady Marion, formed the front division, and it looked anybody’s race coming down the straight, but just opposite the stand Tommy Taylor brought Bonnie Blue to the front with a brilliant dash and flashed past the post a good neck in front of Pyroxylin, while Donovan was close up third, Lady Anna fourth, and St. Gordon fifth.

The dividend, £22 15s, was the best paid at the meeting. The winner is an importation from New South Wales, and is by Clan Stuart out of that really good mare The Gift; The victory of Bonnie Blue brought a most successful meeting to a close. 1 3