WELLINGTON

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume IX, Issue 694, 25 June 1903, Page 14

WELLINGTON

Wellington, June 20. The caretaker of the Hutt racecourse is busily engaged getting the steeplechase course in order for the winter meeting. The sod wall and water jump have been attended to, and the whole of the jumps will be in capital order by the date of the races. The new grass track which was laid down some time back has come on well, and will be fit for use early in the spring of next season. Schooling fences have been fixed up, and visiting horses will be able to avail 1 themselves of cross-country work prior to the meeting. The club’s handicapper, Mr Chadwick, will attend the Hawke’s Bay and Napier Park meetings, with the view of taking notes prior to issuing his handicaps for Wellington. A sporting reporter, who is at present serving his apprenticeship to dentistry, recently made some caustic references to certain racehorses owned by a popular, but somewhat excitable, local owner. The latter retaliated by referring to the writer in terms more forcible than polite. The owner is now threatened with an action at law, unless a suitable apology is forthcoming. The affair, which is causing some amusement in sporting circles, is likely to go to the Supreme Court, the racing |man having intimated that he will be only too pleased to settle the matter in public.

A number of horseowners who raced horses at the Otaki meeting have expressed themselves in anything but flattering terms regarding the efforts of the Native starter who officiated for the Club. The starts, it is said, were of such a straggling order that only a portion of the horses engaged in each race had any chance of winning. The Natives who officiate at Otaki are capital fellows, but as T Cameron, the well-known North Island starter, was on the ground and available, he should, in the interest lof horseowners and the public, who largely patronised the tOtalisator, been employed. Natives are not made of stern enough stuff to make good starters. The handicapping for the same meeting has also come in for a good deal of adverse criticism at the hands of owners, many of whom declare that they only ran their horses on the offchance of the starter giving the signal to start when they had sufficient advantage to equalise matters with certain leniently-treated horses engaged. One well-known performer, after winning in the easiest manner the first day, was only asked to carry an extra seven pounds on the second day, when, as might be expected, the race was again an easy victory. A recent winner was only raised one pound, and had no trouble in capturing a double, even when penalised 101 b for the first win. As the official handicapper was absent attending to the Dunedin Jockey Club, his duties were undertaken by a local sporting scribe. Owners point out that, although the latter has to report the meeting for several weeklies, their grievances re faulty handicapping were ignored. The Otaki meeting is usually well patronised, both by owners and the general public, and can well afford to provide capable officials who will do justice to both racing men and the public.

A prominent official of the Dunedin Jockey Club informs me that the committee are precluded from inviting

applications for the position of successor to the late Mr George Dbwse (their handicapper), for the reason that Mr Henrys, when he undertook to frame the handicaps for the remainder of the season for 'which Mr Dowse was appointed; imposed a condition that the first refusal of next season’s handicapping be offered him. Racing men in Otago, who have been agitating to obtain an experienced man, Who would reside in Otago and fill the late handicapper's position, are, it? is reported, agreed that the Dunedin handicapping would be more equitably and’ carefully performed by some ohO who would witness the Otago horses perform at the various meetings which are held throughout Otago and Southland. Mr P. E. Baldwin, formerly a steward of the Wellington Racing Club, has returned from the Old Country, after a visit which extended over some six months. Scallywag; Who is doing well at his new quarters, Porirua, has had a light dose of physic, and' should be in nice condition by the date of the Wellington meeting. , . The Hawke’s Bay Jockey Club’s Winter Meeting, owing to the poor’ quality engaged, is not much discussed here.. Mr Robinson has taken his pair of jumpers, Smithy and Kohinui, through. These, with Pipi and Meteor, are the only outside horses of' note engaged. The followings should niri well: — Trial Steeplechase, Frost; Winter Handicap, Tradewind or Roseshoot ; Hack Hurdles, Oracle; Hawke’s Bay Hurdles, Meteor; Ladies’ Bracelet, Repulse; Hawke’s Bay Steeplechase, Pipi.