Sporting & Dramatic REVIEW AND Licensed Victuallers’ Gazette. With which is incorporated the Weekly Standard. THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 1906. THE A.R.C. EASTER RACING CARNIVAL.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XIV, Issue 841, 19 April 1906, Page 5

Sporting & Dramatic REVIEW AND Licensed Victuallers’ Gazette. With which is incorporated the Weekly Standard. THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 1906. THE A.R.C. EASTER RACING CARNIVAL.

Another meeting of the Auckland Racing Club has been numbered with the past, and the autumn gathering of 1906 will go on record as one of the most successful ever held by the premier Northern club. The weather cleared just in time, and all through the holidays was beautifully fine, there being a succession of those bright and clear days that the oldest inhabitant tells 113 were at one time the rule rather than the exception, but which nowadays are unfortunately so few and far between in Auckland. Under the circumstances it was only to he expected that the attendance would be very large, but as a fact this was only the case on Monday; on the other days, notably S'.turd.iy, the number present being considerably below the average. The racing throughout was perhaps more in/ere sting than any we h ive seen at Ellerslie, the number of close finishes which the judge was called upon to decide being really remarkable. This was indeed a feather in the cap of Mr. Morse, the handicapper, who came in for hearty congratulations on the success of his adjustments. Mr. Lusk had a difficult task set him, for many of the finishes were exceptionally close, but he came through the ordeal with much credit, although it is said that in one or two instances

the positions of the placed horses as far as second and third were concerned, notably in the case of Lucrece in the Electric Handicap and Hopscotch in the Pony Handicap, might well have been reversed. These cases were, however, so close that only the judge could say definitely as to which were the correct places filled by the horses competing. The starting of Mr. O’Connor was consistently good good throughout, and there can be little doubt that in this department he has no superior in the colony. A word of praise is certainly due to Mr. Hartland, whose general arrangements for the meeting gave complete satisfaction. There was a complete absence of anything in the way of a bad accident, the only untoward incident being the dramatic close of Hohoro’s career, the gallant old gelding dropping dead within ten yards of the finishing line. Hohoro was a

great favourite with racegoers, for as a resolute finisher he had few equals, and many were the expressions of regret at the sudden death of the son of Tasman. With the absence of any competition on the part of the bookmakers, it was only to be expected that there would be a very substantial increase on the amount of the totalisator investments as compared with the corresponding fixture last, year, the figures being £41,440 for 1906 as against £27,994 for 1905. In this respect it is of interest to notice that at Feilding more money was handled at the totalisator on Monday and Tuesday than was the case either at Ellerslie or Riccarton. Two classic races were decided at the A.R.C. meeting, the first of these, the Northern Champagne Stakes, falling to a good colt in Cambrian, a son of the defunct Cyrenian, while the Oaks proved a little more than an exercise canter for the Yaldhurst representative Isolt. The running was very consistent all through, noticeably so in the case of Hautapu, who, despite a substantial rise in weight, won all three hurdle races from end to end. There was an absence of any crooked running. Moreover, there were no protests, a very welcome state of affairs indeed. Altogether the Easter meeting of the Auckland Racing Club must be summed up as a very decided success.