HAWKE’S BAY.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XVIII, Issue 1046, 24 March 1910, Page 7

HAWKE’S BAY.

(From Our Own Correspondent^. NAPIER, March 21. Birkdale, the winder of the two baby races at Napier Park last week, is one of the best two-year-olds seen out this season locally. He is a fine, solidlooking customer, who, though he ran very green at first, proved by his efforts then that he was chock full of gameness, with a deal of pace. On Thursday he finished like a bulldog under the whip, and he had a pretty good one to keep him moving in Kohinoor. Mayflower met with bad luck in the Telegraph Hack Race at the Park fixture, for she got galloped on, and when she came back to the paddock it could be seen that she was cut about on the fetlock of the off hind foot. Seeing her putting the toe of the injured foot to the ground led to the belief that no large fracture had occurred. This presumption, however, proved fallacious, for when I saw her yesterday I was quite satisfied that the coffin bone was broken. Mayflower’s racing days are-ended, but there will be a certain amount of solace for her owner to know that she will be all right for breeding purposes. She is a wellbred mare, besides being one of the handsomely-constituted sort. Mr. R. J. Neagle had only recently purchased Mayflower, consequently the loss is a very severe one for him. W., Stone, whose luck has not been of the rosy tinge for a long time past, led in a winner last week. This was when Bunkum silenced a big field in the Trial Hack Stakes. Though the colt has not been up long, he ran in a courageous manner, and it was only downright gameness that enabled him to beat Reformist, who was going great guns before the post was reached. Bunkum is closely related to Parable, for both were sired by Merriwee, and Palaver, the dam of Parable, is a half-sister to Bunkum by Apremont.

A laughable incident occurred after Parable had come into the enclosure after winning the Napier Cup. Her pilot, Kemp, whose bodily weight is under sst, could not lift his saddle to convey it to the scales, as it had too much lead in the weight bag under, and though the little chap tugged tugged away to get it off the ground, it was of no avail, for he could not get a budge out of it. Mr. A. L. D. Fraser, one of the stewards, sized up the difficulty by taking the load into the clerk of the scales.

It is not often that two sisters win two consecutive races, but such was the case last Wednesday, when Polyanthus and Amaru won the first and second races on the Napier Park programme.

Had Ballyneety got the verdict in the High Weight Handicap, his owner would have got the machine, for he held the .solitary chance, on his horse’s number, and the thick end of a thousand would have come his way. Wimmera, who has been schooled over, the obstacles of late, has improved greatly, and I never remember seeing the brother to Boomerang and Muskerry looking so robust and solid. That he was as well as his appearance suggested • was known by the good style in' which he annexed both of the races he was started in last week, and to show that he can carry .'weight and gallop, attention has only to be drawn to the fact’ that in his last go he carried lOst and carved out the seven furlongs in 1.29 4-5. . Obscurity has proved- a good purchase . to; Mr. G. J\ White, of Porangahau, for the chestnut Lmare got. a first award at the date. Dannevirke, meeting, when she paid a more than fair working price, and last week at the Park (when she . proved victorious ‘ in the Redclyffe ■ Hack) ■ she returned the dividend of the - gathering, ° and her owner held a. third of' the ticlrejts invested on the machine against her name? • • > ■ ... - ,

F, Cress has quitted; Mr. E. J. Watt’s employment.. t . Mr. H. Limmer; who has been ill in the local hospital since Boxing Day, is in great hopes that he will be soon out again to assist at the game. It seems strange that Amato, whom he owns in partnership with Mr. McKay, of Hastings, never won a face’ before Mr. Limmer met with his accident, and on the day that his part owner 1 had the bad luck to get both of his legs broke, Amato won two races. Sleacombe was sent for a turn over the hurdles on the preparing circuit at Napier Park on Saturday morning, and the way the big son of Birkenhead got through his first task over the battens came as a revelation to the trackwatchers, for he took uiem in his stride while galloping at top. Millenial also made her debut over the’ sticks on Saturday morning, and for a new chum; did not do so bad, but in company with Sleacombe she was like the man who fell out of the aeroplane—“not in it.”

There is talk of J. Munn putting Kopii over the hurdles. Mayhap this style of education would suit the halfbrother to Mahutonga. Anyhow, he could not be worse than he is now, for, though he looks all serene, he races like a duffer—in fact, it is a misnomer to call his efforts racing. Clemora is an unlikely starter at the A.R. r C. meeting this month, as his trainer considers it would be judicious to give the gelding a spell. Though the machine investments at Napier Park last week showed an increase when compared with the takings at a similar meeting last season, the revenue collected from the pencillers was £6O odd less than the sum derived from the same source at the 1909 autumn gathering. Nero is galloping well just now, and J. Oldfield has the gelding looking in nice .order. His next appearance will be at Waipukurau on Easter Monday. The Hon. J. D. Ormond shipped several young thoroughbreds to Sydney, via Auckland, on Friday nignt. J. S. O’Neill, who has for a number of years been training in the Bay district, leaves next week for Ashburton, where he will educate Cardiff and Erl King for Mr. Owen, who has lately removed to the dry district.