THE AKAROA AND WAINUI ANNUAL RACES.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume 2, Issue 151, 28 December 1877, Page 2

THE AKAROA AND WAINUI ANNUAL RACES.

The annual races at the) Head of the Bay took place last Wednesday, as duly advertised, and proved, what we antioi- 1 pited would be the case, asi far as actual I racing was concerned, a fhqrongh success. Starting trrtm Akatoa, a ndw' feature was I recognisable in the presence of the/p.s. Tongariro. a;aily dressed dut in holiday* 1 attiie, ready, as previously" announced,} to" corivey passengers to the. Head, of-the Bay, while, at the Thead, t\ie steam launch Pioneer was asserting' itself in a shrill soptano whistle as an acporapaniment to* the Tongariro's somewhat faded contralto, i both doing their utmost to induce passengers to patronise their respective modes of •transit. The launch leftfabout half-past ten, with a full compliment, the Tongariio starting some twenty minutes after her with only a few visitorslon board. The weather was as propitious as could be desired, indeed, a little less power in .the suit's rays would have been thankfully accepted as a change, and me trip'by water -o the M-ena of the races-jwould'have been mosL enjoyable.. 'Ort arriving at the Head of the Bay-, a large attendance of people, from all parts,of the Peninsula, was found, evidently .bent, on holiday'making to the utmost, these, bf course, were to be seen the "child-like apd bland" proprietors of Various games -f)£ chance, endeavouring by every art at,' their command to induce the yatfthrdf the-Peninsula to provethe old *that a " jfool and his money are.soon parted." . We; Wore glad to notice however, that, these* seductive fraternity were forced to,pay flierr footing, and commend the firmness of.the" Committee in insisting either on -thfir .expulsion from the ground, or the payment of the fee demanded. Thfj Somerset Hotel proved a great centre of attraction to the not, the weary, and the bib,ul6us, Mr Brooks, the proprietor, evidently dfoing a roaring trade. V luncheon'had been -laid in the long room of the hotel -to which -ample justice was accorded, and for' which the ordinary sum of 2s 6d was required, but the catering was of a character hitherto unknown in connection with the races at the Head of the Bay. There was-rather an, absunce of excitement in the,matter of sweeps these buina; chiefly confuted tp {small' private circles of friends. The presence on the ground of the Akaroa Driim'aiid'Fifeßand considerably enlivened the proceedings, which, owing to then length of time trjat j was suffered to olapge between each rafle, and heat, had ratheVW tendency to drag I and become wearisome". The enlivening strains of the fife, and the martial sound of 1 the drums, stepped v :sn here very opporf ] timely, and, that the' .public appreciated-.; Jli£irJLflinJo»i&^.b&^^

S.Johnson especially for their attention, and kindrftss in affording information which, -\n the absence of cards,, a great'oversigbt on the/part pf i the committee,', jwe\sorely Bjrdling acted 'as judge, .Mr S. Johnitonfwj Beecher as clerk of the course, ajid Mr Duxbury as Handitfj'npper, Mr C. Porter made a "most effective •secretary. ' " , <*;*•' * The following is-an account of the day's racing. The - Viral race was— Maiden Plate of 10 sdvs. For district

horses. - Distance, about J of a mile. - -Weight for■ age. Second horse to save his stakes. Nomination, 10a; acceptance, 10s. Mr M. Connor's eh g Volunteer (Barker) 1 Mr Brown\s.b f Hollyhock 2 Mr liobinsWs b g Jack o'Trumps ... 3 Mr Shadbolt's b m Twitter 0 '"Mr Castle's b m Phoebe 0 'Mr MausWbb g Dick 0 For this race six horses put in an appearance, Twitter, Phoebe, and Dick being out of,it from the v first, Dick getting a very bad start. All the others were sent, well .away by the" starter. The betting was inclined -towards Dick, but the knowing ones presaged a victory for Volunteer or Holly,liock v the latter being, if anythingy the favourite. The race, was ~a good one, Voln'nte'er corning in first by 'a'bpirt half a iengthj. and Jack 6' Trumps a good third. Handicap Hurdle Race of 15 sov.s. Over ' four flights of hurdles: For' district , horses. Heats. Second horse, to save . his stakes. Nomination, 10s; acceptance, 15s. Mr M'Farlane's b g Charlie (Lelieyre) 1 Mr Manson's b g Dick ...' • ... : ... 2 Mr Surickell's eh in Isis . ' ... \ ... .0 Mr Callaghan's Minister Queen ... 0 Mr Shadbolt's b m Lady Bird , 0 There was considerable excitement over this race, which was settled in three heats, Chailie winning the first of these in firstrate 'style, all the horses taking their hurdles well and cleanly, Lady Bird coming in a good second. In!the next heat, Dick showed to the fore, with Isis and Lady Bird a close second and third, Charlie being jostled out of the crowd, thereby missing one of the flights of hurdles. A protest was immediately entered by the owner of Charlie against the rider of Lady Bird (B. Shadbolt, jun.) for pushing him off the course, another! protest being handed in against Charlie as *the winner of the first heat, for ,going*roiind one of his hurdles. Considerable delaoy now ensued while the stewards entertained these protests, and took evidence on the points in dispute, the Result, being that Charlie was allowed to run off the third heat'with -Dick, the matter to be again ■considered bythe committee ir£ythe»:erveftr iirig. In the third heat, both horses got 4 good start, but Charlie, admirably ridden by A. Lelievre, led from the first, winning ■. easily at the finish. ;

.Wainui Pilate Handicap of 20 soys. Open io allcomers. Heats. Second horse to < ?savehis stakes. Nomination, 10s;. Ac-

ceptance, 20s. rMr.,Brown's b m Mountain Maid <.'•;'::.:■,.:''.'•; ; . : (Brown) 1 - Mr.Castle's bm Maivina ..'. r ... 2 K(r Connor's chg Volunteer 0 ,Mr jShadbplt'ib g Fau'gh'-a-ballagh ... 0 r .This was a first-rate.race, the betting all "trough being in favour of Mountain Maid, who carried off both heats: with flying colours, hands down: Tne same delay was here noticeable! between the heats, and we would advise the committee next year to take steps to have this fault rectified, as the Waiting between the events evidently palled upon and wearied the spectators. The next race'was the. Publicans' Purse of 10 soys. Handicap For district horses. The winner of Wainui Plate to carry 71bs extra. Distance, about \of a mile. Secondhor.se to save his stakes. Nomination, 10s; acceptance, 10s. " Mr Brown's b m Mountain Maid .... 1 Mr Robinson's b g Jack o' Trumps ... 2 Mr Shadbolt's b m Twitter ... ... 0 Mr Castle's b m Malyina ..'.-'■'"-.".,:* 0 Four horses only.showed up for this race, Hollyhock being scratched. Agood start was effected, and the' pace made lively throughout, resulting in 3 good race, easily won, however, Mountain Maid, Jack o'Trumps being a good ■ second; and Twitter in close attendance as third.

Consolation Handicap of 5 soys. Distance. v -vabout of a mile. Entrance, 10s. -Mr Bell's bin.Phmae 1 Mr Callaghan's, Munster Queen ... 2 This Avas a ,close race, a considerable amount- of/-flogging taking place, but Phoebe pulled it off in good form, with Munster Queemo good second, and Hollyhock third. A serious accident might have here occurred,* but, fortunately, we have nothing worse to record than hard knocks and bruises. After passing the winning post, the rider of Hollyhock was unable to pull up, and dashed in amongst the spectators, scattering them far and wide, and t knocking drVn'two of three, among whom ( was Mr Castle, who received some ratlier -nasty contusions- in the face, with what must have'been a, very severe shake. We were gratified to' find that no bones were broken, but the escape seems almost miraculous. The horse Was hurled to the ground by the concussion, his rider (J. Lelievre, juii.,) falling clear, and .apparently unhurt.', - Hack Race, £5. Entrance, 10s. This race wa,s won by a horse named Prince, and proved certainly the most amusing event of ttie day, no 1 ;less'than eleven horses taking part in it. All,/the mob came up'in a Jump at the finisby and gesticulation, spurring and whipping Was .the order of the day. Among the ruck we,noticed a kept gamely 'on to'the end, the .Maori gentleman, who had occupied' the proud position of its rider, preferring to tumble off close to the stat ting point, and walk home. . t The Trotting Race of £5, twice' across the course, entrance 10s, easily won by Mr J. Sunckell juiir's Bones concluded a mpbt meeting, and, we may say, a'pleasant day's holiday. Next year we hope the different events will be kept moio fctiWly to the time appointed for their coming off, as this was the only flaw in the day's proceedings. It is worthy of remark, that the crowd assembled was characterised by the utmost respectability and sobriety, and this fact alone will tend consideiably to increase the popularity of the Peninsula Race meeting. Altogether, we must congratulate the committee on the,ir management. • >

' A lady ; who calls herself " the best .;ladjLO?3der in England'" r advertises her