HEAD OF THE BAY ANNUAL RACES AND RURAL SPORTS.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume 3, Issue 255, 27 December 1878, Page 2

HEAD OF THE BAY ANNUAL RACES AND RURAL SPORTS.

Thuesday, December 26

Stewards for Horse Races—Messrs W. Birdling, B. Shadbolt, H. Piper, F. Williams, S. Lee, J. Beecher. A. Wiggins, A. I. M'Gregor, J. Duxbury, and S. Johnson. Judge —W. Birdling, Esq. Starter—S. Johnson, Esq. Handicapper— J. Duxbury, Esq. Clerk of the Course — W. Birdling, Esq. Treasurers—S. Lee and B. Shadbolt, Esqs. •Stewards for Rural Sports—Messrs. H. Piper, S. Giles, F. Williams, and J. H. Wallace. FIRST DAY. This raco meeting commenced yesterday, and the first day may be considered a great success! The weather was fine and much cooler than it lias been lately, owing to a considerable breeze that was blowing. The attendance was good, and all seemed bent on having a thorough day's amusement. Thirsty souls were catered for by Messrs Beecher, Rodrignes, and Brooks, the latter of whom had converted his verandah into an outside bar. For lighter refreshments and sales of fancy articles, Messrs Alger ani Hahn had booths, and the or.tside trading fraternity were represented by the proprietors of a lucky bag, the venerable Aunt Sally, and a book stall, the first of the kind we have seen on a racecourse. The first event was started within a few minutes* of the advertised time, the stewards being doubtless mindful of the old adage describing the inflexibility of time i and tide.

The following is the result of the day's racing : — District Hurdle Race—A handicap of 15 soys. Heats. Nomination, 10s ; acceptance, 10s. Mr- J... Sunckell's eh m Isis, Gyrs, lOst 101b (A. Lelievre 1 0 Mr G-. RobinsonVdi |f.J£&iapoi aged list CJas. Brown) ..V*" "*>.. 2>o Mr T. Welsh's br g Charlie,) aged list (owner) ~, •■... ... 0 1 This race, which was over four flights of hurdles," brought, three competitors to the ptfst. There was very little speculation on the event, but as far as it went Isis was a hot favorite. The three got away well together, but before reaching the second hurdle, Charlie's rider lost his stirrup leather, and had to dismount. The race then lay between the other two, and Isis justified the confidence placed in her. Kaiapoi lost a lot of ground at each jump, and though he was apparently put to his best work, the mare maintained her lead and came in an easy winner. Charlie, as we have said, was out of the race for this heat at an early period, but Welsh, having picked himself up, cantered over the course, and as there was no distance post it was held that he was not disqualified from starting for the second heat, at any rate no objection was raised to his doing so. In the second heat they all kept pretty close, but Charlie, not having raced in the former one, had the advantage, and was able to maintain a slight lead. They crossed the third hurdle pretty close together, when almost immediately afterwards, Isis fell, rolJiug over on her jockey. Brown, who was close behind on Kaiapoi, could neither pull up nor get out of the way in time to avoid a collision, and came to grief also. This of course, left the heat to Charlie, who. rode quietly, in. Mr A. Lelievre, who was riding Isis, had a very ugly fall, as his own horse fell on him, and Kaiapoi also rode over him. It was at first feared that he had been seriously, if not fatally injured, but happily this turned out not to be the case. He was badly shaken, and bad one ear severely cut, apparently by the hoof of the horse whjch had {stumbled over him. The sufferer was removed to Mr Shadbolt r s where every attention was paid him, and Dr Guthrie was sent for. On arrival the doctor dressed the wound in the ear, and we are happy to state that Mr Lelievre was able to be removed to his home the same evening.

Mr Sunckell entered a protest against Charlie, alleging that his rider had crossed the raare's path, and caused her fall. The stewards found, however, that the evidence did not bear out the charge, and tender all the circumstances adjudged the money to be divided between Isis and Charlie. All bets to be off. The next event on the card was the Maiden Plate of 10 soys., for district horses that have never won an advertised race (matches and steeplechases excepted), Weight for age. Entrance, 20s. Mr Harriss' eh g Dick, 4 yrs; 9et, •carried 316b" over weight (Mason) ... 1 Mr E. De Malmancha's eh g Titokowaru,' 4 yrs, carried 61b ovverweight .(Phillips) 2 The following also ran—Mr Staples' Moss Rose, Mr A. Lelievre's Lurline, Mr Mackay's Charlie, and Mr Ashton'e Pompey. Mr Shadbolt's Lone Hand was scratched. Dick and Titokowaru were about equal favorites, being backed even against one another for places. The race waa a very good one. but Dick, spite of the top weight he was carrying pulled it off with comparative ease. Titokowaru, made a game effort to wrest the victory from him, but was not steered as-well as might hare been, and had to be content with second honors.

Wainui Piats— -soya. Open to alj horses. ■ 'Heat* - Nomination, ' . 10s ; acceptance, 20s. ■' J f Mr G. Robinson's Merry Monarch, aged, lOst (.las. Brown)... "... '1 '1 Mr B. Shadbolt's b g Lone Hand,

aged. Bst 21b. carried 91b overweight (A. Shadbolt) ... .. ...; 2 2 ;Mr Sunckell's Isis was; scratched, 4 4 wing to'the: fall sho had had in the,,Hurdle\ Raoe. , : ' ■ ' r\ This event 1 was a gift to Merry, Monarch/ •Lone Hand di-i his best, but the Moimrch was too many for him, and ,won a.s\ he.,, liked, coming in first in eacK heat hard* held. Hack Race of 5 soys. For district horses thai have never been trained or won any .(public moijreyo Entraijcej; 10s/" Post entry. ,/';;■ '' '• ''. " ■ Mr Hammond's Bismarck (Hammond) -1 Mr Macfarlane's Swell (Wallace) ... 2 M. Everall's Merry-legs (W. Pettigrew) 3 A good field faced the starter for this" race. As in most hack races every jockey meant winning if he could, and not only winning, but leading by as great a distance as possible. Four ran besides the three above named ,viz., Mr Kennedy's Shillelagh, Mr Sefton's Nelly Bly, Mr W. Shadbolt'a Moonlight, and Mr M'lntosh's Miss Flirt. Whip and spurs were the order of the day from the start to the winning post, and it was amusing to see the winning jock come in flogging hard, although he had a lead of at least three lengths.. This event concluded the horse races, which had to be held continuously on account of the tide. The rural sports then commenced, of hich the following is a summary. Boys' Race—44o yards, un ;&r 16 years. First prize, 10s;.second; %s6d. Entrance, 6d. S. Gurry 1 C. Lyall 2 There were eleven entries for this event. S. Curry, as a little boy, had a considerable start. Lyall started at scratch. This was a capital race, and showed that Curry even at scratch had a chance of winning.

Men's Race—Bßo yards ; handicap. First prize, 50s; second. 10s. Entrance, 2s 6d. W. Lyall ... :.. 1 Morris :... ... ... ... ... 2 There were sis entries for this event, Lyall coming in an easy winner, with Morris a poor second. The others were quite distanced. Men's Running High Jump—First prize, 20s; second, ss. Entrance, Is 6d. T. Turner (Maori) 1 Jas. Wright ... ... 2 Sis faced the starter in this event. Turner, the Maori, won easily by a good jump which we had no means of measuring. At the same time he evidently could have jumped higher if necessary. Hart and Birdling went for second in this event, Birdling getting second place. By a decision of the umpire, however, Jas. Wright took second place

Boys' Running High Jump—Under 14 years. First prize, 10s ; second, 2s 6d. Entrance, 6d. Four entered for this race. Curry and Piper were nearly equal in this jump, but Piper had to give way for second place, whiyh was elosly contested liy James Cuny, who has the best style of jumping of the lot, and with practice would be a dangerous rival in contests of the sort again. Girls' Race—lso yards ; under 16 years. Mr Garwood's prize, a dress, value 30s. Mary Leprou 1 S. DeMalmanohe 2 The contest for this race called to the post some of the fittest looking performers we have seen for many a day. The race was well contested from start to finish, and gave great pleasure to the spectators. The handicapping of Messrs Bridge and Frankish also came out in thjs struggle > Boys, Hop, Step and Juiir—Under 14 . years. First prize, ss; second, Is. Entrance, Gd. John Lecompte 1 S. Curry 2 H. Piper 3 In this race a protest was lodged by S. Curry that the winner was over age. The protest has not as yet been decided but in any case Lecompte only headed Curry by about half a head. Putting the Stone—First prize, 10s; second, 2s 6d. Entrance Gd. J. Kennedy ... ... 1 G. Robinson ... ... 2 This was a most interesting contest, and the style of throwing the stone by both Kennedy and Robinson was much admired. We much regiet not being able to obtain the weight of stone and the distance thrown by Kenned} ,, , but we are sure it would compare favourably with the best efforts of the Scottish. Athletes in the line. Kennedy afterwards threw the stone 18 inches beyond his first throw which looked to us an extraordinary distance. ' t Wrestling — Cumberland style. Firs; prize, meerschaum pipe value 30s second, 10s. Entrance, 2s. Bourse ... » ... 1 C. Johnson ' 2 This was the last event on the card and called forth considerable; competition. Mr G. Robinson acted as judge in the most efficient manner. M'Evoy and Rennet showed good style and form, and we would suggest that the Wrestling match should under proper restrictions. bo made a feature in all future programmes as the materials for contests of this sort are evidently to hand. The sports as a whole \yere well contested f and carried out in a spirit of fairness, Messrs C. W. Bridge and Frankish' doing excellent service in getting the various events ofE. The only regret being that heights jumped, the distance the stone was thrown and its weight, also the time of the various running events were not obtainable; this we hope to ccc put right before another season. When our reporter left, the fun was getting fast and furious, and the idea of Boxing Bay was being carried out literally, and should form a strong argument in favor of another c onstable being continued at the Head of the Bay.