ELLERSLIE SENSATION.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 238, 8 October 1928, Page 13

ELLERSLIE SENSATION.

THREE RAGES POSTPONED.

MITCHELSON CUP FIASCO.

ONLY HALF THE FIELD RUN. CROWD TAKE CHARGE AND STOP RACING. The most angry scene that has been witnessed on a racecourse in New Zealand for many years occurred at Ellerslie on Saturday, when the Auckland Racing Club commenced their spring meeting. A field of fourteen lined up for the Mitchelson Cup, but wlien the barrier as released two stood the mark— Valcon and Catkin—and Star Stranger, Tidal, Mint Leaf, Te Kara and Sir Archie pulled up before going a furlong, the crowd shouting "No start," "Pull up." Mr. A. Selby, the clerk of the course, who was sitting on his horse near the judge's box, even went across and signalled to the remainder to pull up, but they took no notice, but continued on to the finish, Laughing Prince winning from Desert Glow and Mask who filled the places, to the thunderous shouting of a wildly excited crowd, many of whom »t once jumped the rails and stormed on to the course, gathering in front of the winning post. The judge did not hoist the numbers for quite five minutes or more, the horses, in the meantime, being lined up outside the gate and not being allowed to enter the birdcage. Eventually the starter, Mr. C. O'Connor, arrived and stated that it was a fair ■tart. , Then the horses were allowed in the birdcage. While there had been a doubt as to whether the start was correct the crowd was fairly quiet, but immediately it was realised that it was a start there •were further outbursts. The uproar was renewed and hundreds of voices joined in counting out the starter and the judge, and the crowd again became increasingly angry. When the position looked ominous Superintendent Wohlmann, Inspector Hollis, Chief Detective Hammond, with every available constable and detective on the course mingled with the crowd and did their best' to appeal to them to disperse/ But it was of 'no avail, and the crowd' afterwards became riotous, jm'd agpniimlly at five minutes past four 1 tile Racing Club was compelled to declare tH6 races off with three more to go. Uproar and' Confusion. |$f The horses for' the. steeplechase, the: next event, paraded in. the birdcage, with their riders in the saddle, but" any attempt to open the gate leading on tr; the course was frustrated by the excited crowd, who kept up a continual chant of "One, two, three, five, six, seven eight, nine, out," withjntermittent jeers and hoots. After some ten minutes or so the horses were' quietly taken up tc the top end of the saddling paddock and from there were taken through a gatp to the course by the old mile post.

MR. C. O'CONNOR, Starter.

The horses were now parading at the back of the course, a strong party of police, with Superintendent Wohlmann, Inspector Hollis and Chief Detective Hammond, .directing operations, were still endeavouring to induce several hundred people who had thronged the course in the vicinity of the winning post, to disperse. At 3.15, the police, including . four mounted men, once again tried gently to persuade the crowd to leave the race track. - ' i - ' . One man was knocked down, by the horse of a mounted constable, and the crowd set up a yell of, "Pull him off" One man in the crowd then caught hold of the reins, and for a moment or two matters were looking very ominous. A climax was almost readied when a woman refused to move out of the way when ordered by a constable, and, hauling off, struck him. At 3.20, Mr. R. B. Lusk walked across the lawn and entered the judge's box. The candidates for the steeplechase were still parading at the back of the course. . ♦ Counted Out. Immediately Mr. Lusk took his seat, he was vigorously "counted out.", The crowd were continuously calling out, "No more races to-day," and the whole atmosphere was electric and reminiscent of an occasion some years ago at Alexandra Park, when there was a sensation over the start of a pony race won by Peggy Pryde, and the crowd then, as on this occasion, took charge of the course and refused to allow the rest of the-pro-gramme to be run. off. Suddenly there was a cry; "They're off," and the blood of the crowd , on the lawn tingled as they saw the field dash away to run the race, with hundreds of sjv : r.tors stil lon the course dear the finishing post. "Don't move," iaid a man. "Come on, chaps, stop here, they woat fool us," called another man. Like himself, the others were determined not to budge.- Jo fact .-more/men

jumped over the rails and joined 'the throng. Those on the stands were then thrilled and amazed to see a galloping horse, Archangel, who had lost E. Warner, her rider, tearing around into the crowd on the course proper. Dashing Through the Crowd. The horse dashed into the crowd, who ran in all directions. Fortunately the horse did not collide with anyone. Ln the meantime the others had raced over the doiible and otner jumps and were descending the hill. Mashoor was, well out in front, and as he entered the straight a number of men rushed towards the last hurdle near the Leger Stand with the object of stopping them. There were shrieks from women on the stands, who realised the danger to both spectators and riders. One man ran right to the last hurdle and frantically tried to wrench the top batten free. Not being able to do this, he then threw up his arms and tried to stop the oncoming Mashoor. The horse took no notice or' him and made a beautiful jump and then came on towards the large crowd trespassing on the course near the winning post. In the meantime other horse 3 ia Cui Bono and Clockwork were approaching the hurdle, and more people ran out to block them. Strange to say, these horses made perfect jumps. No sooner were they over than they were among the crowd. The winner, with McGregor riding determinedly, got through with a fairly clear passage, although it was remarkable that a number of the spectators were not injured. The second and third horses, Cui Bono and Clockwork, did not fare so well, and desperate attempts were made by infuriated and reckless men to grab the reins. Several of the course trespassers were bumped, while at least two were knocked down and injured. It was a scene of wild excitement. Several women who were among the crowd on the course fainted and were carried off, while others ran in all directions, looking for an outlet from trouble. One of ■ the men knocked down had to be lifted over the lawn fence and carried to the casualty room, while another who had suffered injury to his shoulder was able to walk with assistance, to have his injury attended to. It was apparent at this stage that the crowd was out of control, but shortly afterwards they began to diminish. At 3.55 p.m., Dr. A. McGregor Grant, a steward of the Auckland Racing Club climbed on to a ladder at the rails

noon Mr. J. Nightingale, a cook employed at the racecourse, was treated at the casualty room for burns and a sprained wrist. After treatment he was allowed to go home. The St. John Ambulance workers had a busy afternoon. Three stretcher parties were engaged simultaneously, and three ambulance vans were used to convey injured persons to the Auckland Hospital.

FOUR JOCKEYS INJURED

There was a chapter of accidents connected with the Hunters' Steeplechase. The horses were taken out to the starting post by way of the hill. On the first circuit several fell. On the final round, going over the hill, a nasty accident occurred, four • horses, Marita, Raffertv, Importer and Pompeius fell in a heap. The jockeys lay on the ground and it could be seen from the stands that they were injured, and this was emphasised when the St. John Ambulance workers could be seen frantically waving for help. It was some time before the ambulance van was driven to the foot of the hill, and stretchers taken up. S. Henderson, the rider of Marita, sustained a fracture of his right collarbone, while H. Dulieu, rider of Rafferty, sustained fractured ribs on right side and concussion. J. Sharkey, the rider of Importer, had his face severely cut and light concussion. M. Conway, the rider of Master Arch, sustained concussion, and contusions. R. Svme, the rider of Pompeius, was slightly shaken. E. Warner,- rider of Archangel, who fell at the first fence, was rendered unconscious for a little while. All were attended to by St. John Ambulance attendants, and later with the exception of Syme, taken to the Auckland hospital. Tago San fell on the top of the hill the first time round, breaking a leg, and had to be destroyed.

FALSE START AT PAKURANGA

near, the entrance to the birdcage' and appealed to the crowd to disperse and allow the programme to he carried out. The move was not a success. Not only was. the appeAl turned down and the speaker howled down, counted/ out and given a bad reception, but it. also attracted hundreds who had been "standing off." Mr. A. Selby then tried to pacify the angry multitude. The popular veteran was greeted with cheers, partly because he had called to the riders in the Cup to pull up as they passed the stand the first time. There /was no possibility of the programme being continued and except that the crowd continued to "hold the fort,", matters fell rather flat. At 4.10 p.m. the band played the National Anthem as a notification that the day's racing had concluded, the meeting being postponed till this afternoon. This musical item was greeted with loud cheers. For a time there was a large crowd discussing the sensation, but eventually drifted away to cars, buses and trams and went home. And so ended the most memorable day in the whole history of the Auckland Racing Club. The Starter's Statement. After the race, Mr. O'Connor stated to the Judicial Committee that the start for the Mitchelson Cup was a proper start. He said the barrier rose cleanly, as far as he' was concerned and he was quite at a loss to know why all the horses did not leave the post. Directly the start was effected the crowd surrounding the start yelled "No start, come back." The riders who did leave the barrier appeared to do so in a half-hearted manner. R. McTavish, who rode Te Kara, stated to the Judicial Committee that his mount rushed into the barrier and the horse's head appeared to lift the barrier. In consequence he thought that it was no start, and the riders next to him, Tinker on Star Stranger, Morris on Mask and: Potter on Sir Archie were apparently of the same opinion. Wiggins, who rode Catkin, and Mclnnally on Tidal, who drew numbers 7 and 4 respectively at the post, stated that they did not hear Mr. O'Connor call out "Look out!" or "Go!" as, they said, was his usual custom. Hence the fiasco which caused. The inquiry into the matter is not yet concluded. ■' Casualties Among Spectators. ,B%When the crowd rushed the course and attempted to stop the horses at the finish of the Hunters' Steeplechase:, several spectators wer£ injured. Mrs. Keane, 243, Karangahape, Road, was knocked down by the horse Cui Bono and was taken to the casualty room. On examination she was found to be suffering from bruises and shock, and was allowed to go home. Mr. J. J. Matthews, 109, Richmond Road, was also knocked down, and sustained injuries'to his ribs,;'lacerations; and concussion.. He was admitted to tiie-Auck-land Hospital. Another to suffer was Mrl A. Williams, Peace Street, Rotorua, who: had his., ribs injured, and was.also taken to the hospital. During the a'fter-

There is little doubt that the false start which occurred at the Pakuranga meeting at Ellerslie last Saturday in the Ladies' Bracelet had a good deal to do with to-day's demonstration.

On that occasion all but two went away, but the barrier had slipped and the starter declared it "No start." The majority continued on and Lassau won from Ramblin' Kid with Ashleigh third. Lassau was second favourite. They were all recalled to the starting point and the field was dispatched properly. Moy Hall, the favourite, and Mangaiti (who was little fancied), the pair that did not take part in the first bout, finished first and second, with Miss Alma third. On that

CARTERTON CLUB.

HOROMEA'S CUP. ROYAL GAME SECOND LEG. MEMORIAL TO CALLANMORE. (By Telegraph.—Presß Association.) CARTERTON, Saturday. The Carterton races were held to-day in good weather before a large attendance. The totalisator handled £ 13,393, against £1.3,638 last year. P. Burgess, rider of Miss Gowrie, was fined £2 for failing to weigh in after the last race. TRIAL PLATE. Of lOOsovs. Six furlonga. S—VERONESE, B.B—J. Olsen 1 I—RILLETTE.1 —RILLETTE. S.B 2 7—JET BLACK, 8.8 .. 3 Scratched: Sun Gift, Imata GM& Wee Night. ! Won by a length and a-half. Time, 1.16. CARRINGTON HIGH-WEIGHT HANDICAP. Of 120sovs. One mile. I—BILLION, 9.9—A. Jenkins ...... 1 2—OTAURA LASS. 9.0 2 3—BELGIAN QUEEN. 9.0 3 All started. Won by a length. Time, 1.44 4-5. WAIRARAPA COUNTY CUP. Of 23050y8. One mile and a-quarter. 3 —HOROMEA, 7.9— R. Drinkwater .. 1 4—TERI, 7.7 2 I—VIGILANCE, 7.1 3 Scratched: David Garrick, Gardant. Won from end to end by two leneths. Time, 2.9 J. CARTERTON HACK HANDICAP. Of 120sovs. Six furlongs. 3—ARROW BOY, 7.9—A. Murray .... 1 4—BA SKIER. 7.12 •>- 2—CHOPIN, 7.9 f . 3 Scratached: Pari, Gold Bag, Tcheka. Won by two lengths. Time, 1.16. BUNNY MEMORIAL. Of 160sovs. Six furlongs. 2—CALLANMORE, 7.9— K. Voitre .. 1 I—HIGH DISDAIN. 8.11 2 3—DECOY BIRD, 7.11 3 Scratched: Vertigern.' Won easily. Time, 1.14 1-B. The winner was decorated with the blue ribbon by the president, Mr. W. Howard Booth. TARATAHI HACK HANDICAP. Of 120sovs. Seven furlongs. FULLMARK, 7.7— K. Robinson .. 1 6—ROTOWHERO, 8.8 . ; •» 3—RORY MOR, 7.12 3 Scatched: Gold Bag, Billion. Won by a length. Time, 1.2® 3-5. MAUNGARAKI HANDICAP, iOf IGOsovs. Seven furlongs. 2 ROYAL GAME, 9.9— R. J, Mackie 1 3—KING MIDAS. 9.6 * 2 4—DECOY BIRD, 7.13 3 Scratched: Vigilance, Pantagru«l. Won by a length. Time, 1.28 J. ELECTRIC HACK HANDICAP. Of 120sovs. Five furlongs. I—BANKET, B.9—R. J. Mackie .. 1 2—VERONESE, 7.0 ...77.. " I 6—WET WINTER .'. .... "*] ] 3 Scratched:' Rotowhero, Grey Mist, Rorv Mor, Arrow Boy Dainty Ways, Dancing Star, .Sir Spear, Water Spear, Sambnr Won by a length. Time," 1.1 1-5.

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