THE TUAPEKA JOCKEY CLUB ANNUAL RACES.

Cromwell Argus, Volume I, Issue 14, 16 February 1870, Page 5

THE TUAPEKA JOCKEY CLUB ANNUAL RACES.

| [from our special correspondent.] ■These races—that is to say, the Races for the far 187Q—have been looked forward to with fester anxiety—hare been more earnestly got ,p—hare occasioned more public interest—have |en subscribed to more largely—have brought dgether more horses, more men, more women, lore children —have occasioned more betting—educed more and harder swearing—have proceed the consumption of more ardent liquor, id the conversion into smoke of more tobacco—lave been more mirth-provoking—and have tenerally been f«r more "jolly," {ban any other ices which have hit herto takem place within to boundary of Otago’s oldest Gold-field. 5 Wednesday, the Pth—the day before the races -cet in dork an . threatening, and by 10 o’clock s.m. a steady c ownpoyr was going on. This asted, pith but little intermission, all day, and |ho annaswjnoe the sky was most unprojitions, " "he tate of tfe course” was the Ihii ! oh; cti, of arxh vy, and it was felt that it (vnuld be frr Setter if those who have the man-

igapirjit of p.ff? ! -a would content themselves vith iirnll-r f ire; for a year or two, and make i really good an;l w ill-drained course. On Wed-

lesuav night it c—finned to rain, but owing to [Jig strong wic 1 watch was blowing, the amount >f moisture was not much added to ; and on riiursdr.v morning t’ c sppe , 'tonco of the sky Vas much mo-o promising. Qn the Wednesday

wening the town wyi htotally full of people. I

Lave lived here nearly five rears, but I never Lawenoo so crowded- Every available spot ivhere it was possible to improvise a bed was pressed into the service, apd houses which have long steed empty tpere Jiired for the .occasion, to uccommodate in some manner the crowds who Were enticed to pay u* a The bars of the

hotels were besieged till a late hour, and although the rain was descending with a vindictive stead’uess, the streets were by no means . deserted. Once again was the truth (if not the Iwisdomj of Byron’s couplet demonstrated. Yea, .ferily, fjeing reasonabl y get drunk s a The best of life is but intoxication.”

Ind yet, lam glad to say, 1 heard of nothing and there certainly was no rowlyiam. .

I By 11 a. m. on Thursday the weather was comjparatively fine. During the morning there were Sundry of a postponement; but these [were not confirmed. A bright spot in the horizon I*— '* n» bigger than a man’s hand"—gave hope; •ftnd before two o’clock, the time for the first trace, the sun made its appearance. The course jwas certainly not th? thing; but there were (crowds of people-plenty of excitement—any j quantity of betters, —and although occasionally the rain descended, and the floods came,” the (enjoyment appeared to be almost uninterrupted. There were three large booths, the principal jhne being that erected by Mr 11. Bastings—hav- ! ing over it a Grand Stand capable of accommojdating upwards of 200 persons, with a saddling [paddock at the rear, all erected by our worthy i Town Councillor Mr William Mears. Both of were w«ll patronised. In addition, there r Were two very handsome booths erected by Mr [John Donovan, of the “ Shamrock,” and Mr [M'Bride, of the “Washington” (Wetherstones). > rhey all appeared to be doing a tremendous [trade. The crowd on the course was immense, and however much (1 the course" itself may have [buffered from the occasional showers, I am of [opinion that they were rather a benefit than [Otherwise to the booth proprietors. The following were the various events: —

I ' First Day— Thursday, Feb. 10. [Maiden Plate, 80 govs. Weight for age. Dis- [ tanee, one mile and a half. iR. Reay’s b g Arundel, 3 yia, 7st 51bs

L, . (Richards) 1 fT.' Hewitt a b f Duchess, 4 yrs, 9st 01b...

, (Goodman) 3 D. Jolly a c g Paddy, aged, lOst lib

(O’Brien) 3 Mormon and Joo Cope also started; but the xor iftr bolted, and ran nearly twice round the pourso before the start. Duchess rushed away with the lead, which she maintained until the straight running was entered, when Richards plCTerly brought up his gelding, and landed him the winner by four or five lengths. ANDICAr > of .60 sovs. Distance, two WiHiloe.

S' 8 Foreto P. Bst (Richards) 1 T. Pollocks c m Lady Ellen, Sst 31b (Kelly) 2 R-. Cotton’s b g Hatter, 6at (Aitkeu).... 3

Three others also ran. This was a very good race, Hatter at first taking the load, which ho held for more than half the distance, when ho was passed by Foretop and Lady Elion, tho former winning by about five lengths. Handicap Trotting Race, of 25 so vs. Distance, three miles. Hewitt’s b g Rattler, 375 yards (Hewitt) 1 Cowio’s b g King, 225 yards (Cowio)... 2 Langley’s bra Kitty Darling, 375 yds (Smith) 3 Pollock’s b g Straggler, scratch (Pollock, jun.) 4 Hack Selling) Race, 20 sots. One mile heats. Simpson’s c g Rufus 1 1 Williams’s Wild Harry 22 Five others started. The winner was bought in by his owner for £23 10s. ‘

Second Day — Friday. Dull all day, with occasional showers. The course very wet, and round the booths the mud was literally knee-deep. Still, the attendance was very large, and o.h the whole the proceedings were more enjoyable than on the first day. The first event on tho card was tho Ladies' Purse, of 30 sov*. Distance, two miles. Eehy’s g g Don Pedro (Moore) 1 M’Leaivs o g Skyonian .'....(Hewitt) 2 Pollock's g m Young Nelly Grey......(Owner) 3 Magenta also ran, but fell when about half a mile from home. The race was between tho Don and Skyonian, tbs former winning by about three lengths. Town Plate, of 100 sov*. Distance, three miles ; weight for age. Reay’s ch c Foretop, 3 yrs, 9st 31b (Richards) 1 Moore’s ch m Waterwitch, fist 111b (Pearson) 2 Goodman’s ch g Excelsior, 10st 11b (Goodman) 3 Hutchison’s Turpin was scratched. Excelsior had many backers for this race, but the result showed that his admirers’ confidence was misplaced. The horses were got away together, and Excelsior took the lead, but was soon collared by Waterwitch. Foretop then made the running, passed both horses, and won in a canter. Excelsior nowhere.

Huedlk Race, 30 sovs. Two miles. Weights, alll2at. 71b. Goodman’s b g Turpin .i..,..,...(Laverty) 1 Williams' bl gTc Kooti .............(Goodman) 2 Jdoore’s b g Harkaway.j ....(M’Pherson) 3 Consolation Handicap, 15 sovs. Distance, a ■ ,mile and. a half. [ Pollock’s ch m Rady Ellen, 7st 21b...(Cotton) 1 Hutchison’s b g Turpin, 6st 4lb (Pearson) 2 Cotton’s b g Hatter, Bst 31b... (Tanner) 3 Mormon also ran. In the running for the Ladies’ Purse, Magenta fell violently in the last round, or he would have stood a,good chance of winning. In the evening a sale of horses—many of them racers—took place in Peel-street. The attendance was very large, and Mr Matthew Hay, the auctioneer, realised capital prices. The only drawback to the complete success of this year’s races was the determined Wert weather.