WANAKA RACES.

Cromwell Argus, Volume IV, Issue 206, 21 October 1873, Page 6

WANAKA RACES.

The Wanaka Races took place on Friday ■and Saturday last, and fully mainiained the reputation which was gained for them at the last annual meeting, although the attendance fell considerably short of that reached on that occasion. All the districts round about were represented to a certain extent, but the great majority of those present came from the Cakes district, and from the Cardrona. Mr Campbell, of Wanaka Station, in the absence of Mr Loughnan, acted as Judge, Mr G. B. Bond, of Cardrona, as starter, Mr J. Ewing as handicapper, and Mr Worsop as secretary. The manner in which those gentlemen performed their various duties under the direction of the stewards was worthy of the utmost commendation. It will be sufficient to add on this subject that no disagreement or protest took place during the whole meeting. The starting and handicapping, especially, deserve a word or two to themselves. In nearly every instance Mr Bond succeeded in getting off the various teams at the first trial, and in one or two cases in which some of the horses were a little fractious, by a little patience and tact, he succeeded in letting them go in beautiful order. Respecting the handicaps, the chief event of the meeting, the Wanaka Handicap, was a convincing proof 'that Mr Ewing thoroughly understood his business. A handicapper may well be satisfied with himself when he manages, as Mr Ewing did in the race mentioned, to place horses in such an order that for the distance of more than a mile and a quarter a decent table-cloth would almost have, covered the lot of them. The races were in every instance well contested, and in no instance was the prize gained without the winner having to run for it, the horses evidently being sent to win if •possible. Boomerang’s victory in,the principal race w-as the source of much gratification to all present, not only on account of Boomerang being a horse bred in the district, but also because every one felt that Mr Taggart deserved to gain it for the plucky and straightforward manner in which all his racing dealings are conducted. The booth on the racecourse was under the superintendence of Mr T. Russell, -of the Wanaka Hotel, Pembroke, and it is hardly necessary to add that the provision ■made by him for supplying the thirsty assemblage was amply sufficient for the occasion. The quality of the refreshments was unexceptionable, and the only objection which could be made was to the charge imposed of ■nne shilling for drinks. The usual rate would have paid him better, and would have given more general satisfaction. At the conclusion of the races on each day ■some took their way to Pembroke, to Mr Russell’s, and others to Mr Norman’s, at Albertown, the racecourse being situate about •equi-distant from the two. Both were insufficient to accommodate their visitors, although more convenient and commodious hotels are not to be found in any similar district in Otago. The result of the races are given in detail below. . First Day: Friday, October 17. Maiden Plate of 15 sovs. Weight for age. Distance, one mile. Mr Colville’s br hj Ivanhoe, aged, lOst 41b ••• (Colville) 1 Mr Thomson’s b m Fawn, 4 yrs, 9sfc 11b ... • ••■ . ••• , : (Simpson) 2 Mr Cottar’s b m Maid, 3 yrs, Bst I lib (Robertson) 3 Mr Campbell’s b g Toby, 4 yrs, 9st lib (M’Guire) 0 Mr Colville’s ch m Highland Lass, aged, lOst 31b I Allan) 0 Mr M‘Kay’s bg Sir Charles, aged, lOst 11b . ••• (Brosnan) 0 The lot got away well together, and kept nearly in the same order till half the distance was accomplished. Here the well-tried old veteran, Sir Charles, broke down from some unexplained cause, throwing his rider, but without causing him any serious injury. Ivanhoe, the Fawn, and the Maid, in coming up the straight running, took the places as described above which they kept till the finish. Mr Cottar’s Maid carried 221bs. ovenveight. Handicap Trotting Race of 5 sovs. Distance, three miles.' No weight under lOst. Mr Russell’s b m Maggie (Russell) 1 Mr M'Douall’s b m Fidget (Ewing) 2 Mr Mjtehinsou’s b g Moses (Allan) 3 Maidman’s Black Bess, Hardy’s Nelly, and M‘Callum’s Highland Lass also started in this race. Moses had the most liberal handicap allotted him, but before the first mile was covered it became apparent that he had no_. show with Maggie. It was also seen that unless a most unusual number of breaks occurred with her, she,would take ' the first place, the only horse able to dispute it being Fidget, and she was rather too heavily handicapped. Fidget, however, under skilful management ran well, and there is very little doubt that if she had not been put so far behind to start with, Maggie ,would have had all her work to do to keep her from being first. As it was, she came.through all the horses placed in front of her but Maggie. The trotting throughout was most honestly done. Publicans’ Purse of 10 sovs. Three-quarter mile heats. No weight under lOst. Mr M‘Kay’s bl hj Maori Chief, 5 yrs (Fraser) 1 1 Mr Colclough's b g Fenian, aged (Miller) 22 Mr Chalmers’s bl g Jasper, 4 yrs (M‘Quire) 3 3 Mr Thomson’s br g Croydon, 5 yrs (Ewing) 0 0 This was the best race of the day. In each heat the Fenian pushed the Chief right to the post, making* in each case a dangerous second : Jasper and' Crbv'd-or in

and in each case, running neck and neck for third and fourth places. Hack Race of 5 so vs. For untrained horses only. Distance, one mile. Catch weights. Mr Holt’s ch g Roderick, aged ... (Owner) 1 Mr Caley’a br m Caller Ou, aged (M‘Quire) 2 Mr Miller’s ch g Charlie, aged ... (Miller) 3 Mr Russell’s Monarch (Ballantyne), and Mr Tome's Ted Regan (Brosnan) also ran. > In this race, Culler Ou made Roderick run pretty smart for the first place, although she could not prevent him from adding one more to his now numerous hack race victories. Charlie made a tolerably good third. This event closed the first day’s programme. ■

Saturday, October 18,

Elswick Plate of 15 sovs. For three-year old horses bred in the district. Distance, one mile. To carry Sst 101b. Mr Cottar’s br m Maid (Robertson) 1 Mr Campbell’s bl g King William (M'Guire) 2 Mr Russell’s ch m Lady Pembroke (Fraser) 3 Mr Colville’s b m Antoinette ... (Brosnan) 0 This was an excellent race. Lady Pembroke took a slight lead from the start, closely followed by all the others, and maintained it till coming up the straight, about 500 yards from home. Here she was collared, first by the Maid, and then by King William, and had to be content with third place. All four were well up at the finish,—Time, 1 min. 59 secs. Wanaka Handicap of 35 sovs.; with sweep of one sov. to go to second horse. Distance, two miles. Mr Taggart’s b g Boomerang, 5 yrs, 9st (Robertson) 1 Mr M‘Kay’s ch in Sweetlips, aged, Sst 41b ... (Fraser) 2 Mr Bond’s ch g Port Philip Buck, 4 yrs, 7st 71b ~ (Cameron) 3 Mr M‘Kay’s ch m Rose, aged, Sst 101b (Brosnan) 0 Mr Thomson’s b m Fawn, 4 yrs, 7st 61b ... v (Simpson) 0 This was the event of the meeting, and which created most interest, both pecuniary and otherwise. A splendid start was effected by Messrs Ewing and Bond, the whole five getting away, as it were, with one bound. For the first mile the lead was taken alternately by Boomerang, Port Philip Buck, and Rose, with Sweetlips and Fawn almost touching them. This state of things was maintained till over a mile and a quarter had been passed, Boomerang, especially, being hard held. About the one and a quarter mile post, the horses were let out, Boomerang slightly leading, with the Buck and Sweetlips hard upon him. Coming up the straight Boomerang improved his position, and Sweetlips took a good second position, the Buck making a good third. The Rose and Fawn having no chance, were brought in easily. In the first round and when turning the corner near the booth, Rose took Boomerang’s running, and caused him to run off on the outside of the course about ten or twelve feet, but it had no effect upon the race. It partly, indeed, improved his position for the next turn, and was well taken advantage of by Boomerang’s rider. The result of the race was received with great satisfaction by all the people assembled. — Time, 3 min. 57 secs., same as Albertown Handicap of last year. Shorts, of 5 sovs. Half-mile heats without dismounting. Catch weights. Mr M‘Kay’s bih Maori Chief ... (Fraser) 11 Mr Colclough’s b g Fenian .. (Cameron) 2 - Mr Caley’s b m Caller Ou ... (Robertson) 3 2 Fenian was withdrawn after the first heat had been run. Consolation Handicap of 10 sovs. Distance, one mile and a half. Mr M'Kay’s Sweetlips, lOsfc .. (Brosnan) 1 Mr Bond’s Port Philip Buck, Sst 111b (Holt) 2 Mr Chalmers’Jasper, Sst 7ll> ... (M'Guire) 3 Mr Colclough’s Fenian, 9st 91b (Miller) 0 Sweetlips won, after a hard contest with the Buck. The rider of Fenian, seeing he could not win, pulled up about a hundred yards from the post and allowed Jasper to take third place. Hospital Race. Distance, half a mile. Mr M'Kay’s Maori Chief (Eraser) 1 Mr Willmott’s Etty Morris (Robertson) 2 Six others started for this race, the interest, however, being confined to the two above mentioned. Mr Russell confused the notions of some of the sporting men by cutting across the course with Teddy Regan, and coming up the straight running appaparently a winner by about a hundred yards. For this race the sum of four pounds was collected on the course about five minutes before it started. A riding whip was presented to the rider of the winning horse. This being the last race of the day, the finish of it was the signal for the dispersion of the people who had assembled to witness the sports of the day, everyone seemingly ■well pleased with the manner in which the whole affair had been conducted. The settling for the various events took place in the evening at Mr Norman’s hotel, Albertown.