CLARENCE

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 131, 19 June 1937, Page 16

CLARENCE

When old-time steeplechasers are being diecussed, quite a number of the racegoers of forty to fifty years ago will be found, to declare that Clarence was the daddy of them all, And there is no doubt that Mr. J. E. Pilbrow 's son of Ravensworth (imp.) — Gurby. was a great steeplechaser in his day. There can be no real baeis for comparison between the steeplechasers of those days and those of the present day, for cross-country events are nqw run under nuuch? diff erent . conditions t'o those of fifty years ago. Steeplechases had then to be run over what would be ' considered to be good hunting country. There were water jumps, stone walls, brush and log fences and ploughed fields. Seldom was the full steeplechase course run on a racecourse. Invariably some adjacent groiund was included in the steeplechase course, and Eere would be th© ploughed field and offcen a water jump leading into dt and a stone wall coming and back on to the course proper. Clarence came of what was probably the best jumping etock that has been seen in the Dominion, for all the Ravensworths were big-boned horses that could jump, and when he made his exit from the world several of his sons, Day Dawn, Opawa and others, carried on the good work of siring jumpers. Most of the princdpal steeplechase events of the Dominion were won at one time or another by Clarence, and in most of his races he was ridden by New Zealand's most promin'ent cross-country rider, ' ' Horry ' ' Lunn. But Fred Hedge was on .Clarence when he won the Grand National Steeplechase of 1881. However, Lunn was in the saddle when Clarence won the Hawke's Bay Steeplechase of 1883 and 1884. The first of those two races was a memorable one, for it brought together one of the largest fields, if not the largest, that has ever conteeted the race. and it produced the finest steeplechase contest I have ever seen. Clarence Vweight was 12st. 121b., and Lunn weighed out at only threequarters of a pound over that. The clerk of the scales, tho late Colonel White, remarked to Lunn as the latter got offi the scales, 4 'You are cutting it very fine, Lunn. H you lose weight on the journey, or any of your gear, you will hardly be able to draw the weight. ' ' 4I know I am close to the margin, Colonel White," replied Lunn, "and thank you for drawing attention to the risk, but I must take it. I do not think 1 can spare eveh a pound to the field I am meeting to-day. My horse and 1 are both fit; my gear as in. good order, and the only thing I inay lose is my cap, which does not weigh twelve ounces. ' ' Lunn 's estimate of his mount's chancet was remarkably correct, for though Clarence won. it was by barely a half length after a truly wonderful race and remarkably finer finish. The whole field of either fourteen or sixteen took all the jumps in close order, and made no mistakee except that one mare from Wanganui (Humility I l'ancy the name was) pecked on landing over the water jump in f ront of the grandstand, and lost her rider, continuing on in the race, however, my herself and jumping beautifully. Coming to the last fence, a brush fence in the straight just below the position of the second stand, the whole field were strung.aeross the course like. the front' line in a squadron of cavalry. The fence was never erected to take such a field, all ' jumping together, and Mr. Roihana'e grey gelding, Heretaunga, ridden by Atkins, was forced to jump the wing of the fence next the rails, and he toppled over, leaving the other dozen or so to fight out a finish from the last jump. Lunn had taken Clarence to the ineide position early in the race. and so saved every inch of ground. When the field were over the last fence Clarence was the first to be stretched out for the run to the, post, but Mr. P. Butler's , A.ustralian-bre& Quamby, ridden by Lyford, waB soon in hot pursu'it, with the late Mr. W. Douglas 's Loch Lomond, by Day Dawn, riddeli by J. R. Jones, following close. The whips were all out and the finish was a stirring one, with the crowd on the stand and lawn calling out Clarence, Quamby, or Loch Lomond, according to which they thought was getting the best of the titanic struggle. First Quamby drew lovel with Clarence, a few strides further on Loch Lomond had caught tlie othor two and lookod a wiuner, but his unsound leg gave way in fche laet fifty yards, and he hobbled on three legs. gaining third place, half a length behind Quamby, who was beaten by a ueek in a last game effort made by Clarence in response to Lunn 's final call. It was a race wortliy of a good story. It might do some of the young steeplechasers of to-day good to hear such a story. When Clarence carried 13st. 21b. to victory in the Hawke's Bay Steeplechase tho following year (1884) he had a tttueh wtaker field to beat, aud the

only thing that might have beaten him with such* a weight on his back was the state of the going, which was rather heavy. However, he and Scrutineer, which rau secpnd, were the only horses to complete the course without mishap.