CAULFIELD CUP DISASTER.

Kumara Times, Issue 2838, 5 November 1885, Page 2

CAULFIELD CUP DISASTER.

In future the Caulfield Cup race of 1885 will be associated with the most remarkable disaster which ever occurred on an Australasian racecourse. The field of forty-one was the largest but one that has ever started in Australia, t!nj exception being that when The Ghost won the Ladies' Bracelet on the same course from forty-one others. The race was a singularly open one, a great many horses having been backed to win small fortunes. The particulars of the melancholy catastrophe, by which the large number of fourteen horßes fell together in a bunch, and one jockey and one horse were killed outright, and several other jockeys and horses severely injured, are worthy of being placed on record, and are as follow : The horses were in a fairly even lin<\ and Mr Watson, the starter, evidently despairing of getting a better opportunity for such a large number of

httrses, dropped his flag, aiid called on theru to go. All went well till, approaching the turn to the straight, the horses commenced to race, and just as they got midway between the sod-wall iind straight, cries of dismay on all sides announced a calamity. Too Too was leading hy about a neck, with Claptrap next the rails, and Sat dins on her right, when suddenly the white jacket and l>lue cap went down, and in an instant a mass of ridets and horses were rolling over each other on the ground, showing that a terrible accident had happened. The race was almost forgotten in fearful anticipation of the damage that must result from such a c-dlap.se. The big gap in the 6eld showed that many horses hud gone down, but although conspicuous colors, such as the all white of Sardias, the black jacket of Claptrap, and the gold sleeves and cherry cap of Lord Exeter were instantly missed, no ono knew the extent of the calamity. The horses that ac'ually fell or lost their riders through collision were Too Too, Prince Imperial, Sardius, Claptrap, Tarpeia, Winchester, Lord Exeter, Tom Brown, Despot, Sirocco, The Israelite, Kingship, Lucky Hit, Country Boy, Impulse, and Uarrah. Horses that kept on their legs were hindered, Lord Wilton and Plausible being turned to the extreme outside, and the latter especially turned right round through collision with Tom Bi-owd. Practically the accident left the race to the few horses who got clear through. In a special article referring to the fatality which took place during the race the Argus says :—Al 1 went well in Saturday's chief race until the horses were approaching the turn. Too Too had struggled to the front, and was leading by a bare neck, with Claptrap hugging the rails on her left, and Sardius galloping immediately on her light. The turn, which is considered the most difficult part of the course, was yet some distance ahead, and the horses, well strung out, were in what is really the broadest stretch of the whole track, but were crowding on the rails in order to get the inside running for the rush up the straight to the winning post. How Too Too came down is not known, even the riders of the leading horses holding different opinions as to what horses were really first down and how they fell. The mare gallops awkwardly, and as she seemed to be tiring at the time, the most probable theory, and that favoured by many standing near the spot at the time, is, that her front legs crossed with those of either Sardius or Claptrap, but probably the former. From the Stand the white j icket and blue cap, the colours worn by the rider of Too Too, seemed to sink suddenly into the ground; there was a flash of struggling horses aud silkclad jockeys, hurled here and there in wild confusion, riderless and bridleless horses dashing away, while others limped off injured. Four of the jockeys and two horses lay quite still upon the tutf, and it seemed as if they had been killed outright. The crowd extended nearly down to the point where the accident occurred, and almost before the last horse had cleared the inanimate group, the j'ckeys were picked up. It was at once apparent that Donald Nicholson, one of the most popular of light-weight riders, had t been killed instantly. He was riding Lord Exeter, aud strange to say the horse was never knocked off his legs, but the shock hurled the rider with fearful violence against the white fence, aud his skull would seem to have been crushed in. Cracknell's chest was crushed in from a blow, and he lay quite helpless, but conscious, being able to describe his injuries, and take a glass of water from those who heiped him. Wyman, the rider of Sardius, seemed to have been struck on the face, and looked worse than he really was. M'Grade, who had been on Tom Brown, looked very j ghastly. His nose was broken in, one arm hung loosely, and what with dust and blood, and his white face, those around thought that he also had been killed outright. M'Grath, the rider of Prince Imperial, was also senseless having received a blow on the head when his horse rolled over. The tiny rider Tuomey was stretched alongside his dead horse, Uarrah, who had been instantly killed, and at fiist it seemed that both horse and jockey were in the same condition. Commiseration for the tiny boy lying on one end of the stretcher was greater on account of his small size. Wyman, the rider of Sardius, was one of the first down, and as n dozen horses seemed to roll right on top of him, his escape from instant death was a miracle. He, too, was picked up unconscious, suffering from concussion of the brain. Some of the riders were able to walk, and others were assisted to the casual>y-room, but stretchers had to be furnished for five; His Excellency the G >venior, who had arrived not long before the race,

went down to make inquiries as to their condition, and on learning the natnre of the fatality, left the course. Claptrap, one of the leaders, made a gallant effort to escape by jumping over Too Too aa she fell, but Sardius, as he, too, went down, brought him to grief. 1 T. Brown, the rider of Too Too, al- ■ though in the very thickest of the melee, escaped almost without injury, but the mare, who was galloped over by a lot of horses, lay for some time on the ground, apparently dead, but afterwards rose, and was got away with some difficulty. The first three horses down were Too Too, Claptrap and Sardius. Prince Imperial was so close at their heels that he seemed to fall almost with them. Then Tom Brown, Despot, Impulse, Country Boy, Kingship, and Tarpeia foil almost in a bunch, while Marie Louise, who was . galloping with this group, was just far enough out to avoid the horses that came down in front of her. Amongst the last to fall were Lucky Hit, Winchester, Sirocco, and Uarrah, the latter being instantly killed. The fearful nature of the accident was shown in the condition of the horses as they rose. Prince Imperial and Sardius had their bridles torn away, while the saddle on the last named was turned completely round. Tom Brown's saddle was also broken and banging in fragments. Other horses came into collision, but were able to keep their legs. Plausible rushed violently into Tom Brown, while the Sydney horse was struggling to rise. The shock was so great that Plausible was turned completely round, and Power, thinking his horse was injured, dismounted. Lord Wilton was also in violent collision, and Moore, after being knocked forward out of the saddle by the shock, duns: to his horse's neck, and came out all ri«ht. Ellis, the rider of Despot, who was one of the few jockeys that came dowii and escaped nnhnrt, says he got off badly at the start of the race, and rowed on the outside until nearing the home turn, where the field began to make their final effort. At this point he was leading the second division, which was close up to the first flight of the field, but there was a distinct interval between them. Just at the turn he saw an opening in the centre of the course, when drawing Despot in towards it, he found at the distance of a length that the gap was made by the fall of several horses. It was too late at the pace he was going to avoid riding over them, and Despot went straight into the mass of struggling men and horses, and being immediately tripped up fell upon his back. Ellis was thrown right over the horses's head some yards away, and was' partially stunned for a moment, and on looking up he saw The Israelite galloping riderless straight towards him. Ellis put up his arm to protect himself, and swerved so that The Israelite just missed him, striding on ahead in front of Lord Wilton, the last of the field, who went by wide on the outside, with a jockey on his back. Ellis was then assisted off the conrae. He says he was the fifth or sixth who fell. He had a similarly fortunate escape in riding Despot in the Sydney Metropolitan. In that race the horse crossed his legs and fell heavily, but happily without bringing any others with him, and Ellis was unharmed. He is none the worse for Saturday's mishap, and is doing his work as usual.