Municipal R.C- Meeting.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 3515, 29 April 1905, Page 2

Municipal R.C- Meeting.

“ BALLOT’S ” NOTES. A GOOD DAY’S SPORT. “ Cup Day ” on the MfiffiffipalCourse, | on Wedne.-day last, broke n'fie and clear, mid a? a result there was a good attendance to witness Fpxton’s big event. The two races st't down on the programme —the Mayoral Cup arid the Borough Handicap Steeplechase—evoked a great deal of inteicst, in which the fair sex were’ tv»t the loast concerned. Encouraged, proOnMy,- by the bright sunshine, a spirit of goriu humour prevailed, and the supporters of the various candidates were to a man. confident that their particular fancies wddld get hoipft.in, good time. The management had decided to f'hh the meeting without flic ‘Oofs ’’ the the only “ toting ” happening i«.te night when a successful trier was toteu down the street by his admirers-—-and the “ books ” had no chance, the Binecoat brigade being well in evidence. The officials all worked well, and a word of praise is certainly due to the starter, Mr Returning Officer, who also acted a judge, his onerous du ies being carried out to the satisfaction of the ‘crowd, which certainly cannot always be srikl of some other courses. The classical event, the Mayoral Cup, of/to and silver trophy (if required), 12 hifldngs, was the first to be decideo, and as two entrants faced the post it could not be termed a face. Nor was it a “ one-horse ” race, in any sense of the word, for both candidates for the official blue riband looked fairly fit, although last year's winner was somewhat weak in fhe_ off hind leg, which was in splints. This, however, was not expected to interfere with his going, as he was consulted sounder in the wind than his opponent. To counterbalance this the latter ( ie h g Gower, bv the way, the other contestant being the gray Simpson, aged) showed up fresh and live y, witti the further advantage of a hgbtei weig • Unfortunately both horses were hidden from view directly after they w ® re f d ® s _ patched, and there is no record 01 actual progress of the race, - ‘ emerging in the straight it was seen that; the lighter-weight had been too much for his adversary, and had the race in hand with a couple of dear lengths to spare. Betting odds were 8 to 1 against the winner. _ 3 ne collapse of the older horse is attributed to his having been confined to stable too much during the past few days, whilst the Gower had been carefully schooled of late so that the best that was in him might be brought out. The official clerk of the course, “ belltopped ” Peter, displayed great aptitude for the game, and kept the track clear throughout in a fashion which his energetic prowess called for. Mainly on account of his adept handling, no accidents happened through jostling or boring on the rails. The Borough Steeplechase Handicap, for honour and glory, twice round, brought out a fine field, all of fhe 14 acceptors facing the starter’s fing. All appeared to get evenly away, but as soon as the barrier had gone up the contestants were out of sight, and came no more into view until passing the stand in the order already announced, and which I will_ presently deal with more fully. Except that Frew and “Oily” were fractions, nothing worthy of mention happened at the post.' The different contestants evidently played a waiting game in the early stages of the event, as may be gnaged from the fact that it took almost twice as long to cover the first half as it did to accomplish the second. Before the start, “ any odds” were laid on the well-tried colt, “OHv” Austin, who was in the pink of condition, having undergone a very solid preparation ; but, though he successfully negotiated the water jump, the b°a,ch railroad, and the Main street light obstacles, the solid pace set by the consistent well known hay, G. Shies, who appeared to know every inch of the track, fairly outclassed (lie favourite in the run home, and as a result “Oily” had to be content to finish second, eight lengths away, fhe Stiles victory is said to have been particularly pleasing to the ladies. As predicted by “ Ballot,” the chestnut colt, Geo. Coley, ran the race of his life, and but for having once shied at the water-jump, might havebe°n nearer than lengths to the popular fancy when the spread-eagled field passed the post. The aged maiden trier, F. W. Frankland, jumped all the obstacles beautifully, and took the eye as being a top notcher with more time. He was evidently taken in hand too late for the fray, hut was going pinch stronger than anything at the finish, and mv prediction may be right when I assert that next time the municipal course is covered he will run an easy first. This aged gray was thirteen clear lengths ahead of the old iron gray, G. Nye, who evidently did not benefit bv his long spell on the grass. Still, the latter performed consistently, and it was no surprise to see him flash past the post with a good lead from S. H. Baker, who had gone back somewhat as a result ot a severe struggle over the school course the previous evening. The dark bay had to contend with, a strong challenge from Geo. Gray, a strong built chestnut, in the last half-mile. The chestnut got over the water-jump like a flyer, and obtained a good lead whilst passing the Athletic Park, presumably through dreaming of the excellent cycle track that is to he. However, Moore, a well trained light bay, whose first race it was in open company, could get no nearer than ten lengths to him, whilst the only other contestant to pass the post in the time limit was Shadbolt, an untried colt, who flaw into the betting at the last moment. Judging by the cheers which greeted the meat supplier, his was the most popular win. He was rigid abreast of Gray when the latter emerged from the Athletic Park. After this, “ Shaddy ” fell awav somewhat, and shied badly on reaching the Main street triangle. Fortunately, tint mis- , hap rather increased his chance ot J success, for he shot himself into an opening and eventually secured inside j running, thus finishing well in hand almost a furlong in front of.H. Austin,

who carried no condition at all, ancS refused the obstacles so often mar,, after successfully covering little more than the length of the rugby football chair* he ran oft’ the course, and never afterwards attempted to hustle .trnnseit into a winning position. Next came thg old chestnut Spring, tiring baa.'/, presumably because he had beeU doing all his work on the bard roads. He finished very sore. Five lengths a\Viiy could be seen a solidly built bay colt," who was reported to have ,gi ve ° great promise in his work at and who was whispered about, trie paddock as a “ correct pea.” He was’ going well at the Athletic Park, where onlookers loudly proclaimed him as a winner. After this, his “progressive ” exertions were hearty, but coming into i:be field rather late his condition com* pelled him to call himself out by the aid of his referee whistle. However, be is £ure to improve with age, and with another two turns of the calendar, he' may give the best of tffsm a hard battle*. As it was, he easily .defeated the aged dark horse Speirs, who seemed ic) fake matters rather too easily, and, like H. Austin, ran_offit.de track badly. The white pine timber* brought about his downfall at one part of the journey, and ever afterwards his chance was hopeless, though he was not last to reach home. It was a great go, however, as the iltiggety brown' colt, E. Coley, an uritrieci number, was just seven lengths in th* rear, he having taken ten hours to race 103 lengths. Sitll the course was a sever# one —the water-jump and beach road being very holding—as will be seen by th® fact that it took the first candidate past the post, C. Stiles, the same time to covet 23b lengths. And thus the Borough Steeplechase of 1905 ended, without injury to tiie starters, thought most felt the strain of an arduous journey.