FOXTON SCRATCH RACE MEETING.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 51, 6 April 1878, Page 2

FOXTON SCRATCH RACE MEETING.

J^IE^T, ,A?BIL 5tH, 1878. The Annual Manivrafcu Bace Meet- . iug; ndfcV-h^n'g ■ been ; held at its usual time, ;tW residents of Poxton were determined that the* season should not: beailowed to pass by without there being a meeting. Consequently a number of gentlemen formed, themselves into. . a committee to canvass the District for •subscriptions, and the result was the? Scratch E^ce^ Meeting which came off yesterday. It is only fair, however, to state that the. efforts of the Committee were ably backed up by MrMoinet, the Kailway; Manager, who threw every facility m. the way of accomodating the public and: mating the affair a success for/the stewards, and a profit to his department. Ah attractive, programme was provided, liberal stakes ; ofi!ered, and as a consequence the entries were numerous, the co m'petilfcion keen, and the sport exciiing. There were four horses entered for the Hurdle Race, four for the Hack Hurdle, eight for the Maiden "Plate,- five for the, Pony. Eace, six for the Manawatu Stakes, six for the Produce Stakes> and no less than eight for the Hack; 1 ; The day was glorious, and there could; not have been loss than betweeh"eighj; and 'nine' 'hundred people -present. Gorier ally speaMngV tl\e several events were keenly contested, especially the Hurdle and. Manawatu Staked, the latter of which-vras a most exciting race between Sylvia" and Black Prince. Mr Campion the owner of Separation entered a protest against Abolition, for a cross m the Maiden Plate ; and another for a similar cause was lodged by Mr E'eeves,the owner of Kingfisher, against 1 Sylvia m. the Produce Stakes. Howeyer, before entries for the Consolation were receivedj the stewai'ds heard the, evidence, and disallowed both . Mr Edyvards acted as starter, and got through his duties, without much : trouble, with the exception of the Maiden Plate, m which Lucifer— true to hisnamer-piayed the very d-^euce, and wasted half an hour before he would allow Jenkins to , mount him. So much time was frittered away that the Stewards came to the deeisipn to start without him, when luckily hjs Satanic Majesty became. tractable. The Poxton Scratch Meeting can fairly lay. claim to have been a thorough temperaoce one, '-as "there, was not a single bddth on the ground,' and consequently the' crowd was a most orderly one. Hoyvev.eri Harry Brown, bfFoxton, reaped the advantage, and madequite a harvest by dispensing teetotal 'drinks. Theiv were of cout-se >i number of " Wheels of

Fortune,"and "Underand Overs," while a speculative Maori might have been seen m charge o£. an ".Aunfc Sally," which with keen sarcasm he had painted white. There was a notable absence of the Genii of the King, although early m the day a solitary Knight , of the Metallic had taken his stand on a gin case, and with a riidely -improvised board was plying his avocation.' However, it would appear, that ; " the! fish did not bite," as later m the'daylie had vacated his rostrum, and was satisfied to pick up "sweepings." - Punctually at eleven o'clock the jbell rung for the. ' I. HURDLE RAGE (25 soys).— 2 miles, over 6even hurdles 3 feet 9 inches high ; stone over weight for age ; entrance, £1 Is. Mr Campion's Don, blue and white (A. .Campion) 1 Mr McGrath's Tauranga, : 5 years, green . jacket and black cap 2 Mr Robinson's Dandy Jim...... 3 Mr Simpson's Tapscott, aged, red and white' 0 Don got off with lead, followed by. Dandy Jim, bub the latter soon came to grief, both horse and rider rolling over at the second hurdle. Burr, however, who was riding the Dandy, was again quickly, upon his legs, and mounting without loss of time, sue/ ceeded m securing" third place. 11. JEACX HURDLE RACE (5 soys) .— 1£ mile, over six hurdles 3 feet 9 inches high ; catch weights j entrance, 10a. j , post entry. Mr Lumsden's Ricagana.(R. Lumsderi)'... 1 Mr A Campion's T0rnad0..?.................. 2 Mr VV. Reeves' Jack .. ;.„...... 3 Boatswain also ran; There was a sharp contest between . Ric. and Tornado, and it looked at one time as. if the tempest would sweep all before him, but 'the pace was too hot, and he fell back contented with second honors. ■'■■■■ \ ''-,' \ ■ „;' •' //. .•■■.■,"';.■■■ '"'•."'."" '" 111. MAIDED PLATE (20 soys). —1* , miles ; weight for age j entrance, £1 Is. To start at 12. ; - V Mr Scotts, b. g. Abolition, 4 years, 9st. . 31b, (iST. Lnrn5den)..,..;......... ...... 1 Mr Campion's g. g. Separation, 5 yrs, 9st. 71b. (R.Heat0h)... ........;,.. 2 MrLiddell'a b. g. Lucifer, 4 years, :Bst. 31b.,v:. .;...,:,:.;,.;, ...^...... ... 3 Cornet, Mignionette, Awahou, Vesta, and Maori Boy also ran. Maori Boy became dead lame, and pulled up before finishing. Vesta got off with a spring, which she maintained for the first half mile, closely followed by: Abolition. At the Judge's bpx.Abplition had..; collared Vesta, and shooting ahead, kept a lead for fully three lenghths,; to the mile post, when Separation took up the running, and raced home for first place, with no success. A protest was entered by the rider of Separation, on account of a cross, but was dismissed. - ; . IV. "PONY IrACE (5; sovs>— l%: mile ; catch weights ; entrance, lOs; j post entry. ; : Mr Reeves' Tim Whiffler (Bell) ..;......... 1 Mr Liddell's Pet .,.'..;...::;. ........„;;../.. 2 Mr Murtagh's Pat. .............. ..%'....;........ 3 Nimble Jenny and Aberdeen also ran, but had not a show m the race. Tim was the favourite and- did not disappoint his backers, as after the first round he forged aheadand won easily. Pet had .no breastplate, and the saddle getting out of gear her rider"was 1 near coming to grief, nevertheless stuck gamely on, and took second place by ' about a length. . , , , V. MANAWATtJ STAKES HANDICAP (40 soys).— 2 miles j weight for age 5 entrance, £2 2s. ■ Mr Scott's eh. g. .. Haphazard; 5 years, 9st. 21b. (J. Danahaj) ................ 1 5. Mr Murtagh's b. g. Black Prince, 5 years, Bst. 61b..;..:;.!......;...;.;..... 2 6. Mr Reeve's b. G.Tim Whiffler, aged, 7st. 3 Vesta, Lucifer, and Cornet also ran. This was not, only the race of the day as f ar P 8 the value of the stakes was concerned, but also, with the exception of the Produce Stakes, proved the most exciting contest; Black Priuce led off with a jump, but on passing the Grand St and'for the first round Tim Whiffler was leading, Black Prince second, with Haphazard and Lucifer struggling for third place. At the mile-post the positions were—^Haphazard lit advance, Black Prince second, and Tim Whiffler arid Lucifer neck-and-neck. -However, m the next hundred yards, Lucifer became pumped out and took a back place, Corriet bringirig'up the rear. . Rounding into the; straight the Prince puton a spurt, but itwas no use, he had to play second fiddle, the winner of the Pony Race .securing third place. \ Vesta and Awahou" were scratched^ : i VI. HACE RACE (3 soys).— Entrance, 10s. Distance, 1J mile. t ■ Mr D. Scott's Lady Mary • (R. panahay) ... 1 Mr Reeves' Blue G0wn. . . . ... . . ...... . .... . . ..;■'• 2 Mr Simpson's Mountain Hare. . . . . . . .> . . . ... 3 The other competitors were Mr .T. Barnett's Wariakea, Mr Osborn^'s Councillor, Mr Mason's Billy Barlow, Hete's Jack, and Hane's Puhenehana. ■ j : Lady Mary started a strong favouritej and had the race her own way from the start. She led Blue Gown about the same distance," as the second led the i third. .Some' ; of those presen t were under the - impression that Councillor had Von the race, inasmuch as he came m first, but it, was found that what; he was m advance was less one round of the course. "%■ - VI. PRODUCE STAKES (20 sbvs).— l* mile j weight for age;: entrance, £1 Is. Mr Robinson's g.m. Sylvia, 5 years, 9stJ 71b. (H. Burr)'..... 1 Mr Reeves' b.g. Kingfisher, aged, 9st. 81b;:. ,-..... .;>,:.;,„....;..,........... 2 Mr Amion's ch.g. Awahou, 5 years, Qst. ; ;71b::.;....,.:......:.....:.:.........., 3 Right Bower, Queen of Diamonds, and Riflemen also competed. . t This i was a magnificent race, the stakes,being Warmly fought for by Sylvia and Kingfisher; Passing (the " Judge's box Awahou was leading, with Right Bower second, and Queen of Diamonds: 'third: Burr who had been ridjrfg a waiting race then let out, cut through the lot, closely followed by Kingfisher. The Queen and the Bower finding the pace too hot gave way, aud a splendid run home took place be* tweeri Sylvia and Kin gfisherV with Awahou close up; all thitee being well flogged by , their riders. The ma re 1 , however, coum not be passed, and was landed a winner by half a length. The rider of the second horse lodged a protest against' Burr, which however was not entertained. : ' Vni: CONSOLATION STAKES HANDiCAP (15 soys).- — li mile j entrance, : .-■£iis. "■ ' ;■ . .- . V. • \.;<. :■;. Mr Murtagh's Black Princei........ ..;....... 1 Mr Robinson's Dandy Jim....;.....:.....;.. 2 Mr Murtagh's Pat.. .............. *............ 3 The race was a gift to Black Prince, which topk the lead from the first, and never was ! coll(iired. ; ': , .: This brouglifc the-, programme tb, an end, closiug a very excellent day's sporting. The greatest credit is due to ' the Stewards for tho capital arrangements, for/ although the Race Cards were not as correct as they 'might have beeny it must beborne m mind that they were got out under very great disdavantages and difficulties. In'coricliision we wish to return our thanks to the (3ommittee and the Hon. " Secretary for the BOurtesy shown to pur representative.