WAIMEA SOUTH STEEPLECHASE MEETING.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume X, Issue 91, 16 April 1875, Page 2

WAIMEA SOUTH STEEPLECHASE MEETING.

Fond as we are of a good day's sport nothipg would have afforded us greatei pleasure than to have been able to report the complete success of yesterday's meeting Tht racing was undoubtedly good, but mismanege* ment on the part of the stewards in th( morning rendered the meeting, if not t failure, at least a most unsatisfactory one producing as it did a general feeling of discontent. During the whole of the morn* ing the Appearance of the weather was ver) threatening, however ifc was d cided to proceed with ihe races until, a l -, eleven o'* lock when everybody who intended to be presenl had started for the course, the steward! suddenly made up their minds to a pos pone* menr*. and despatched a messenger to Rich mond wiih a telegram for Nelson announcing the fact. Seeing that it was impossible thai the message could reach Nelson before twelve o'clock, th-* hour fixed for tbe flrsi race, it is difficult to see of what use such .1 notice wouja be, however it was sent, and the messenger was instructed to inform those he met on the road of the nature oi his erraud, but as most of the intending visitors were by that time considerably more than V alt-way from town, they determined to go on, and to try if tht steward, who bad already displayed so mud: uncertainty in their proceedings, could not be persuaded once more to change thtir minds By the time they arrived, the weather lookec a little more promising, and after some consideration it was determined that the races should be proceeded witb, but as some of the horses had, on the streDgth of the first announcement, been sent back to their stables, f delay became necessary in commencing the programme, so that the first race was rot rur until two o'clock, the interval being devotee to dawdling about the course and showering blessings upon the beads of those wbo bad un dert»ken the management No, there wa; one other source of amusement which we hac" almost forgotten. Those who had purchasec tbe privileges of the course considered tha 1 the; were entitled to soms compensation foi the possible shillings and half-crowns o which they had been deprived by the actior taken by the stewards iv stopping people or the road, and the damages being asmred ai £15, the hat wes sent round for the purpo-e 0! raising this sum, and although the amouni was soon collected, the fact of bein_; called upon to p*y this additional tix die not tend to allay the discontent to which w< have before alluded. That the steward* acted to the best of their judgment we have not the slightest doubt, but equally certair are we that they made a great blunder it attempting to postpone the meeting at sucl a late hour. They should have decided be tween eight and nin°, at which time, ha< they determined upon a postponement, thej could have telegraphed their decision to towr in time to prevent people from starttng, bu having made up their minds to go on witi the races they should have adhered to theii resolution at all risks. Of the racing we an fortunately ablo to speak in far hig er terms lor throughout the day it was exceedingly good and well contested, each h rse hemevidently ruu upon its merits, and with 1 deteimination to win if possible. The steeple chase in particular was full of interest, evei although Tommy Dodd was decidedly thi favorite, but a steep echsse is invariably ar open race, and there is no knowing wha accidents may happen even to the best horse Tbe field, too, was the larg st that eve: assembled on the Wakefield course, and ai the ten horses with ihi-ir many colored riden were drawn up in li' c lhey formed a vrr* pretty sight. .For the reasons stated abov. the programme had to be entirely re-arranget and the firßt race, which started at 2 o'clock was the Amateur Stakes of lOsovs, one .mile and i half, over eight flights of hurdles. Gate! weights Mr Biggs' Digger Mr Mean's Spear Grass Mr Fogden's Nimblefoot Mr Watts' Wild Boy < Mr Haycock's Ino Mr Sigglekow's Make Haste At the first hurdle Make Haste met with ai ugly fall, in which the -cider hai a narrov escape, the horse turning a complote s^mer sault and very nearly falling on him, howeve he (Bernped with a smashed elbow cap. Digger and Spear Grass got away well, ani took tin hurdle* in pretty Etjle, but Ino and Wild Boy baulked at the third flight, and wer soon out Of the race. Afrer a cnpifcal contest th Digger ent down the Spear Grass, and cam. in the winner by a couple of lengths. Hurdle Race of 20 soys; one mile and 1 half. Over eight flights of hurdles. Weigh for age as in Steeplechase. Entrance 2 soys. I Mr M'lvor's br g Tommy Dodd, agee! (Owner) Mr Siggelkow's eh g Sultan, aged (Fowler) : Mr H. Warren's bk m Heiress, aged (Harford) < Mr J, W. Primmer's,bk g Sea King, aged (Mr Rives) « Mr J Robertson's b g Cloud, aged (Kerr) 1 Mr F. H. Blundell's br h Don Juan, 4 yrs, * (Hagan) A capital start waa effected, Tommy Dodd being tlie first over the first flight, which h. took in splendid ttyle, c osely followed bj Sea Kin*, who was first over the set one hurdle, Don Juan baulking at the first Opposite tie Stind four of them topped thi hu die in the same stride, Heiress, a litt.lt behind, baulking, Sultan now took the lend Bnd kept ifc f r a while, but was soou tuck'c. by the dangerous Tommy, who won e.s hi pleased. Sweepstake Race of 1 soy, with 5 soys added. Mr Rlckett's Tommy ... ... 1 Mr Bolton's Bandsman 2 Two others started. This was an easy wir for Tommy the second. Hack Rack for a lady's Saddle. Mr Kerr's Volunteer ... ] Mr Trower's Black Prince . Two others started. Waimea South Stakes, of 40 s.vs, over aloufc two miles vi fair hunting ground, Tnree-year olds, 9st; four->ear olds, 10st; five-year olds, lost lOlbs; six and aged, lUt, Entranca, 4 soys each. Mr M'lvor's b g Tommy Dodd, aged (Owner) 1 Mr Sigglekow's eh g Sultan, aged (Fowler) 2 Mr J, Robertson's b g Cloud, aged (Kerr) 3 Mr H. Warren's bk Heiress, aged (Harford) 0 Mr J. Primmer's bk g Sea King, aged (Gardiner) 0 Mr J. Hagan ns b g Kildare, aged ( [Hagan ) 0 Mr Green's eh g Sprightly, aged (Custles) 0 Mr G. Newman ns bk g Nigger. 5 yia (Hagan") 0 Mr F. K. Rives' bk g Akbar, 6 yrs ( Owner) 0 Mr C. A. Watts' eh g Don Juan (lata Wouldn't-you-like-to-know) 5 jears (Mr W. Watts) 0 Don Juan went away with a strong lea l but slipped at the first fence when Kildeiv came up and made the running closely followed by the others in a ruck. Ihe Dor, however, was soon over and away again arm by the time the roid was reached, had again taken the lead, which ho retained until the third fence from home, when unfortunately he made a blunder ani

- Urn" his rijer fell. Ifc is impossible to fuve anything like an accurate description of the races, as the horses were occasionally out <*f sight for eeveral s?conds at a time, during which various changes in their relative positions occurred. In crossing the road on the return borne Doa Juan had a lead of _ jveral lengths, Tonmy Dodo, Sultan, and Cloud being nearest to him. When the Don fell, however, Tommy bad come up to within a length of him, Sultan being clotte on his bee!s, ftnd at the last ft nee Sultan was a length ahead of the Marlborough horse, who however had the greater turn of speed, and in the run home caught his opponent, and beat him' by about half a length, Cloud a good third. Ihe others continued to arrive at intervals for some lime. Belting at starting, 2tol on Tommy Dodd. Hack Race for a Saddle. Mr Turner's Black Prince ... 1 Mr Ruffell's Rose 2 Mr Mead's Spear Grass ... 0 Mr Bolton's Minnie »0 Hack Race for a Saddle. Mr Siggelkow's Make Haste ... 1 Mr Silcock's Prince 2 Three others started. Hack Race for a Saddle. Mr A. Knyvett's Te Kooti ... 1 Mr Ruffell's Rose 2 Mr Biggs' Blue Grass 0 Mr Ball's Hamrod 0