WELLINGTON NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 4030, 9 June 1931, Page 53

WELLINGTON NOTES.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) tiine a hn e « r r^ag 1 b ’ f° r some te?s A R hi?r de ?\ e ? tha,n llis headquarHabit « nS Mart ° n - He will have vounvstPr! I pr , esen . fc spelling, and some wav to wnK ° nglns to Mr H - M’Mana»>ay, to work on. Cashier (Paper Money—lsabel 1 who engaged in the Raukawa C’up a? on thc-H- t i W \ t \r in?uries while working andhid t» k i at ¥ a !' ton on Saturday last, and had to be destroyed. Arnone other BaTcun'™” th e Ea , ngit ikei and Hawke’s Aft T a ia tbe colour . s of his breeder, tnmto’ P u ? can ; This was an unfortunate start for L. G. Morris since he C x? ge ™ over from Fordell. linptnn p H ’ ggins A l a J teward ° f the WeL three 9^ b ’ wbo has been a Tslan 1 m trip to the Solomon Inlands and New Guinea, returned by the th ar nT a i -° n Tu ? s day. and was present at the Otaki meeting to‘ see his colours earned, successfully by Sight Draft. Alter taking the nominations for its , the Egmont-Wanganui Hunt Club decided not to risk a financial loss, and abandoned the meeting. It is not expected there will be many Hunt Club meetings held this season. One exception is the Pakuranga Hunt, which is m the fortunate position of being able to race at Ellerslie. •N- 1 " Ken Austin, who has been appointed manager of the Elderslie stud, came across from Sydney by the Marama, and after a brief stay in Wellington, went iouth to take up his new position. H experience, ability, and energy count, Mr Austin ought to prove a worthy successor to Mr T. .Handley, who was at the stud business most of his life before he came to New Zealand.

The Hawke’s Bay jockey Club, which recently had a successful meeting at Irentham, is putting on a two days’ winter meeting at .Hastings the week after Napier Park. The old established Hawke s Bay Club is going down with the nags flying. There was some talk of the meeting being held at Ellerslie, but that idea, if it was proposed, did not eventuate. One does not hear anything from the Minister of Internal Affairs nowadays about clubs not being allowed to race away from home. The Otaki Maori Racing Club struck splendid weather on King’s Birthday. The attendance was good, and the tote turnover quite satisfactory, and with fine weather for the concluding day the Maori elub might get out of it all right. The form in hurdle races is sometimes difficult to follow. Tunbridge was last the first day at Masterton and first the second. He was the biggest outsider but one in the jumping race at Otaki, and won from Staghunter, who appears to be improving with experience. Nine of the 16 runners for the Mai'den Flat' Race were two-year-olds, and one of the number scored. This was Fiji (Nigger Ministrel—lsabel), the halfbrother to Otairi and Cashier, who was making his first appearance. Fiji is trained by L. G. Morris for Mr T. A. Duncan. F. Tilley had a great record in the race when training for the same owner. The Trentham-trained Shootist beat the second favourite, Tavora (Pombal —Valerie), owned by hik breeder, Mr G. F. Moore, and trained by O. Cox at Hawera. When he won three on end in the spring, Tobaccoland had only 20sovs to go to get out of hacks, but he did not succeed until Tuesday. He .carried top weight and won. the Waitohu Hack Handicap from Navaho. Richfield was the popular pick for the Raukawa Cup. -but he failed. The Tren-tham-trained Ephialtes, a winner in-the., hack class at Masterton, won all the way from Rational II and Mahora, who deadheated for second. Ephialtes, who is a brother to Lord Thomond, has been entered for the Epsom Handicap at' Rand- " The Awapuni-trairieU Merry Melody (Catmint— Merry Roe), who runs ngthe ownership of his breeder. Mr F. Hall, scored in the Otaki Hack Handicap from Spear Lad and Zephyrus. The consistent but unlucky Arajean was. beaten in the Huia Handicap by Sight Draft (Paper Money—.Gazeworthy), a full sister to the improved Noteworthy. Recent winners in Portray and Royal Finance were well backed only to fail. The Awapuni-trained Senechai made the second Masterton winner to score. He took the Te Horo Hack Handicap, from Wallurah. The weather was not so good on the concluding day, and with the holiday crowd absent the gambling machine did not average £lOOO per race. The Maoris expected to do £20.000 for the meeting, and they exceeded the amount. r Warzone, who was not among the runners on the opening day, was best backed for the hurdles, and scored easily from Full Mark and Tunbridge, both of whom were conceding over two etone. Warzone is from Mrs A. W. Al’Donald’s Awapuni establishment, and this was his first success in a jumping race. R. Reed" won the Maiden the first day on Fiji, and also scored in the Novice on the second day on Interlocutor (Nigger Minstrel —Equitas), owned by his breeder, Mr S. J. Gibbons. Interlocutor who was raced on the first day of the Wairarapa meeting at Easter, got an ad vantage at the start that won him the race. Dick Whittington improved on hi® previous showings by beating Little Thrush for second place. The first day’s winner, Ephialtes, up a stone, was. favourite for the big race. He did not get off well, was rushed to the front, and that settled his chance. Mahora and Rational 11, who dead-heated for second the previous day, finished first and second in the big money. Panther coupled with Rational 11, got third money.

- Another first day’s winner in Merry Melody was backed and beaten in the Rangiuru Hack Handicap. The winner

turned up in Spearform, who was unplaced in the race won by Merry Melody on the first day and had a change of riders on the second. In the Taipua Handicap backers again stuck to first day’s form and sent Sight Draft out best-backed, but she could only /get fourth Half a dozen horses were better backed than Ridgemount on the opening day, when he finished sixth, but he was second choice on the concluding day when he scored. R. Reed was in the saddle both days. ■' When Senechai won on the first day Nightmare was third favourite and lan unplaced. Those , that noticed the performance sent Nightmare out favourite on the second day and home she came. Nightmare is trained by J. T. Morris at Marton, and was ridden by L. C. Morris on both days.

Trojan .Melody, third on the opening day, met Tobaccoland on 81b better terms m the Tainui Hack Handicap, and the pair fought out a good finish.