THE RACES AT TIRAU.

Putaruru Press, Volume II, Issue 12, 4 January 1924, Page 2

THE RACES AT TIRAU.

! NEW YEAR OUTING. I | Successful Day's Spoil. ( j The Mecca of holidaymakers on i New Year’s Day for the Matamata, j Tirau and Putaruru districts and to some degree also places further afield was the Tirau races. The day was beautifully fine, without any disturbing wind, making the call of the outdoors on this auspicious occasion particularly insistive. Thus it was that in a glad New Year spirit somewhere about 1000 people had assembled at the course by 11.30 a.m., the time of the first race. They comprised a record crowd for this annual •outing’ and made a gay animated /scene* around the base and on the slopes and top of the small treecapped knoll which for ins the natural grandstand in the middle of the course*. Here, too, were .parked over 100 cars and many horse-drawn vehicles, making in all an imposing array testifying to the popularity of the Tirau races as a family outing for New Year’s Day. The programme of seven races was carried out to time and capably by the officials. It provided very pleasurable excitement, the racing, generally speaking*, being' good. MAIDEN HACK HANDICAP. From the first race Mr. W. H. Harris’ chestnut gelding was scratched, leaving a field of nine for this event, i the Maiden Hack Handicap of 16* ; soys, distance six furlongs. At the j start, which was a little ragged, j Chessy drew ahead quickly and gradj uaiiy increased her lead, finishing * several lengths ahead of A mans ■ Queen, with Waioraka some distance behind, third. ! The result thus was:— j Chessy, br. m., 6 years, by Eiyj sian—Sphinx, Messrs. H. and L. i Holmes owners .. . . ! / Amans Queen, cli. m., 5 years, by ] St. Amans—Miss Dawson, Mr. j P. Crosby . . . . . . 2 j Waioraka, b. g\, aged, by General Soult—Curassier mare, Messrs, i A. Smith and P. Pepperill . . 3 j Also started.—Surfdale, Tall Timi her, Lady Captive, Escapement, Delyj sian. Putaruru. i COUNTY" HANDICAP. ' For the County Handicap, of 25 ■i sovs, distance six furlongs, the con- , testants were Silent Knight, Queen '• Albvn, No Mistake, Lord Loppy, St. I Hellers, and Potash, Oaklands and ! Waioraka having* been scratched. It was a good race. All the horses started away well together, and at the end of two furlongs Silent Knight was drawing to the front, strongly challenged by Queen Albyn with No 1 Mistake close up. The whips came out fairly early and the finish was a hard tussle between these three. However, Silent Knight gradually increased his lead, and won by about a length, with Queen Albyn and No Mistake next in that order. ) The details are:— Silent Knight, b. g., aged, by Bunvan—Madam Silk, Mr. J. McSweeney . . . . . . 1 Queen Albyn, b. m., 7 years, by Glen Albyn—Miss Dawson, Mr. R. ICnight 2 No Mistake, b. g., aged, by Benzoniah Winsome, Mr. W. Rog*ers 3

SETTLERS’ HACK HANDICAP. ■ For the Settlers’ Hack Handicap, : the third race, of 13 sovs., and a distance of seven furlongs, Cult was j scratched, making it a race between ; Eruba, Escapement, Mr. H. W. p | Harris’ chestnut gelding* and Pnta- ] ruru. The field was strung out from ! the start, with Eruba well to the fore. I The finish was:— S. ! Eruba, b. m., aged, by Master j Soult—Did, Mr. J. C. Cleland 1 ; Escapement, eh. g\, aged, by Bun- ! yan—Soult marc, Mr. A. Selby 2 j Cli. g., 5 years, by Guianoforte—- * I Soult mare, Mr. H. W. Harris 3 c- { V, j TIRAU HANDICAP. [ e • The big race of the day, the local j cup event, which is featured on the j programme as the Tirau Handicap, of {4O sovs, distance 11 miles, was a con- ■_ | test between Irene Bruce, Miss June ! and St. Heliers, all the other en- • trants being scratched, namely, Black j Mark, Winsome Arch, Lord 5 Loppy, c j Oaklands, and Mr. Geo. Casey's brown j gelding. At the start Irene Bruce | and Miss June drew ahead of St. ** | Heliers, and racing neck and neck ! went along the straight the first time <1 j with Irene Bruce just perceptibly b , drawing ahead of her companion. > ; Continuing on the second round Irene ; Bruce very gradually increased her a j lead and won by about three lengths e j from Miss June, with St. Heliers a e J long- way behind, o j The details are:— r . I Irene Bruce, b. m., by Robert the _ j Bruce—Sannie, 6 years,- Mr. W. s j Egan . . . . . .1 lc ; Miss June, eh. m., 4 years, by Arb j chiestown Cuiragness, Mr. F. Marshall . . .. . . . . 2 [• i St. Heliers, b. g., 3 years, by Pan- , mure—Avaunce, Mr. H. Mitten 3 1 LADIES’ BRACELET. j The local maiden race, the Ladies’ Brace It, six furlongs, was run by only two horses, namely, Eruba and Lady ’ Captive, Sphinx, who started with * them stumbling* and throwing his rider, while Putaruru and Mr. Harris’ chestnut gelding* had been withdrawn. I Eruba quickly gained a lead on Lady j Captive and finished several lengths i ahead. j The result thus was:— - Eruba . . . j j Lady Captive, b. m., aged, by Buiiyan—Captivalor mare, Mr. C. H. ! Selby . . . _ _ . . 2 I The prizes for this race, a lady’s bracelet, presented by Mr. J. Keane, j for first , and a necklace, presented I by Messrs. Rose Bros., for second, ; were handed to the winning owners i by Mr. F, F. Weekly, M.P., as patron j lof the club. In a short address, Mr. : Hockly congratulated the club oil its ' 1 generous supporters and the very sue- j cessful race meeting it was holding , that day.

SHORTS HANDICAP. The five-furlong* race, Shorts Handicap, of 17i sovs, attracted a field oC 10. San Haven, Mr.' G. Casey’s brown gelding, Lady Captive and Eruba were withdrawn, while Waioraka was added. From the. start the cry was “ Lord Loppy,” who showed out at once and went to the fore to win from Miss June by about li lengths, with Chessy right up third, the whole of the field being fairly evenly bunched. The details follow: — Lord Loppy, b. g\, 6 years, Mr. C. Whale • • ) Miss June . . - • - • . . 2 Chessy 3 WELTER HAN DICAP. The final race, the Welter Handicap, of 171 sovs, distance seven furlongs, was contested by Irene Bruce, King* Amans and Lord Loppy, seven horses being* scratched, namely, Black Mark, Winsome Arch, Oaklands, Surfdale, Putaruru, Mr. H. W. Harris’ | chestnut gelding and Delysian. King Amans, with Lord Loppy close on his flank, soon got a lead of about three lengths on Irene Bruce, which, however, was evidently being held in reserve by her rider, Mateer, for when they rounded the home turn Irene Bruce had forged her way to the front, finishing first by a length, with only about a head between King* Amans and Lord Loppy. The order of finishing thus was:— Irene Bruce .. . . . . 1 King Amans, ch. g*., 4 years, by St. Amans—Bonny Fishwife, Mr. P. Crosby . . . . 2 Lord Loppy .. . . . • .. 3 A FINANCIAL SUCCESS. A feature of the racing was the fact that the Matamata horseman, Mr. R. Mateer, rode the winning horse in six of the seven races and the second horse in the other one. MY. W. Egan, of Matamata, was the most successful owner of the day, Irene Bruce returning him a net total of £46 10s by winning- the Tirau .Handicap and the Welter Handicap. Financially the occasion was a bigsuccess, fully justifying the club’s decision of some months ago to carry on rather than terminate owing to the poor results from the previous meeting, which was held in heavy rain. The officials for the dav were as follow:—Patron, Mr. F. F. Hockly, M.P.; president, Mr. J. W. Anderson; vice-presidents, Captain J. Hoi well and Mr. J. Keane; judge, Mr. M. Strong; handicapper, Mr. J. Chadwick; starter, Mr. M. Harrison; clerk of scales, Mr. A. J. Neville; clerk of course, Mr. J. Layne; lion, treasurer, j Mr. J. T. Eccleton; hon. auditor, Mr. T. Little; secretary, Mr. E. W. Jordan; hon. surgeons, Drs. Muir j and Lauren.son; executive committee, j Messrs. W. H. Allen, L. Bishop, J. 1 Callaghan, H. Henderson, H. Hamp- ] son, J. Layne, A. J. Neville, T. Marshall, F. Rose, G. Set-on and C. H. Selby. Of these the one kept most busy was undoubtedly the secretary, Mr. Jordan, who handled the rush of work falling* to his lot throughout the day with celerity and despatch. Also, a large amount of work had evidently been done previously'by members in preparing the course, this being* no small job.

Altogether, this 1924 race meeting was probably the best held yet by the club, which is the second oldest in the Waikato, and the results augur well for the future.