CHRISTMAS SPORTS.

Thames Guardian and Mining Record, Volume I, Issue 69, 28 December 1871, Page 3

CHRISTMAS SPORTS.

The weather yesterday morning looked anything but propitious for out door sports of any sort, and consequently very few people cared about starting for the course.

About 11 a.m. the committee-men arrived on the course and made preparations for starting the day’s fun. The first event to be decided was the final heat of the 250 yards Boys’ Race, the first two heats of which had. been run the day before. The boys were handicapped on the ground, Isaacs b«-.ing on the scratch about 25 yards behind the leading lad. The result ended, as was expected, in an easy victory for Isaacs, who was .much the biggest of the lot, and who; if the conditions as to age bad been adhered to, would have been debarred from running, but his age was given in as 14, so he was allowed to run. The 440 yards Hurdle Race was passed over as the hurdles were not quite ready so the next event on the programme was called on.

1. WALKING M ATCH—2 miles (handicap) Entries, ss. First prize, £5 ; second, £2. McVitty, 150 yards ... 1 Guthrie, 50 yards ... 2 Hume, scratch • 3 Williams, 10 yards, also competed. From the start the youngster McVitty walked in beautiful form, and for a long time lost nothing at all of his start, and from his appearance was at once put down as a certain winner. Williams kept ahead of Hume for a mile and a quarter, but when tbe latter came up to and passed him be retired. Guthrie gained little on McVitty during the walk, and came in nearly 80 yards behind him. Hume gained altogether about 25 or 30 yards from the start to the finish. Ho one expected to see the youngster so far ahead, though his chance was looked on as a good one, from the long start he got. Just as this race started the rain came

down in torrents, wetting everyone to the skin, and making it very slippery walking for the fnen ; in fact, it rained so heavily that the committee were obliged to postpone all further competitions until to-day, except the Maori Hurdle Race and the Pony Race. . » 3. HURDLE RACE—2 miles. Horses to be owned and ridden by Maoris. Entries, ss. First prize, L 5 ; second, L2. Martin’s Maori - - 1 Henri’s Trowsers - - '2 Akuhata’s Pirato - - 0 Manning’s Te Kooti - - 0 This was a r capital and well-contested race, the horses taking their hurdles in fine style. They went four times round the course, and finished as above stated. The Pony Race has been declared null and void by the committee, and will therefore be run over again. The entries taken will be returned to those not wishing to compete. It seems that the race was never properly started, the riders or ponys getting away on their own hook. The sports will be resumed to-day, weather permitting, and the programme will be gone through in the regular order. It will be seen by the advertisement that a mistake occurred in the weights published for the Grahamstown Cup, Faugh-a-Ballagh’s proper weight being 13st. 71bs., not 14st. lllbs., as published.