COLOURS FURLED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 21 June 1939, Page 6

COLOURS FURLED

END OF THE WAIRARAPA TROTTING CLUB FAREWELL GATHERING IN GREYTOWN. PRF.SI DENT'S 11IS’I'ORICAL SURV EY. ("Times-Age” Special.) The !o)ig ami imereslint? (•areer of I lie Wairai-apa Trotting 4 (Till) has now formally been ended ami I he Wairarapa and Wellinglon clubs have amalgamated. Last iiighl, al Grey town, in the presence of about 100 sportsmen from far and near, the red, while and blue colours of Hie club were regret fully furled and the curtain on trotting in the Wairarapa was finally rung down. The evening took the form of a smoke concert and among those present were Messrs J. E. and H. L. August, Jas McDonald, H. E. Nichols (Wellington Trotting Club steward and former All Black), S. V. McEwen, editor of the "New Zealand Sporting Life,” J. W. Card, president of the Wairarapa Racing Club; W. Howard Booth, president of the Carterton Racing Club, J. M. James, president of the Masterton. Racing Club, N. C. C. Shepherd, secretary of the Wairarapa Racing Club, and many others. "Thus closes the chapter of 46 years’ existence,” said the president of the club (Mr J. F. Thompson) in an address. “The Wairarapa Club was one of the first pioneers of trotting in the North Island. Until recently, Otahuhu, Auckland and Wairarapa were the last of the original North Island clubs. Otahuhu amalgamated with Auckland in recent years and now Wairarapa ceases to function and amalgamates with Wellington. Trotting Club has made its contribution to trotting in New Zealand. Many trotters made their beginnings on the club’s courses, graduating to much higher honours on metropolitan courses, while many people made their first acquaintance with the sport in the Wairarapa. “Today trotting and racing havereached a very high standard in the Dominion, due to the able control by the New Zealand Trotting Conference and its worthy president, Mr H. F. Nichol (Ashburton), the Trotting Association Stipendiary Stewards and club officials. At one time in New Zealand it was hardly thought the proper attitude to life to attend trotting meetings. Today the sport has had in New Zealand the patronage of members of the Royal Family and Vice Regal representatives and thousands of worthy people. The utility horse had his heyday in earlier trotting days in the Wairarapa as elsewhere, for farm, cab and milk round horses mixed their activities by mundane working in the morning and trotting for stakes and profitin the afternoon. Today the trotter is a thoroughbred, bred in the purple, descended from high-class American importations. I venture ,to say that in a comparison in the birdcage between a field of front rank gallopers and a field of high-class trotters, the trotting field of high class trotters will appeal for appearance equally as much as the galloping field.

“There has been a rapid improvement in performances, trotter versus galloper. A quarter-century ago, a galloper traversed a mile in 30 to 35 seconds faster than a trotter. Today a crack galloper can run a mile in lmin 36sec and a pacer in New Zealand (Lawn Derby) has broken 2min for a mile, a difference only of 24 seconds. For poetry of motion Peterwah (trotter). Harold Logan, Indianopolis and many other horses would be hard to match in action. I feel that the Wairarapa Trotting Club in its unspectacular way took its proper’ and due share in this transition of the sport. AN UPHILL FIGHT. “The stewards with great reluctance, after serious weather setbacks last Christmas finally decided to discontinue the uphill fight. We were never on happy terms with the weather authorities and experienced numbers of atrocious racing days. We honestly en- ; deavoured to cater for owners and trainers and always gave stakes much higher than any other racing or trotting dub in New Zealand. To ensure financial success, a club can in general give in stakes 10 per cent of its gross totalisator turnover. The Wairarapa Trotting Club usually gave from 18 to 20 per cent of its totalisator receipts in an endeavour to attract owners. Large attendances patronised our meetings. The club earned a reputation for hospitality towards visitors and patrons but the public of the Wairarapa never really became trotting minded and the picnic spirit prevailed to the end. EARLY DAY MEETINGS. “The club’s early days presented its brightest features —meeting held on the Moroa Racecourse. No onerous rules of trotting were then in vogue and betting was not confined to the totalisator. Varied games of chance were available, even if not advertised and a patch of scrub in the centre of the course often provided interesting interludes for competitors, unseen from the stands. I pay tribute to all the old time club supporters, owners and trainers, members, to the Press for welcome assistance, to the past officials and particularly to the present Stewards and secretary (Mr Mortenson) and finally to -the Wellington Trotting Club for its fine gesture in making the amalgamation possible.”

The toast list was as follows:—The King; Wellington Trotting Club, Mr J. F. Thompson—Mr J. E. August, Mr T. McDonald; Wairarapa Trotting Club, Mr W. G. Talbot —Mr J. F. Thompson, Mr Mortenson; Kindred Clubs, Mr A. W. Horton—Mr J. W. Card, Mr J. M. James, Mr W. Howard Booth; The Press, Mr G. A. Vincent—Mr S. V. McEwen, Mr R. G. Vile; The Ladies, Mr F. W. Smith —Mr Walter Moroney.. Items were contributed by Messrs Don Irwin, J. Barnard, W. Moroney, and G. Burns.