SPORTING.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume IV, Issue 525, 30 October 1890, Page 3

SPORTING.

POVERTY BAY TURF CLUB’S SPRING RACE MEETING. The annual spring meeting of the above Club waa held at the Park Company’a grounds on Tuesday. The weather was splendid, though a high wind was blowing. The attendance was not so large as might have been expected. For nearly every race there were good fields, and the racing was of an excellent description. The pleasing state of the grounds was proof of the trouble the Park Company had gone to in getting the place in the best of order. When the Park was first used, the dust was a vexatious trouble, making everyone uncomfortable, and with the strong wind that was blowing on Tuesday, it might have been supposed that the discomfort would have been worse than ever. The fact was that r.o discomfort of the kind was felt, the grass laid down having firmly taken root, and there being nothing to make one even think of dust. The course also was in fine order, and each race was run in good time. The Maiden Plate brought out the full field of six, Currie and Hogan's Caii’ff getting a comfortable victory, while of the two favorites— Rejected, £5O on, and Zanzibar, £4B on—only one got a place. There was only £l7 on the winner, givirg a dividend of £9 13s. The second horse started with £33 on. Maroon had £26 on and Puli had £l7. The Spring Handicap was a pretty race, serving to show up in fine colors one sterling bit of horseflesh that the district possesses, in Mr Walsh’s Pani, by Merlin—Lady Grey. The grey is a capi'al starter, but he got away badly, being last for nearly a mile, yet going so evenly that his pace seemed to be much slower than it really was. He then came round on the outside, and at the straight he (with 9st up) bad the game Pouawa and Nora fairly beaten. He was a warm favourite on the machine, but paid

the acceptable dividend of £4. After the result of the big race there was little doubt i that Pani could place the double to his credit, even with the burden of 9at 41b, and he fully justified the opinion, though Pouawa gave a hard finish. Kupenga started third in favor, but only finished about sixth. The Hurdle races were disappointing. For the principal race there were four ■tarter* : Oeo, supported to the amount of £B6 on the totalisator, Duadine with £29, Bit of Blue £42, and Caitiff £62. The latter ■oon came to grief, the jockey being stiffened out, and 'getting his collar bone and wrist badly hurt. Barring further accidents the race was then between Oeo and Bit of Blue. The latter was much faster between the jumps, but was very shaky over the hurdles, giving Oeo an advantage each time. At the last hurdle he came down, but the jockey was not seriously hurt. The Hack, Hurdles only brought out two starters, Witch and Little Joe, and the latter went down at the first hurdle. Though the jockey remounted and rode on again, the only chance he had was loat by a balk at the last hurdle. In the Hack flat race Nellie Grey, out of Pani’s dam Lady Grey, finished a bad last. The last race of the day, the Forced Handicap, was productive of the most excitement. Dancing Master and Truthful were declared to have raced a dead heat, and as there w*re only four investors on the former out of a total of £l9B, a good dividend was looked forward to by the few. Still they had even better luck at the expense of the backers of . Truthful. Had both horses weighed in right the proportionate dividend would have been paid on both horses, the owners being left to decide whether the race would be run off again or a division made in the stakes. Strange to ■ay, Truthful did not weigh in right, having 4!b* over, though he had gone out as if right The impression seemed to be that this was the fault o! the Clerk of Seales, but however it same about, the owner had to submit to the hardship of knowing that his horse had run a dead heat even with 4!bs overweight on (without which he must have been victorious), and then he was disqualified for the race because overweight had been carried without being declared How a jockey could come to have 41bs more than he was supposed to have gone out with is not easily explained. Of course it may be said that the owner should have been satisfied as to the correct weight before the boy went out, but that did not satisfy the 38 investors in the totalisator. During the day £1403 was put through the totalisator, Messrs Barry and Cooper giving the usual satisfaction; some grumbling was caused by the starting bell not being rung punetuelly once or twice, especially in the bnrdle race. The Secretary of the Club, Mr Aislabie, who has had the misfortune to be laid up for some time, was present ftnd got his work through very satisfactorily, though being under the disadvantage of not bamg able to move about. The handicapping, starting, and judging did not give rise to a single complaint, Ospain Winter and Mr Bennett performing the respective duties. The other officers present were: President, Mr J. W. Johnson ; Vice-President, Mr G. L. Bunderland ; Clerk of Scales, Mr Nolan ; Clerk of Course, Mr A. Pritchard; Stewards— Messrs Parker, Dobbie, Wethered, Dunlop, Clark, Donner, and P Bourke. Appended is a description of the racing :—

Maiden Pmte, of 40 sovs. Distance, one mile and a quarter. Messrs Currie and Hogan’s Caitiff, 9.1 (Maher) 1 Mr Karaitiana’s Papakura, 9.1 (O’Shannessy)2 Mr W. Bailey’s Zanzibar 9.1 (Stowe)... 3 —Pnti 8.13, Rejected 7.6, and Maroon 7.6 also ran. Poti led off and maintained a prominent position for the first mile, the others being in k bunch. The mare was then overhauled, and surrounded bv the cluster, after which Caitiff drew out and won easily by more than a length. Time. 2.22 Dividend. £9 13r ; 183 on machine. 33 on Papakura, 7 on Putl, 17 on Caitiff, 48 on Zanzibar, 50 on Rejected, 27 on Maroon. Sntrs Handicap, of 125 sovs.; distance, One mile and a half. Mr W. Walsh's Pani, 9.0 (Power) ... 1 Mr W. Hamon’s Nora, 7.3 (Shaw) ... 2 Mr D. Hepburn’s Pouawa, 7 2 (Ryan) 3 —Wakatipu 9.0, Fitzjames 9.0, Kupenga 8.6, Deceiver 7.2, Misfortune 6.9, New York 6.8, Avis 6 3 also started. Rejected 6.0 was scratched. A fairly good start was effected, Pani, however, had much tho worst position. Pouawa. took up the running, with Wakatipu close up. The grey still strode along steadily in the last position, but when tho mile had been nearly covered, he gradually outpaced his rivals, and nearing the outer corner, he had taken third position. Pouawa held out gamely, but coming into the straight Pani held everything safe. Nora made a grand bid for the honor of first place, and beat Pouawa by a neck, and forced Power to let the grey have the whip. Wakatipu came in a close fourth, and the others were all well in at the finish. Time, 2.49 J. Dividend, £4. 289 on machine, 65 on winner, 18 on Wakatipu, 24 on Fitzjames, 40 on Kupenga, 40 on Nora, 9 on Deceiver, 45 on Pouawa, 20 on Misfortune, 6 on New York, 22 on Avis.

Handicap Htactis, of 60 sovs. Distance two miles, Mr Pitt’s Oeo, 10.10 (Farrell) .. .. 1 Mr D. Hepburn's Duadine, 10.3 (Harries) 2 —Bit of Blue, 10.1 (Marshall), and Caitiff 9.0 (O'Shannessy) also started, Leila 9.0 was scratched, The race was an unfortunate one. Duadine led over meet of the jumps, Bit of Bine being last. Before the mile had been covered Duadine was relegated to the rear, and Oeo took the lead passing the stand. Bit of Blue Lad come np fast and got into second place, while Caitiff was close up in third position. But crossing the first hurdle past the grandstand Caitiff came to earth. Blue took first position, and looked a good thing until he came to tho third hurdle from the finish, which he jumped in ungainly fashion, while Oeo went along with a beautiful pace. Blue, . however, mesnt to race it out, and kept at the leader’s girth, Duadine running a for- . lorn hope. At the next hurdle Oeo made another gain on Mr Greene’s game animal, but the latter followed closely to the last hurdle, whore he came a cropper, leaving

Oeo to canter in. Dividend, £2 ss. 219 on the machine. Time, 4.17. Back Hubble Race, of 10 sovs. Distance, one mile. Mr C. Lewis’ The Witch, 10.4 (R. Smith) ... ... 1 Mr A. Barron’s Little Joe 10.0 (Hayden) 2 —Kapai, 9.7, was scratched. This race was very tame. Little Joe fell at the first hurdle. He was mounted again by Hayden, and was put hard to work to regain the lost distance, neither horse clearing the sticks with any degree of grace. Little Joe also balked at the last hnrdle, so that The Witch bad an easy run in. Time, 2.27. Dividend, £1 17s ;21 on winner, 20 on Little Joe. Flying Handicap, of 70 sovs. Distance, six furlongs. Mr W. Walsh's Pani, 9.4 (Power) ... 1 Mr. D. Hepburn’s Pouawa, 7 5 (Shaw) 2 Mr P. Kerekere’s Dancing Master, 6.8 3 —Kupenga 8 10, Deceiver 7.5, Truthful 7.2, Cairngorm 72, Misfortune 6 12, Zanzibar 6.10 also started. Wakatipu 9.4, Nora 7.4, Rejected 60, were scratched. There was some trouble in getting the field away, but a good start was effected, Pouawa in the lead, Dancing Master alongside, and Pani a close fourth At the turn the latter had taken third place, while Dancing Master led for a short distance. At the corner Pani had taken second place, Pouawa being first, Dancing Master third and Truthful fourth. Entering the straight, Pani on the outside, challenged the leader, and soon left her at his girth. A good struggle ensued, but Pani won comfortably by half a length, Dancing Master a good third, and Truthful well up for fourth. Time 1.18 J. Dividend, £1 16s ; 311 on the machine, 152 on the winner. Back Flat Race, of 10 sovs. Distance, one mile. Mr P. Malone’s Harlequin, 8.2 (Farrell) 1 Zaccha, 6.4 (Casey) .. .. .. 2 Bowsprit, 7.7 (Ryan) .. .. 3 —New York 9 0, Herberts 4, Manurangi 7.10, Nellie Grey 7.0, Ao te Boa 6.0, Mormon 6 0, Ajax 6.0, also started. Tamihana 9.0, and Gorrick 6.0, were scratched. Harlequin had the best of a hard race, Zaccha coming through at the home turn, an! making the pace very warm, while Bowsprit also mods a good bid for position. Time, 1.53. Dividend, £5 4s; 163 on the machine, 28 on winner. Fobced Handicap, of 80 sovs. Distance, one mile and a distance. Mr Peka Kerekere’s Dancing Master, 6,6 (Sceats) f Mr O. Hansen’s Truthful, 7.2 (Ready) .. f Mr W. Hamon’s Nora, 8.0 (Shaw) 2 —Wakatipu 9.4, Fitzjames 9.0, Pouawa 7.9, and Harlequin 6.0, also started. Pani 10.4, Caitiff 6.4, and Oeo 0.0, were soratchsd. Dancing Master got the lead, and though replaced, came to the front again. Truthful just getting level with him on the post. Waka'ipu was fourth and Pouawa fifth. Truthful was subsequently disqualified for the race on account of having 4 b< extra on being weighed in, A dividend of £44 Ils was paid on Dancing Master. There was £l9B on the machine, £4 on the winner, £39 on Truthful, £l7 on Wakatipu, £33 on Fitzjames, £57 on Nora, £3B on Pouawa, £5 on Harlequin,