1865 The Irishtown Grand National Steeplechase
	"A capital afternoon's sport was offered on Saturday to the lovers of racing which came off over a course laid out in the undulating valley lying on the right hand of the Plenty Road at Preston ..."   (The Argus, May 22 1865)

"… on arriving at the spot, it appeared passing strange that the ground should never have been pitched on before as it appears the beautiful ideal of a metropolitan steeplechase course, sufficiently close to the city to make it in all seasons approachable, yet distant enough and so enclosed as to make it more select than such places as the grounds at Ivanhoe and Caulfield …"  The Age, May 22 1865

Our local course like that at Ivanhoe never quite survived as did Caulfield, but if nothing else, the advertisements and subsequent coverage of the 1865 meeting in the daily press of the day reveals that the original inhabitants of Irishtown were not going to give up the name without a fight.

Although the exact date of the introduction of the Preston name has never been clearly identified, it is generally thought to have been around 1852 and to find a group of locals still using the older name (and assuming that readers in other parts of Melbourne had some idea of where they were heading) some dozen or so years later is somewhat surprising.

Most commentators of the time had a regular grumble with the suburban meetings held around Melbourne and Irishtown was no exception …

"… the course being crowded with pedestrians, equestrians and those other disagreeable concomitants of the racecourse known as "tailor's on horseback", who, not content with tormenting the unfortunate brutes upon which they are mounted, insist on their right of terrifying the more steady-going portion of the course by getting up amateur races on the edge of the crowd to the imminent peril of those who have the ill fortune to be nearby …"

Other than the "tailors", the correspondent was agreeably surprised at the genteel nature of the Irishtown assembly and the absence of some of the less desirable patrons usually found wherever crowds congregate ...

 "… the "Ichabod", the three-card dodgers and the "under and over" men were absent – one little attempt at thimble rigging was made in a sly corner, but despite the insinuating coquetry of a couple as ill-looking varlets as ever "did a plant", no one was taken in …"

The main race of the day was the rather proudly named Irishtown Grand National Steeplechase, the title heavily borrowed from a "Grand National" held by the Ballarat Racing Club a week or so earlier, with several of the runners from the country meeting backing up at Irishtown.

The National boasted prize money of 100 sovereigns, well below the 250 offered for the Ballarat event, but still a highly attractive sum for a suburban meeting where the average stake was probably 30 sovereigns or  perhaps 50 for a main event.

Just three races were scheduled – a Handicap Hurdle of 25 sovs, the "National", and a Selling Steeplechase of 25 sovs.

Stewards were listed as Captain Scott, Messrs.. Mullett, Trotter, M. Hughes, W. Lambie and J. Henderson, and old friends in Joseph Cleeland, John Cleeland, Edwin Poole and George Watson.

The Age was a little more specific in identifying the site, predictably as "seven miles from the Post Office, opposite Smith's Rose, Thistle and Shamrock Hotel" and "a good four miles of hunting ground with a good view for the spectators of every incident".

The publican, James Smith (undoubtedly the key organiser) acted as Treasurer, and Captain Scott as the starter, the latter with a few problems after a somewhat ragged start to the main event.

Mr. Pierce's 'Slim Jim' (noted as "new to the business") took out the Handicap Hurdle, Mr. Johnson's 'Charm' the only other of the five runners to complete the course.

The Grand National provided a few "incidents" for the spectators.

After an uneven start, Mr. Unraw's 'Blueskin' refused the second jump, but rejoined the race after the steeple was knocked down by another runner, and the rather inaptly named 'Happy Jane' fell at the first and then again at the fourth jump after being remounted.

'Blueskin' and Mr. Day's 'Baron' were the only two of the five runners to finish, but the stewards still had some work to do after the rider of 'Alice' (who failed to complete the course anyway) unsuccessfully protested that all the others had not gone the full distance, having omitted to go around one of the flags.

The Argus suggested there was very little betting, and that on the National only, but for those having a flutter, the "official" starting prices were 'Baron', 2/1; 'Blueskin', 5/2; 'Alice', 3/1; ''Comet', 4/1 and 'Happy Jane' the outsider of the field at 5/1.

There was no indication given of when the day's activities kicked off, but The Age reporter had a minor but not unreasonable complaint given there were just three races ...

"the day's sport was highly successful except that because of the long intermission between the races, the last one was run so late that it was totally impossible to see …". 

 We can update him – there were three runners, the winner being Mr. Johnson's 'Chance'.