Racing' World.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVI, Issue 42, 18 February 1905, Page 11

Racing ' World.

By ■Wh»l»bon». B

RACING FIXTURES. February IS, 23, and 25—Otahuhu Trotting Club Summer. ! February, 22, 24, and 23 — Dunedin J.C. < Autumn March I—Tuakau Racing Club Annual. March. 2 and 3—Wanganui J.C. Autumn March 3 and 4 —Westport J.C. Autumn March 7—Akaroa County R.C. Annual Mnrch 11—Waihl J.C. Annual March IS—Northern Walre* R.C. Autumn March 17 and 18—Ohinemurl Jockey Club Annual Aprir 1 and s—Avondale J.C. Autumn March 30 and April I—Wellingtonl—Wellington E.C. Autumn April 22, 24, 25—Auckland R.C. Autumn Very little that is done "down under," as they term it, appears to meet with the approval of the London "Sporting Times." The decoration of the V.R.C.. Derby winner brought forth the following par: "It is the custom 'down under' to decorate a classic hoise with six yards of lmght blue , ribbon, a piece of tomfoolery which caused Sylvanite, the recent Melbourne Derby winner, to stampede, and trample on much shrieking femininity in the paddock. Beyond recording the event, we deem the mummery too idiotic to comment upon." ; _____ . i In America last year the biggest stakeWinner among the three-year-olds was Delhi, with six races, of the total value of £15,122. As Uelhi won something like £4700 as a two-year-old, he has paid his way. Ort Wells, another was not far behind Delhi, nis total being- - while the crack filly Beldame. with twelve- wins out of fourteen-- starts, accounted for £10,650. Broomstitck, wlicr holds the world's mile and" a quarter record of 2mlu 2 4-ss, won £7612. Altogether, ' it is estimated that in Ameiica last year j twenty-three three-year-olds won. £100,000 between them. The American owner, Mr Richard Croker, is evidently a»t in favour with the Knglisli Jockey Club. Last year he paid very high price for three yearlings, '■which hej sent to J. E. Brewer, whereupon the latter i received a notification that lie would not be permitted to riain Croker's liorses at Newmarket. Of course, it is not stated what Croker has done to offend the English Turf authorities, but in Turf circles i" is said that the running of some of his horses when they were trained by Wishard.' and Corrigan is in some measure responsible for the course adopted. This prohibiwiu be permitted to train bis horses elsewhere, and his entries for fnture races will accepted without objection. The Indian turf authorities do not tolerate bookmakeis owning racehorses; therefore, bookmakers who patronise the Indian turf.cannot field nor have an interest with a brother bookmaker. Indian sportsmen assort that racing is all the better for this rule, an.d it would be further improved If professional owners were barred. As ' a majority of Indian horseowners race forpiensurcs the sport is in good odour with the iich Indian merchants and the highest G-overnmout dignitaries, even the A'lceroy himself. After the late Viceroy's Cup meeting in Calcutta, His Exec'.tency the Viceroy, Lord Curzon, entertained members of thi> Indian and Ceylon Chambers of Commerce at dinner, mid «t the conclusion of a long speech concerning matters of business, he toasted 'the merchants pieaent, coupled with, the name of Mr. A. A. Apeac, the owner of Great Scot, the dual winner of the Viceroy's Cup. In replying" to this mark of honour Mi- Apcar declared he was the proudest man in India when he led the famous son of Lochiel back to weigh- in after winning the Cup a week previously. Tho eye of a horse is universally accepted as a reliable index to his disposition, a small eye being generally regarded as indicative of a ciinhlng or'treacherous teiiir per; yet many a stout, game animal —~ the Derby winner of ISBB, Blue Gown, for instance—has proved an exception to the ruie. A large, full eye usually denotes good temper, but not invariably stoutness; whilst a horse which shows the whites of his eyes a. good deal is generally spiteful, as the one which possesses a staring on"c is often nervous. The medium sized softlooking eye is the best of all, and associated with this there is usually no vice. Many people attach a good deal of importance to the ears of horses, a small sized, neat, prick ear being the most In demand: The carriage of the ears is even more important, a? an animal which possesses a trick of laying them back is often vicious and unreliable, whilst the- horse which never keeps his ears at rest is usually nervous, - whereas the ears which are always in one position usually belong to an animal which is of a dull, lethargic temperament. ; What with the opposition of',the jockeys and others, the English starters have -anything but a good time of it. -Breaking through the barrier appears to be a common' practice. According to our late exchangos.an invention is now iv use which will, it is thought, act as a preventive of false starts, and likely to come into general use. The "Sporting Life," a paper the writers 'on which have never had a good word for. the starting barrier, says:—"ln brief, it is a recall apparatus, simple in design, swift in operation, and absolutely under the control of the starter. A light framework, easily and quickly attached to the side railings, stretched across the. course at a proper height, and hi the event of a bad start, the starter, by means of a lever (held in one hand, while the other holds the flag), can instantaneously release a flag, which thereupon flies to the centre of the framework. This indicates that the horses which have got away must return to the gate, and as the flag flies to its position in a flash of time, it is visible before the swiftest horse can reach the point. The jockeys cau thus see at once that they must go back, and they can have no excuse for not doing so. The mechanism is free from complication, and It can be moved from gate to gate and adjusted -with little trouble as required between the races." Most prominent American jockeys seem to have a remarkable sense of their own importance, and "swelled head" eventually contributes to the downfall of iinany of them. It seems likely to have that effpet in the case of Hildebrand. who headed the winning list last year. He was riding at the Ascat Park track at Los Angelos last month, and because he. was fiildebrand, seemed to think he could do as he liked. However, the stewards looked at matters in a different light, and after cautioning him a couple of times, fined him heavily for rough riding. This annoyed Uildebrand. aud he made a. special announcement that he would ride no more on the sonthern track. The stewards did not beg him to stay, and then Uildebrand's business mannprer went into the stewards' stand ah<*. threatened to remove the crack rider if lie was not treated better. The Los Angelos correspondent deals as follows with the interview between tbp manager an£ the stewards:—'"l -wonld hate to tell you jnat what the stewards said/ to him. but tue business manager went away from that place a sadder and a wiser "mail with, a Knraller hat measure. Hildebrand has a big contract for the next two years, and he don't care whether he rides or not. The boy is not a bad boy, but he has an inflated notion of his own importance. Ife thought thaf if he stopped riding the business would fall away, but the gates are still open, and there is no appreciable difference in the gate each day. There were races in Los Angeles before Eujrene Hildebraud was discovered in the wilds of Central California, and there will be racing here when he is a time expired transfer." A good deal has been written as to the propriety or impropriety of running horses, big, beefy, out of condition, fat. A contributor to an English paper adds his quota: **A person of uo consequence charged with carrying out a 'not-to-day' "programme Tor his horse, is certain to be jobated and instructed that hi.< duty is to brins his nnim-al ready to run or not run It at all. But how many of our big stables, the soVt which furnish classic winners, have not habitually iaart their' two-yeax-elds run while only in the quite early stages of preparation? What do the critics say? What Is the commonseuse view, of the situation taken by the expert? Generally something In the way of 'being got ready for ttoe (not near) future,' 'wants time,' or the like" ( The owner or tallies a* wrtin«

or. two an almost necessary part of a proper preparation, treats his 'horse accordingly, as does the highly respectable?-trust-worthy jockey, not in .the least likely to knock him or her—his mount—about. No one suggests desire to make -profit out oC this-anticipated failure; the facts of tho ease reveal themselves, and the bis men. . being trusted by the stewards, ~is, of course, unmolested with vexatious inquiries.. On the other hand, the small trainer is likely to be dropped on. . . . As to handicapping and handicappers being called upon to explain to owners' their reasons for not believing-all they ccc, -perI mitting such a couise seems to mc quite monstrous. Does not the' question, why a weight-adjuster puts a horse up instead of taking off pounds because of its being beaten answer itself? Why, in a way the act makes constructive libel. Aggrieved parties say, 'So-and-so is prejudiced against us.' It may he heresy to take the view, but, in my idea, judicious prejudice juakes the high art of handicapping." For some time past there has been rumours of the scales at ifleminston being tampered with by certain persons. "Terlinga," of the "Australasian," in commenting on the fact, says: Readers will remember the Gentleman Jim case at "Stewcastle. " There the fraud was discovered,- but not until ■it had been going on foe Kohie time. This ! modus operrindi was to s 'Crete a confedor- ' ate under the scales. The confederate w.as armed with weights which he could attach to the scale when., the. jockey of the horse he was working, for came to weigh in or ' out. In this way. a horse could be sent out carrying nothing more than the weight -of his-rider and the saddle. With a lightweight nothing- could bq done, but in tho case of "a horse with,' say,"'Ost" 71b, something tike 281b might be-taken off. The weighing ■ platfprni at. is sevi eral feet off the ground, and it would be i a comparatively easy matter to get the operator and his kit-in over night. Then all that had to be done was to see that no mistake was made in the signalling. Whether the conspirators ""■'ever' successfully worked the dodge nt FJemington 'can only be conjectured. It is quite certain that they had every opportunity of doing so, ' because in", consequence of .rumours ot I liorses ridden by certain jockeys not carryIng full-weight, :the placle was" searched, and all the appliances for attaching weight to the scales discovered. Great secrecy was observed by the officials when the discovery..-of the plant was made, and instead of leaving things ac they were and trying "to catch the burglars, steps- were-taken.- to prevent their getting into theplace agaju. :. This, was some time ago. The burglars were not to be "beaten. without a Sf'i'uggte;- however;- Careful watch is now kept, and on the day before the last Cup meeting the space under the scales was found to be fitted up again. Tiio kit was most compete. Even the lighting had not been forgotten. This time the would-be tarnperers had cut. an entrance 'through the platform ou which the scales stand. Of course,.' all sorts of "rumours are now flying about as to liorses that havo won or nearly won, carrying pounds -under their proper weight. The jockey for the benefit of whose mounts tlic oracle Is supposed to have been worked, has been dead some time; and- it i 3 not suggested that the head of the stable he generally rodn foe Had any knowledge of what was Koiiigou. Furthermore, there is uo proof that anything was clone. If there ..had been any pro6f, Ihe Y.R:C Commitee wool* have Tcted Ion" ago. .The season of rJOI-_ is -.Staged "to "have been- -the-ttoe-wlaea nPMtions were in full swing,, and it Is agreed tha-t the big coup Intended L.i i-iiip<l to come . off. It. maj ue £"■" mwsm practisv.d.. ■ • - " 'Mscomles ; as-follbws, B knd as be agr by one who has bad much to fio with rac in*. sport is executing commissions, fot anybody least, except for some very mtfS» are the next-cries, and at- length hear four on the.'field!' from one Adventurous layer- but ;Six -to f our on the field! , la the shout, everywhere else in thl-Sng. Ton ought to have 2 to-1, you explain to your special bookmaker, who, however- shakes his head emphatically. They £c tuWng sixty to + forty Jreely ; some well-known backer, he tells you, took 300 to 200, but Ke will still lay you seven to four. It seems the best thing you can do; that is, you will-.not be. able to do better, and seize the opportunity of taking seventy to forty twice or thrice, or more times, according to your Instructions. JThcre is the commission, and'fcavtns finished that, you, of course, help yourself. "Your bets—that" Is to sas% your friend's —have caused the price to shorten, and when it conies to your .torn to back the animal yon are perhaps offered 11 to 8, but you take It, anticipating that it will soon become an even money chance. But that is where you are -wrong. Suddenly the second favourite Is inquired after in all di-rections,-4-to-1, 100 to. 30, soon after 2 to 1. are eagerly taken, and the-horse you have backed goes out. Being a very genuine animal, however, it is again supported, and closes at 5 to' 2. -The man fbr whom you have-done the commission may not be at the meeting, or may be in the paddock looking after his horse; but vi'hen he hears that the starting price was-5 tp-il he naturally supposes that when you began, to back it for hini you must have done so at a longer price, and hearing that"you'"got 7. to 4 only, is apt to feel- rather, aggrieved, convinced that you must have been stupid or careless. Yet you have not only done your, very best, but have been quite Impossible for anyone- to have done "better. When you took 7 to: .4 other, people were taking G-to 4, and the price looked like shortening. Of course, there are commissioners who would take 5 to-2 and return 7 to 4, but" I anr talking of honest men. '•Still more trying is the indefinite cotnrnissipu, when an o.w;n.er,or a trainer* Is asked by a friend to put him on a tenner or a pony 'if he fancies it.'- What it comes to is that if the horse .wins the-friend will expect to hear lie was., 'on,' and. if it is "beaten he will equally expect to hear that lie was not. A tragic instance of "what I am discussing happened not long siiiee no names are mentioned, of course but the circumstance is true: . A gentleman-trainer was requested by a lady to put' Her a" tenner dv a certain horse-for a. big-handicap if he fancie.l-.it,... did not Xancv the animal, vi the least, nor back it for a single shilling, aud was greatly surprised to see it win Of-course he was pleased, but his satisfaction was interrupted by the i" flection the. lady would doubUess irnTh^ e t,Swi -f r J f p ¥ r had be « u invested" The trainer inquired the price—2o to 1 Though a poor man. lie was—and. is i should, say—so kindly- and scrupulous that to*l"™ nO^^ P i POipt his frie *>. ami sent o£Lf 200 ' wh , ic , u he conlil exceedingly illafford Doubtless to this day she has in knowledge of the truth "