OUTSIDER WINS

Hokitika Guardian, 2 March 1933, Page 6

OUTSIDER WINS

SURPRISE AT TE AROHA

GREAT DIVIDEND PAID

| A dividend of over £l2O paid by the j rank outsider CRang in winning the ! Champion Hack Handicap provided a ■ ; great thrill for racegoers at Te A-roha c,n Saturday. It was- only the second race 1 Chang had -won, but'it was not by am means a fluke, for he ran up secant after going about two furlongs, helo that place into the straight, and thu. took the lead,' to. win well. The win. ■ner’-s place dividend, although small' ir comparison with the win dividend, waf of double, figures size. Tlhe result was a triumph for “Thf Devil’s Number.” Chang was number L on the card, he was 13tli favourite in f field'of 13, the jockey, g. Tremain, 6 e°r !©d his 13th win for th e s’enaon, a n-r j the amount of the win pool on tin the race wur £1313. -No 13 is held in great respect by -som e investors, afrd Sir Thomas Wilford, now High Coni I missioner in London, was one who | always liked to have a -small! bet or a (botvise carrying that saddle-cloth. The winning owner, Mr G. S e if ei'lof Hamilton, me of th e well-knowr family of flax-millers, was naturally highly delighted. He bred the horse himself and named him Chang, after >a motion picture of the jungle that wr*' being at the -time. The original-, -Chang wag the leader of a ' herd o? elephants, and because the then two-vear-olcl was very big for his l age, the name was thought appropriate. When the horse was three years old ,Mr Seifert" w?s' offered '£looo' .for 'him. but he declined' to sell him. Hig luck seemed to be out when" Chang broke down -after running unplaced at' his first start in the Trial Plate at Tferttham in January, 1930. The r ac e >vae. won by Waterline, who in Australia later once defeated the famous Pha.r Lap. Chang did hot race -again' until'

.last October, when he ran third at ) A von dale. In December he won a maiden race at Taumarunui, and oh the second day of the recent ‘ Rotorua meeting ho ran second in -a high-weight handicap. , ' Chang’s quietness- and - good temper have won the affection of members -of the -Seifert household, and he is regarded as the pet of tile family. Both Mr Seifert and his eon, Mr A. L. Seifert, •yyho acts as trainer, had small investments on -him 'for ia win and f 6 -a place, and they profited accordingly.'

A 0131 who is visiting Te ' Afo-ha for health reasons and said Ihe really' should have been in bed instead of at the races, had £1 on Chang for a -win. “This is beet tonic I.have yet had,’ - ' he happily remarked as h e pocketed a roll of 'banknotes, including two -for!£so eaolii ■

A -farmer in thq -To Aroh'a • district was- also . fortunate. enough to have £1 on. Hq .said he did not know exactly why he chose Chang, except that he •liked the .look- o-f. the horse .and a “long shot” appealed to him. PREVIOUS LARGE DIVIDENDS. One 10-shillings' ticket on the winner was presented by a man who looked to b e about 80 years old, and -another was hold by a Maori living between Rotorua and Wairakei. Generally, Chinese share in any large dividends, but on this occasion, in spite of the fact that th e winner’s -name -might be expected to make a. special appeal to them, they were mot included among the lucky investors.

The dividends were paid in 'banknotes of larg e , denominations, and coiucequently the -polls were not very bulky. A Paeroa resident did not like the idea of carrying all the money round with •him on the course, and h e transferred £IOO t,o a friend more used to handling large sums, receiving a cheque in exchange.

Chang's dividend is tip, largest that has been.paid in th e Auckland 'Province -since, Karamu .won a hurdle -race at Avondale in April, 1924, paying £443. Th e record dividend for Ne-w Zealand i 6 £103,1 ss, returned by Wairoa Belle at- the Nelson Trotting meeting in 'March 1920,