CRASS STUPIDITY OF A.R.C. OFFICIALS

NZ Truth, Issue 1193, 11 October 1928, Page 1

CRASS STUPIDITY OF A.R.C. OFFICIALS

Frantic Mob Holds Up EEerslie Races

■ ; — _ _ — _— _ o QEVEN out of fourteen horses failed O to take part m the big handicap, and, having so fresh m their minds the false start on the same course a week previously, it was natural to expect that something: similar had taken place. . Coming down the straight, 'efforts were made by the crowd to have the race stopped and when the field .passed the stand the first time the clfrk of the course, brandishing his hunting crop, also called on the riders to pull up. His was taken as an official action by all who saw his endeavors, but actually he had no authority. ♦ ,But pull up they would not, and they continued. on. The race was fought out, Laughing Prince, Desert Glow and Mask filling the positions. The horses came back and waited at the birdcage gate, but the judge would not hoist the numbers. . Then returned the horses and jockeys who had failed to take part, and they said it had been a start. But still the Judge refused to display the numerals; All doubt was dispelled when.rS.tar.ter, ; GTGonnor ?4 aT rived back— he ' was most emphatic that it was a correct and proper start, and the judge had no other option 'but to declare. , v Then they started. The crowd had come from the inside of the course, from thtK le.ecr and

from the bill. , A few noisy ones, at first, soon started a spark and m a few minutes it had been fanned into a respectable - sized flame. What few police were on the course were concentrated on the spot, but they were powerless, and after one attempt to force the crowd back —by locking hands and using their weight —they realized it was hopeless. Should they continue to try and exert force, somebody was going to get hurt — and that somebody would most •" likely have , been the police. As each minute went by, the crowd became more : boisterous, and the i club then made the error of endeavoring to meet vio- , lence with violence. Instead of deputing some official to i inform the riotous ones that there . would be ah inquiry, the club was satisfied tS allow i the ignorant to remain so. Here was made the first mistake, but the grievous blunder was committed by dispatching the field for the

Steeplechase from •> the top gate, and also "smothering" the starter out that avenue. To start a race with thousands milling about on the course proper was madness m the extreme, but a now hysterical club was viemg lor ' notoriety with a maddened crowd. The cry: "They're off," made those who were calmly viewing the disgraceful affair positively gasp.' *. ■ That a club should become so warped m its judgment as to endanger life and limb was unthought of. , The first time through the straight, horses m a steeplechase have to traverse the inside of the course and this was lucky for the club. A thrill was m store, however, when a riderless horse came through on to the course proper, and, clearing the obstacle m the straight, charged into the crowd. • ■-' There was a mad rush to give him room and he went through safely. One by one, horses were falling by the way, and when the finish was m sight the leader, Mashoor, was lengths out on his own.

IS Mob rule of the worst variety)— might before right — was witnessed |§ If on the Ellerslie racecourse on Saturday afternoon last, xohen, within a \\ II minute of the finish of the M'dchelspn Cup, an incensed section of the i| If crowd Was demanding the blood of the starter. The display of hooli- |l |l ganism — possible, perhaps, mno other town m New Zealand— will || 1 1 neoer be forgotten by those who were present and will scarcely be || IS credited by those who were not on the course. || siiiii!i!miiiiim!mmiiiiiiiiiitiimnirHMimiiii immiimimiimimpiiiimiuimi i iiiiiiiniiiuiiipimiim iniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiniiniii «i iniiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiraiiiiiiiiiiiii

His rider brought him into the home stretch and, as he got within striking distance of the final fence, two, lunatics —for they were ; nothing elser-did Gyevytlivag in their powW to frifke th&i horse blunder and fall, or 'baulk. But the rider had other ideas, and, pulling the stick, he rode his hox-se over the fence, and as soon as he landed he let his whip go. ln' all direction^. For a few yards he was assisted m

getting a path by the assistant clerk of the course, who had gone up to give the horse a lead through. For the jockey and the assistant clerk, "N.Z. Truth" has nothing but admiration. Mashoor got through all right, though all sorts of hare-brained attempts were made to stay his progress, but, m their excitement, the crowd

forgot about the following competitors, and it was not till three had been knocked over < that they were momentarily brought to their senses. . J ' . ;4;This inane action on 'the part rof 'the %ifi^J/^si^^•:^^le•^.-.blazi6■■• 7 lß■iip.btingyheaven-' wards; then and there, it' could be seen there was no. charice-of any mo.Pe. racing that day;" And; a postponement was decided on. , The crowd would not disperse, how-

, ever, and it was not for some time afterwards that the last malcontent left. That the whole affair was a chapter of muddling and mismanagement can be the only conclusion arrived at. At the outset, "Truth" is satisfied that the first error was made, not by the stai-ter, but by the horsemen who did not leave the mark. Only one feasible explanation was

Big Handicap Fiasco Creates Wild Scene 0 — ; — : r— ■ ;

offered • by the riders who stayed behind. , This came from McTavish, Te Kara s pilot. He said that when his horse came into the barrier his head touched the webbing: and sent it aloft. Perhaps that did happen, but the chances are that as Te Kara came m, O'Connor pressed the button, for Te Kara will not stand m line for many seconds. Another one of those left said that the starter did not give his usual call of "Go!" or "Look out!" This statement is negatived by a reliable person who was at the barrier, arid who . has no connection with the club. „ He maintains that the starter said "Gol'^and then a few seconds later, when he realized that a number of the horsemen were m doubt, he called: "Go on!" This comes from a man who was financially interested m one "of the horses that s.tayed behind. \ Horsemen who went a few yards and then pulled up could . give no explanation why they. did so, further than saying- it-was !"no ;start;" ; "■'--•■, . •[■,,. '..v. ; 'i&> But when afiked to explain -who nominated: it v"no start,'- 1 they could not respond., ' ' '"■'■': , .- / , The only ones who declared it no start", were thb^e who failed to jump away as they should have!' ' •,; •Riders on. iaorges which participated . : , . ;.. say they, did . not

;..' know . whether O'Connor called "Go!" or not, arid, as one explained, I he seldom heard a ! starter say go — he i only watched for I the movement of his lips. . After weighing the pros and cons of the whole business, and having reviewed the evidence of the horsemen,- "Truth" can only form the conclusion that it was not an error on the part of the man m charge of the barrier. Then, coming to the outburst of an- ' tagonism, the crowd had no reason In the world to behave as It did. The temperament, of a mob ia difficult to understand and once worked up there Is no handling them. They descend into something akin to animals. Without desiring to take any particle of the original responsibility off the shoulders of the adult larrikins, "Truth" is forced to severely censure the club. It was, to say the least, a most deli-, cate affair to handle, but the club made no effort — not one attempt — to satisfy and calm

the mob. Instead, it ignored them, and, by doing so, brought on its head trouble that could have been lessened a great deal, if not avoided all together. That necessary and desirable asset — tact — was apparently not even thought of. . Then the callousness and the gross indifference shown by the running of a race, when the storm was still raging, was the culminating act of pigheadedness on the part of those responsible for the control of the meeting.. It was fortunate for the club , that the rabble at v no time became a concerted body— that there was no one outstanding malcontent to take charge and direct operations. ; Just what would have happened m that case can be imagined. Then again, it was providential that it was the first day of the spring fixture—not the opening day of the Christmas meeting. Boxing Day,, with its great crowd, and similar tactics, adopt' ed— by both sides — would have . seen part of the racecourse missing the next day.