WINTER RACING IN ENGLAND.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 6, Issue 292, 13 July 1917, Page 3 (Supplement)

WINTER RACING IN ENGLAND.

THIS YEAR'S WAR NATIONAL STEEPLECHASE.

By A.TRONSUN

De-pitu tli: 1 many efforts of several newspaper-* and private individuals, th • horse-racing fraternity sti'l " carry-on ! as best they can under the re-frictions imposed on tlieni by the Progressive Government under the leadership of tlie Hon. Lloyd George. Nevertheless, the ra.ing here for tie jumping season lias averaged about two days ;i week up to the present, and Ireland, with its mailer population enjoys as many racing days as England, while Scotland and Wales hav.-n t seen a rat e for years

—at least not since the early months of li)lo. So far as 1 have been able to make out, tlie principal idea ol restrct-inghorse-racing i, the necessity for coii•erving the railway traffic and so reduce it to a minimum, a course which involved not only horse-racing but general 11 a flic- on the railway. No more trains than are really necessary are allowed to run, and a-, a further inducement to keep the usual travelling public at home, all fares were raised litty per c'-nt., but iortunately this does not apply to soldiers.

'1 heretore, it became essential that all patrons of t':e Sport of Kings should travel by road only, otherwise they took a risk ot being refused admison to a race-course, and horses with engagementi had to walk from one meeting to another, the same as they did in the olden days, but yet not quite the same. Wiio lilty years ago would have dreamt of sending horses to meetings in a powerful motor hor»e transport waggon, as some owner-, are doing to-day. Then again, the days of the old '-oat-lies with their four and si.\-in-hands are a thing ol the pa*t. and iu place are the motor cars of every description to convey people from outplace to another—t!.e staid looking taxi-cab, the private runabouts, and I .xuria-nt limousines, not to mention the numerou. eliarahlies. With luck it will cost the ordinary punter fifty shillings to g. t to a race-meeting here nowadays, and it is no surprise for one to see the enclosure well filled and the outside ring practically forsaken. Outside of the well-to-do folk, it takes a munition-worker to meet the heavy liabilities of a race meeting in these days of international strife and potatoless dinners!. War or n owar, this year's Grand National h. s eventuated, and not even the worst weather of the worst English winter could stop it, although the clerk of the weather might have been less harsh. The early forenoon of the lirst day of Spring ? (excuse the mark), March 21st saw hundreds of motor conveyances scurrying southwards from this city of smoke, fo \ snow, rain and wind, toward; Gatwi-.-k, the venue of the 1917 " W: -• Natk/al" Steeplechase. As is always the ease when a race meeting is held, several police traps hr.d to he dodged—an exciting pastime that s not without its fascination for a .'•portsman—but these were safely negotiated, together with other pitfalls known only t» motorists., and an hour before the first even saw us lookng for a comfortable dug-out in which to let ourselves thaw: for the day w.n bitterly cold, and when occupying a "box" seat one is liable to get frozen to the marrows. Between the preliminary events the bookmakers' ring was besieged by puntens taking the odds laid by the pencillers on the National, creating a regular hubbub which afforded a comparison between this method of betting and that of the silent totali ator as we know it in New Zealand. An-' the '"tote" loses nothing of it., value by the comparison. After the first race the sun shined gladly, but five, perhaps ten minutes after there came a regular and typical English snowstorm, blotting everything from view. The horses were lined up for the second race, but the jockeys couldn't face the storm and back to the j>addock they went. Meanwhile the " books" kept laying the odds, and the snow fell heavily; within ten minutes everything was white, quite an inch of snow having fallen in a short time. Suddenly it stopped, and sun came out once more, and with it also the horses. This will give an idea of the conditions under which the War National meeting was held.

The three events over the minor obstacles but paved the way for the War National Steeplechase, four a a-half miles, for which there were a couple of dozen entries, including the cream of jumpers from all over the country. Head of the handicap stood the brilliant cross-country performer Templedjwney, with 12st 7lh>, a;: aged Irishbred horse t'.iat had already won three steeplechases off the reel under lig weights over distances up to three miles. Then came last year's runnerup Irish Mail with 12st. 4lbs., and Vermouth, the 1916 winner, with 12st. 3lbs. That old vetiran Ally Sloper, winner of the last Iv: Ai.itree event in 1910 (the famous Aintree course has been in the hands of the military since that rae.-). •- weighted at list. lOlbs., or thrie poutu.s more to carry I'tan when he linislu I sixth with last year, But none of the top weights were supported by tne antepost prices, an early favourite being found in the nicely handicapped Cariig Park, list. Gibs., who was brought over from Ireland at the beginning of the Hunt season and won three races right off against good fields, his last six efforts resulting in as many wins. Carri. Park was very heavily support >d, so much so that tha day before the i vhe was at a ridiculously short price, albeit he had never gone beyond three mile.?. As was the case last year, the obstacles had been stitfened considerably for the race, and wi.ii the going difficult, very greasy and heavy after the snow, 't was surprising to find such short prices accepted about tiie first and second favourites, for it was odds against half the field standing up at tliu death. At Gatwick there are 'I.) jump<, one less than at Aintree, and en both courses the open ditches are taken seven times and the big water jump once. Hire the water jump is ,'i loct high with n 13 feet width of water, against .'3 feet I inch and 10 feet at Liverpool. There were nineteen starters. C'arrig Park (.Smooth or Buliy Park—Ardcarrig) being a pronounced lavourit right up to the "nil," with Chang. Vermouth. Yellow C'h;it, I! .illymacad and Litnorock, next in demand, the last named being an out-idcr until a few hours before the race. As is usual with him. 1\ mpledowney set out to make the running, with tlie favourite in a hand.' position in the middle nf the held. Disasters commenced early, four horse-, coming down in lb.' lir-t mil ■. Willi two and a hall* miles left behind the favourite was running along nicely, but at the pi iill fence opposite tile stands he slipped over en landing and was finished so far ill the l'.ice was concerned. Telllpledownev was .still running along gamely under his b;g impost, and showed I lie way into the straight six furlongs from home, with l.imeroik. Quee.i Imaal. Chang, Vermouth, Ballvmaca 1 and Ally Sloper (losing up. The first ii 'm.d came up with the top weight,

who fell three fences from the po.-t, ;\iid Here liallymacad anil Chang joined is.sue with Limeroek. Limerock had a pronounced lead over the last fence, hut, like tlie favourite, he slipped oil 1 inline, leaving Ballyniaead to win easily horn Chang, Ally Sloper beating hot year's winner, Vermouth, out i a place. Only eight out of the nineteen runners finished. And that was how the "War National" Steeplechase of 1 ;»17 was lost and won. 1 am sure Limerock had only to stand up to win on approaching the last fence, but the tre.icherous nature of the ground was responsible for liiN downfall. The winner. liallym scad, is an aged bay gelding by l,avein out of Ballymacarney. and is trained by the Hon. A. Hastings, who al.-o has Ally Sloper in his stable. It is interesting to note that a halfI rother to the IS'l7 National winner in Dallymendal carried off the big Steep] clmm< over four miles at the same meeting to-day. The runner-up to Ballyma<ad. Chang, ii by Cupid Threnody, trained by F. Hunt, who last week saddled up live consecutive winners in two days.