NOT HAPPY

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 41, 11 May 1927, Page 6

NOT HAPPY

A.J.C. STIPENDIARY POWERS CURBED? OFFICIAL WHO PUT OUT NEW ZEALANDERS What lies at the bottom of Mr. J. Higgins’s intention to resign as chair" man of, A.J.C. stewards is taken to be discontent with the conditions of employment. •Mr. Higgins gets a big salary. In fact he is the highest paid racing official in Australia. But he is not the type of man to take a big salary without being satis tied that the conditions of his posi~tion allow him to earn it, and more than meets the eye is said to be behind his intention to leave the job. Some months ago Mr. Higgins spoke of tendering his resignation. Higher officials of the A.J.C. hoped that time might alter his intentions, and no action was taken. LOSS TO THE TURF There is a feeling throughout the racing game that Mr. Higgins’s retirement would prove a distinct loss to the turf. This opinion is shared in higher official circles, and as no resignation has yet been submitted to the A.J.C., steps may be taken to turn the chairman from his intention. In any case, Mr. Higgins carries on until the end of the current racing year. This means that he occupies the office until July 31, when the season ends. Until his resignation is actually submitted, the A.J.C. executive are not in a position to discuss the matter, and the chairman of the A.J.C. Committee (Mr. Colin Stephen), being indisposed recently, no official pronouncement on the subject was made. TRAINER’S TRIBUTE

That Mr. Higgins’s retirement will be regretted by those who come most under his regime was instanced by the remarks of a prominent Sydney trainer. “I have been on the carpet several times,” he said, “but only for minor matters, and not fortunately for a subject that might mean disqualification. But even in these minor matters, I have found Mr. Higgins a very fairminded man, who looked at a case from all points of view. “It is to be hoped that the N.S.W. turf doesn’t lose him. It would, in fact, be a calamity.” Much has been made, since the announcement of his intended retirement, of two striking phases of Mr. Higgins’s regime as chairman of the A.J.C. stewards. CATCHING THE HEADS In the early stages, there were several disqualifications of prominent persons in racing, including the notorious Royal Despatch case, in which two prominent New Zealanders were stood down. Then followed a sudden lull, and for two seasons no owners have been put out of the game. The disqualification of a jockey for pulling the hurdler Castles on the owner at Canterbury, and the disqualification of the horse Kedgeree (without the owner) are, in fact, the only instances of note where punishment has been meted out in recent seasons. AN OFFICIAL SECRET Some time back, a series of suspensions of jockeys was made. Several prominent horsemen and a few apprentices and less-known riders had to stand down for careless or incompetent riding and crossing in races. That stopped suddenly, too. There have been instances, since, where jockeys' ac.tions warranted punishment, but none was given.

The fact that the stewards' activities in both these directions ceased suddenly has been discussed by close followers of racing as a matter bearing on Mr. Higgins’s resignation. Whether this is according to actual is, of course, a secret known only to officialdom.