AN AGE LIMIT

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 60, 2 June 1927, Page 6

AN AGE LIMIT

TEN YEARS FOR JUMPERS Whether an age limit should be imposed on horses racing in steeplechases is the subject of a controversy in Melbourne. A leading veterinary surgeon agreed with the suggestion that it was dangerous to race old horses, and that racing clubs should fix a maximum of 10 years for steeplechasers. “Old horses in these races,” said one, “are a danger to other horses and to riders. It is only a small proportion of horses over ten years that does any good at all. Ten stone to 10.5 should be the maximum weight. Steeplechasing would not necessarily be interfered with by a weight limit, and the minimum weight could be reduced. BULL FIGHTING

The secretary of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, who stated that some of our horses are ridden almost to death, said that the remedy was with the racing authorities.

“We don’t want to see steeplechasing descending to the level of bull-fight-ing,” he said. Opinions of expert racing men did not agree with these views. Hon Cam-

•ron, the well-known trainer of steepechasers, said that many horses did not reach their top form until they were ten years of age. It often takes four years to train a jumper, and, providing he is sound, the horse’s best years are from ten to fifteen. When a horse gets older it seems to get harder and sounder. If the rule applied to New Zealand horses at the present time, the field for the Wanganui Steeplechase would have been reduced considerably. Comical is 10 years old, Passin’ Through 10 years, Tuki 11 years, Peter Maxwell 9 years, Omahu 12 years, Maunga 8 years, Peter Rosa 9 years, Birkenella 9 years, Bonny Rill 8 years, Hallowmorn 6 years, Gilgai 8 years. Since 1886 up to last year, horses under seven years have won the Wanganui Steeplechase only seven times. An old dog for a hard road applies in the steeplechasing sport.