Hack “Classic”

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 68, 11 June 1927, Page 8

Hack “Classic”

Takapuna Plate Entries A Heavy List The following 1 is a list of the entries, totalling 114, received for the Takapuna Plate, to be run at the Takapuna Jockey Club’s spring meeting: TAKAPUNA PLATE Of 600sovs.; 7 furlongs Ti Tree, Welcome Home, Dimmer, The ' Immigrant, Australian Sun—Miss Zamina gelding, He—Sky Dream colt, Cione. Star God, Expense, Town Bird, Te Kawana, Unoco, Salamander, Bourse, Arena, Corinax, Catmint —Culture Form gelding, Solanio, Master Mind, Kerry Dance, Great Charter, Thurnus, Tea Time, Speechless, Queen Comet, Flitter, Thanks, King Arch, Mussie, Catkin, Mosque, Carlaris, Romney, Appellant, Saucy Lass, Flying Tresses, La Roma, Marica, Panther, Historic, Sky Bird, Black Eyed Sue, Tone, Capella Abbey, Abbey Dale, Abbess, Mervette, Tea Set, Miss Mercia, Segment, Schorr, Lord Abbey, King Peg, Nassau— Spangle filly, Singleton, Air King, Cantab, Taikawhana, Air Queen, Value, Limosa, Master Noel, Hone Heke, Diamond Queen, Facia, Miss Potoa, Jemidar, Zarisee, Wild Pigeon, Mandarine, Macroom, Storm Fiend, Subdivision, Parfait Amour, Orchus, Lady Robinson, Odin, The Lover, Standfast, Carinthia, Whakarite, Modest Boy, Tidal, Cynthia N., Winsome Girl, Royal March, Brampton, Catmint—Whitford Belle mare. War Officer, Abbey Day, Welkne, Breezy, King Willonyx, Quin Abbey or Lord Multifed—Tinoreka gelding, Antrim Boy, Yaqui, Alonsoa, Sir Kay, Bayly Damon, Hine Hohora, Royal Doulton. Micrometer, Ash Tray, Bold Front, Golden Wedding. Zane Grey, Judge’s Box, Always, Prince Ngahere, First Prince, Whaka King, Stormy, Te Koroke.

RACE CONTROL CRITICISED

BAD STARTING AND POOR RIDINGART OF BALANCE

A suburban course has shown the way to the A.J.C., comments that forcible Sydney critic, “Turfite,’* some of whose articles have previously been reproduced in this paper. There was some mighty bad riding at Canterbury Park. Fields were not large and the track was not difficult, but some of the boys got in their own way. One commences to wonder if the sense of horsemanship is being lost, or whether it is that city-made jockeys are not like the tennis and billiard player, who, by dint of hard work, become reasonably sound experts of their games, but never have more than modest talent. The bubble reputation of our mannikins has not been analysed, but it would seem that a majority of them have learnt all they know about the horse in a racing stable. Up to a point this teaching is all very well, but a true natural rider who has picked up the art of balance and good hands in the country could give 90 per cent, of them lessons in sound horsemanship. PRECARIOUS PERCH Watching the horses go out at any meeting, none who has done much riding can miss the precarious perch of many of our apprentices. They have to be piloted through the gate to the track with almost maternal solicitude. It is patent that they have not full command of their mounts, or that when it comes to strategy during a race or discretion and judgment of pace or force in a tight finish they are pretty hopeless. Canterbury disclosed the usual blemishes of this kind, but the officials are to be congratulated for calling some of the incidents in question. It would be dastardly to attempt to sway the result of the inquiries that were instituted, but it has to be borne in mind that credit for questioning the most obtrusive fault of recent racing has to be given to a suburban club. At Randwick it is safe to say that nothing would have happened. BAD STARTS

Possibly the little men on top would get a fairer deal if starts were better managed. In at least four races on Saturday the punter had lost his money from the instant that the barrier was released. It is not, of course, an easy thing to get a good line up. The modern racehorse, pampered and high strung, is more restless than a Fijian fire-walker or a musical comedy lead when her understudy is in her place; but he can still be induced to toe the mark, or, rather, meet the mesh with reasonable equanimity if he is properly taken up to it. Because the starting gate is an Australian invention there is no reason why it should be a fetish. It is excellently suited for some races in which top-notchers, mostly well mannered, compete, but when it comes to the fag end of the teams which are kept in work in order to make the billy boil during the meagre winter season there is a mixture of temperaments far exceeding the babel which ushered in the cane gathering season in Queensland. THE WALK UP The walk up start has been a very great success in Melbourne. Having seen many races in that city, I can only recall one really bad start in recent years. That occurred when Clara was, in effect, matched against Maid of the Mist at a mile. The Victorian mare jumped away two lengths ahead of the son of Clarissimus and he could never quite pick it up. There is always the danger of some jockey bringing his mount up at what our American friends call a lope, and then shooting out as the release is given. Billy Smith was very shrewd at this trick and a boy named Minter was a pastrhaster at it across the Murray. By and large, however. Mr. Rupert Greene, the V.R.C. starter, has not been outwitted by his clever charges, and the walk up has given owners and backers a much better deal than they get in and around Sydney. For whenever a field is large here there is an exasperating delay at the barrier owing to the jockeys not being able to hold their horses stationary. FIRST TERRIFIC RUSH

Next time there is a mile and three furlongs race at Randwick, you watch the tactics of the boys, and you will see that when a Davidson, a Pike, or a Toohey can persuade the most excited horse to remain quiet, but on the alert, for a minute or two, other jockeys are prey to the nerve storms of their mounts. It is a rare exposition of animal psychology to see how Davidson, with a sliding, digging movement of his boots, keeps his horse’s head straight to the barrier, with its legs poised for the tremendous push of that first terrific stride. When you have studied the woefully defective starts of to-day, consider the tote. When the new method of distributing the dividends was announced, the ring declared with the glow of Roderick Dhu, that it felt no fear. No wonder it lost no sleep. The change has thrown a host of small bettors back to its hypnotic incantation. And these little fry are very welcome when money it tight, as It is at the moment. They provide modest but pleasant pickings. Somebody ought to offer a good prize for the correct solution of the puzzle, “Why was the method altered?” The regulation came out of the sky with strange suddenness, just as the after 6 o’clock drinking bill was engineered through at breakneck speed. There would be an interesting story to enliven these cold winter evenings were all the facts printed, just as Melbourne would harbour a nine days’ wonder if it knew why the- tote has been headed off in that cAy for so many years.