Cure For Roarers

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 159, 26 September 1927, Page 7

Cure For Roarers

treatment proves successful

The Story of Kiosk

In England a large number of broken-minded horses arc ‘tubed" and r aee more or less successfully. Another treatment, available in Australia, and different from the tubing process, has been very successful, the most notable being that of the Wanganui horse Kiosk, about rchom the following article ,'iIJ be of interest.

rPHt: story of -*■ Kiosk reads like a, romance, as those readers who follow this recital will believe Prior to the i.utumn meeting of the Wellington Racing Club just 18 months ago the* Tea Tray colt, then a two-year-old. was set lor the Juvenile handicap- He had been highly tried out at Wanganui, and the race looked a certainty for him.

He was stood on the mark at the «Ive furlong peg at Wanganui one ; afternoon, and ran that distance in a j couple of ticks over a minute—five •’urlongs in that phenomenal time, and ; with three cut of the live on a turn. race thrown away Tile story of this private trial was later vouchsafed to the writer by the trainer, W. H. Dwyer, who is not given 10 being over sanguine when he races horses from his stable. The commission was well worked, but the result was a racing tragedy. Slow* out of the barrier, the colt was well back as the held. swept on to the course proper. Too far back to stand a chance. Kiosk nevertheless got up to rlnlsh a close fourth. So was a cerrainty beaten, and, worse, he had shown himself up by that finishing effort. But the racing public proved themselves even blinder than was thought. BETTER NEXT TIME Two days later the stable started Kiosk again, and also ran Elthein, the former having a different, horseman up on this occasion. Both were sent out at a double figure: price, with Kiosk paying a few shillings more than the fl *And the result? Kiosk won by half a length from Elthein, with the others well back. So was the good thing brought home at the second time of a»king. The two youngsters went on to the Manaw*atu meeting the following week, and while Elthein won the two.yearold handicap. Kiosk was reserved for the Mane.watu Stakes, in which he was meeting Limerick (winner the day before of the Sires Produce Stakes, with Lysander. Seatown and Commendation following him home in that order), Tukia, Limited and other brilliant sixfurlong horses. PROVED HIMSELF Once again backers stood off, but not to the same extent as at Trentham. Kiosk waited on the pacemakers until two furlcngs from home, when he came round the field, swooped on the leaders, and finally triumphed in no uncertain fashion. Thus did the colt prove himself at welght-for-age against the older horses, and the manner in which he scored was most impressive. While at Trentham the colt began to make a noise when galloping, but when his trainer mentioned this to some pressmen they* were sceptical. However. Kiosk soon showed that there was something in it. for there was no doubt that he gave ample evidence of going in the wind. WHILE THERE WAS TIME Realising that this trouble was developing very rapidly, and seeing that the son of Tea Tray was at the top of his form when he returned to Wanganui from Awapuni, it was decided by Mr. I. Lupton. his owner (a farmer at Waverlev) and trainer to get all they could while the going was good. The upshot was that a plan of campaign in foreign fields was the best to be done, seeing that the fiat racing season for two-year-olds in the Dominion had practically closed. A trip to Australia was arranged. and very soon trainer Dwyer was on the boat with Kiosk, who was to .race at Band wick at the June meeting, where it was thought that two-year-old handicaps would be something easy. WELL LOADED Once again the dice proved to be loaded against the colt, and the venture proved an unlucky one. In the first place it was one of t ie wettest winters Sydney had ever known, and to a roarer like Kiosk it can be imagined that the effect could not be otherwise than to accentuate the disability. Added to this was the fact that the handicap per—then taking absolutely no chances with New Zealand horses —was very impressed with the colt s performances In the Domin on, and weighted him at 9.10. Also in the contest was a youngster who had won three races, at Randwick, and was receiving a big lump of weight fro n Kiosk. W. H. Dwyer had had so lie experience of Randwick and what is required there, and he says that it takes a good home to win there at any time. NO DOUBT ABOUT IT Of course, the well-treated one won hardsomely in the mud, with Kiosk murdered by the weight. Later in the week the volt was produced in an open

sprint handicap, and was narrowly beaten by one of Sydney’s crack sprinters. The s e were the only starts Kiosk had, and so the trip proved a failure from the racing viewpoint. But if it was a failure in this respect, is was to lead indirectly to better things, and even now the first trip, and the second, too, are already repaid.

While across the pond the trainer discovered a veterinary surgeon who I undertook to cure the colt, and backing ! up his claims were several successes ' of horses he had already treated for respiratory troubles. SECOND TRIP SUCCESSFUL Brought back to Wanganui, Kiosk was kept going, ancl was started twice at Marton and at Waverley, at the latter meeting running a second and third. However, he was not himself, and so he was sent across to Australia a month later. Three months afterward the colt was brought back to the Dominion, apparently recovered, the operation seemingly having been successful, although the real test, i.e., that of racing, was yet to come. Three weeks ago Kiosk made his reappearance, now as a four-year-old, at the Marton meeting, his outing being the open sprint. He showed all his old pace, being brilliant out of the barrier, and leading to within half a furlong of the judge. He pulled up all right, and naturally his connections were pleased, as well they might, for the future was not without hope. In heavy ground the Marton experiment was worth while. THE COME-BACK The open six furlongs at Wanganui a fortnight ago was his next mission, and as it was a fine field of sprinters Kiosk, now racing on the top of the ground on his home course, and on a nice clear spring day. was offered an unique chance of making good. The result must have surprised even the owner and trainer. To the turn Kiosk waited on the leaders, and then lie cams away, passing the pacemakers half way up the running* and scoring a comfortable victory. Indeed it was a. comfortable win, and makes bis next appearance more than usually interesting. So Kiosk came back with a vengeance. A BIT TO SPARE This one success no doubt more than paid for the trip to Australia and the treatment, as well a.s made up for the period of racing idleness, for during this period the colt was off the scene for just 11 months. The trip and treatment w*ere estimated by the trainer to be in the vicinity of £IOO, but even if it had been more, it Was well worth it. The stake won at Wanganui was worth £ 240, and, with the dividend of such substantial proportions as to make a smal investment bring in a splendid return, the owner of the horse no doubt already shows a profit on the whole transaction. CAREFUL TREATMENT It is stated that one of the principles of the treatment is to keep the horse down in condition, and consequently a fresh start had to be made on him before he was ready to race at Marton. That Kiosk was ready to race and win at Wanganui was a great tribute to his trainer. It is quite on the cards that Aucklanders will be able to renew acquaintance with Kiosk next month, for together with his stable mate, the three-year-old Paleta, he claims engagements at the Auckland spring meeting*. Then will be seen a vastly different horse than they saw in action as a tw a-year-old at Ellerslie at the midsummer meeting nearly two years ago. SUCCESS OF TREATMENT Until quite recent times a horse that was fcacily touched in the wind was seldom much good for racing afterward. The tubing process was occasionally adopted with satisfactory results, is in the case of the Australian hurdler, Ecarte. Within the last few years, however, a graduate of the Melbourne University has devised a treatment for the affection which does away with tubing, and several horses have been operated upon successfully. One of these is the Australian gelding Waranton, who has won about £B,OOO since he had his breathing apparatus repaired. among his wins having been a-Cantata. Stakes and a Futurity Stakes. The latest good horse to be treated in the same way is the St. Anton three-year-old Cannon, who defeated Koval Feast in the Champagne Stakes. It is too early yet to say that the ultimate effect is going to be perfectly satisfactory, but the prospects are said by an Australian writer to be most encouraging.