Outcry Against Poor Starting is Fully Justified

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 593, 20 February 1929, Page 12

Outcry Against Poor Starting is Fully Justified

In these days of highly-specialised racing, it is extraordinary that the 1925-29 racing term, now three-parts gone, has been marked by a general decline in the quality of the barrier starting. Time and time again there have been complaints as to many dispatches, and although to grouse is a Britisher's one privilege that costs nothing, there has been ample grounds for owners of thoroughbreds, and of four-legged equines who do no more than pretend to be thoroughbred, to take umbrage. A bad start affects 99 out of evbry 100 people on a racecourse. The hundredth person is there just for curiosity, to obtain a mere taste of the glamour of the sport of kings. The classic example of how not to start a race was illustrated in the principal event, the Presidents Handicap, at Te Aroha on Monday. But it was only the culminating point to a sequence of poor dispatches at Rotorua and Te Aroha that must have provided much food for thought to the officials of those clubs, not to mention exasperated owners, trainers and bettors. There was obviously no confidence as between starter and jockeys, without which good starting is impossible. It is essential that there should be a thorough understanding in this direc- ; tion, but the boys were very much at. I variance with Mr. Price both at KotoI rua and Te Aroha. Positions were lost ( and won with utter disregard to the 1 official draw, and at the latter fixture j the position at the start of the races I was chaotic. On Their Toes Boys were afraid of getting left, and consequently they were all on the lookout for a fly. Just what this means—well, racegoers know too well. M hen he commenced as a starter about three vears ago it was thought that Mr. Price would make good, for he had had many years’ experience as a successful jockey, and subsequently he had shaped promisingly when giving two-vear-olds and older horses barrier practice at Wanganui. One can only sav, after witnessing his efforts at Rotorua and Te Aroha, that the Fates must have conspired against him to nullify his work. It can be left at It must be frankly conceded that the position, to-day in the North Island at anv rate, in regard to the" starting is most unsatisfactory. We have seen all officials dispatching fields flatfooted in one race, and in the very next they will be walked up. Tlie President’s Handicap at Te Aroha last Monday saw the seven starters moving in, but when they were still a chain a wav from the tapes up they flew. Ihe

result was that two horses. Flying Juliet and Glenstar, were hopelessly left. One would have thought, from personal experience, that their riders would be prepared for anything. This time they were caught napping, ai - . though under the circumstances they coulu scarcely be blamed. Who is Available? In reviewing future prospects insofar as starting is concerned, the outlook is far from promising. The doyen of them all. Mr. C. O’Connor, is fast approaching the allotted span, and it cannot be expected that lie. would improve in his work. Recent events have plainly shown this to be so. In the event of Mr. O'Connor deciding to retire, who could be called upon to officiate in his stead? There would appear to be only one man available at this juncture, and that is Mr. J. Vincent, whose recent efforts at the barrier serve to indicate that. like good wine, lie is improving with age. He does not get a great many c hances, however, but one has vivid memories of his almost perfect dispatches on the opening day of the recent Takupuna meeting, when he deputised for Mr. , O'Connor. Indeed, the latter s starting on the second day suffered by comparison. Special Training Required The time is ripe for one or two clubs, preferablv the Auckland Racing club, as the biggest in the Dominion, to look about for a young man possessed of the necessary knowledge, and to train him for the position. It could not be done in a day, or a year, but it means that the specially-trained official will be on hand when the time is ripe for him to officiate. It is understood that certain Auckland country clubs are desirous of a change, indeed, are likely to be forced into it by dissatisfied owners and trainers not to mention the jockeys, so the time would appear to be ripe for a review of the whole system of startDefinite Ruling Wanted That is when the New Zealand Racing Conference comes in. It is essential these days that a. definite ruling b© given as to whether flat-footed or walk-up starts will obtain. It has been left to the discretion of the starters themselves, but in many cases it lias only served to make confusion worse confounded. In New South Wales the flat-footed start is insisted upon. In Victoria they have the walk-up, but there the jockeys are subject to rigid discipline at the barrier, and the starters know their job. That makes all the difference in the world.