Romance of Little Lucy And Boy Chandler

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 616, 19 March 1929, Page 10

Romance of Little Lucy And Boy Chandler

Unprecedented scenes were witnessed at Paeroa yesterday, when Lucy Rose made amends by winning the open sprint in brilliant fashion, after winning the big race earlier in the day and suffering disqualification through failing to draw the weight. fjPHL demonstration was brought about by the enthusiasm of the crowd, pleased and delighted to see what looked like a bit of really bad luck atoned for later in the day. Never was the true sporting spirit so much in evidence on a racecourse. Missing Lead The big race at the Ohinemuri Jockey Club’s concluding day’s racing yesterday was the Shaw Memorial Handicap, a race named after a popular sportsman now gone to his rest. Lucy Rose, not big, but thoroughly game and tenacious, and ridden by the five stone boy J. W. Chandler, was tailing the field when they had gone a furlong, but she did so well afterwards that she smothered the opposition for

Couldn’t Bring It Down Well pleased with himself, apprentice jockey Chandler carried his gear to the scales to weigh-in, escorted by Trainer George Reid, but the boy could not drag that beam down to the 7.0. Instead the pointer only reached 6.11. Then there was a dismayed trainer, and a sad-faced rider looking round to see if there was any gear they had not taken to the scales. But, no. The damage was clone, and the stake was lost, Lucy Rose being

disqualified, or, in racing parlance, distanced, and the race awarded to Desert Glow —favourite for the Cup the first day, and now at a doublefigure quote—with Queen Arch second, Lurient 11. third and The Lover fourth. A prompt investigation soon discovered the cause of the short weight. The lead bag was looked over, and there the stitching at the bottom of one section was undone, and a gaping hole showed where the lead had dropped out. An allowance of 21b is made where a horse is short weight, but on this occasion the loss was 31b in all. The lead bag had evidently seen a good deal of service, for it had been stitched all over again. It was this use of an old lead bag that was the direct cause of the trouble, losing the first stake money, £3OO, a liberal stake in these days, as well as the holders of £215 worth of totalisator tickets of nearly double figure odds. An expenditure of a couple of pounds on a new lead bag would have meant the saving of that £3OO. Lucy Rose and Chandler were next produced two races later for the open sprint, but. the filly, carrying 7.0 (and perhaps a bit of lead over for eventualities) was not eagerly sought after by backers, for she went out at a liberal price, being sixth favourite. A Sterling Effort

Half a mile from home Lucy Rose was tailing tine field, standing the leading division several lengths, and in such a short race her position appeared to be hopeless. But although she was still last two furlongs from home she put in an appearance on the extreme outside at the bottom of the straight, and finishing like a flying machine got up to beat the betterfancied Awarere by a head, or it might have been a bit more. Then bedlam broke loose. Hats went in the air, and the cheering made the Welkin ring. There was a continuous demonstration as the boy brought the filly back to weigh-in. there being no mistake this time. There were calls for Chandler from the crowd that thronged the enclosure facing the number board in the birdcage and escorted by Mr. R. L. Somers president of the Te Aroha Club, the apprentice mounted to the numberboard platform and was introduced. Chandler doffed his cap. .smiled, and retired discreetly. And all the time the enthusiastic crowd cheered itself hoarse. There were tears in the boy’s eyes when Lucy Rose was disqualified previously; now those tears had given way to evident signs of gladness. Most pleased, next to the boy himself, was Owner-Trainer George Reid.