ARTISTIC RIDING

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1012, 1 July 1930, Page 14

ARTISTIC RIDING

TE AWAMUTU INCIDENTS CRIBBING AT THE BARRIER There are several kinds of artists among the jockeys. Some are really clever when it comes to a finish; others are “clever at the barrier. Others—well words fail one. Both species were seen out at r l e Awamutu. The palm for great finishing efforts must be awarded to A. Tinker and H. Gray. Gray’s punishing run on Te Hoia was a. masterpiece. Approaching the home turn in the Arapuni Handicap the oddson favourite. Te Hoia, appeared to have but a slight chance of getting in the money, let alone of winning. The horse* had got away well, and then drifted at the half mile. As soon as they had straightened up Gray got to work with the bat on Te Hoia, and then even Australia’s crack batsman Bradman bad nothing on the leading jockey. Lifting Him Gray fairly lifted Te Hoia along, and responding gamely enough under severe punishment the gelding caught the little-fancied Unoco five yards from the peg and finally beat him by a head. It looked a hundred to one against To Hoia a furlong from home, but he got there. This fellow may make a really good horse next season, and one likely to go close to emulating the performances of his elder brother, Te Kara. The sire of Te Hoia is given as either Paper Money or Lucullus. Doubtless Mr. Martin Tims hopes the latter sire was responsible, for then he could have hopes of his horse being a good handicapper over a journey. If, however, Te Hoia fails to run out a journey, then the credit for begetting him must be given to Paper Money, whose stock are nothing more than sprinters, although one or two have got a middle distance. Took First Prize Gray’s exhibition on Te Hoia. for | pure vigour, would be hard to beat. ! But the honours of the best riding

effort of the day must he awarded to \ A. Tinker for his handling of Cruachan r in the hack sprint. J This horse was favourite at a fine 1 pric# and at the home turn, when l e • was in the middle of a bunch v>ith apparently little chance of pushing * through, his position was almost hope- - ° Tinker found an opening and he c I came through in the straight, being t about five horses out from, the rails, j Then he was blocked again by several horses in front, but the way over to t the rails was clear. 1 Cutting over very sharply, but interfering with nothing behind him, Cruachan dived across to the r»i>s. 1 | This gave him the race, for in a few strides Cruachan had hit the front * and he had scored by half a lengthy ( from The Sun—a long shot. : It was a remarkable run, and it took . a clever horseman to seize the opportunity as Tinker did. Bi\t it came * off. much to the delight of his followers. Perhaps with any other horseman up Cruachan would have finished down the course. Now for the other aspect of clever- * ness in race riding. In the Arapuni Handicap, Micrometer. who was quietly fancied, drew tho rails and went out well. Then inside a hundred yards another horse ; came right over on to her, and it was a wonder that Micrometer was not pushed over the fence. The boy responsible for this serious interference got right away with it. Not All His Own Way Of a different nature was an incident prior to the start of the Ilairini Handl- i cap. which attracted a big field of 21 i hacks. Naturally there was a good j deal of speculation as to the draw for i barrier position. Benighted drew the j ace, Kiwinui was two, Queenstown j three, Wild Country seven and Silver Division ten. Silver Division, the second favourite, was a bit restless at the barrier, and he kept backing out of the line. In the meantime Kiwinui had refused to face the tapes, and had backed into the fence, and continuing to back, the mare fell over the fence and left her jockey on the course. That put her out of the race. Benighted’s rider apparently didn’t want the rails, and he was well out in second place, Queenstown holding the rails position determinedly. There was a gap between Queenstown and Benighted, plenty of room for half a dozen horses. Cribbing | Seeing this gap, Gray brought Silver ; Division along and calmly walked in beside Queenstown, and although his i 1 mount kept on moving out of the line ! ! he remained in second position. Not to be outdone by Gray. J. Con--1 quest pulled Wild Country out of ; line —she appeared to be standing j fairly quietly in her seventh place— : and pulled in alongside Gray! Appar- j ently the Ellerslie rider thought that ! what the leading horseman could get I away with so could he. and he gave it a go. Who could blame him? So when the barrier went up Queenstown, Silver Division and Wild Country started in that order out from the rails. What chaos there would have been if several of the boys with bad marbles had seen the cribbing going on near the rails; there would have developed a game of general post. The starter has his hands full in keeping an eye on the horses themselves without having to watch for any j cribbing of positions. That, as has been pointed out in these columns more than ! once, should be a duty placed on the ! starter’s st jward. There Dave been many glaring in- : stances or. riders taking positions at the barrier to which they were not entitled 7 ot late it has developed into i something like rafferty rules, and it j will speedily become worse if not ? j severely punished. In Victoria a I jockey was suspended for three months (for- crabbing at the barrier.