SPORTING.

Digger (Invercargill RSA), Issue 15, 25 June 1920, Page 7

SPORTING.

Billy Robinson is on holiday in the North Island. To-night the secretary to the Canterbury J ockey Club will receive entries for- t~e principal events at the Grand National Meeting. His many friends will rejoice to hear that True Blue Morton is round the corner, and doing as well as can fce expected after a sericus illness. The Canterbury Jockey Club reeently elected their late secretary to their very exclusive list of life members. A Worthy appreciation of a very worthy servant's devotion to the club. I have to acknowledge receipt of an invitation to the Wairio Jockey Club's annual smoke concert to be held at Nightcaps ne^t Eriday evening, and all going well I will be tliere. Deviation who came from the North Tsland with a reputation a couple of seasons ago returned north without ever showing decent form, but at Hastings on Wednesday, he won a £400 hurdle race. Evidently the South didn't agree with him. It is to be seriously hoped that during th ^ time P.T.H. is attending to his new job, that he will not let the charges of Rerke's Drift Lodge go back in condition. It is an old saying that the pen is.mightier than the sword, but I haven't heard of it b&ing compared with a whip at the end of a race yet. Have any of those who advocate the Jockeys' Union, and claim that the increase in-stakes is one of the reasons why jockeys should- get more pay which -they maintain they would under a union ( ?), not yet realised that as jockeys are already paid on a sliding scale, according to the amount of the stakes won, that they too, participate in the increased money. According to the Master (capital • "M" please, Mr Printer) of Rorke's Drift Lodge, Wild Pilgrim has eost Jack Graham £110 in riding fees in hurdle races during the year ended June 5, 1920. Wild Pilgrim hasn't won a hurdle race yet, so when he does Jack will want the stake to reeoup him the riding fees^lone. My friend P. T. Hogan desires to know if "Sir Modred" had ever served an apprenticeship ? I don't know about my worthy friend on the Thundrer, but I am beginning to think that P.T.H. must have served an apprenticeship with the pen as well as to ditching and training. "Sir Modred" certainly did give P.T.H. a chance to get one on to him when he said that steeplechase jockeys were only engaged at their game for three months of the year. If "-Sir Modred" will look up the Turf Registers for as many years back as he can find them he will surely see that there.is not a week goes by that there are not hurdle races or steeplechases being run in the Dominion. For 3 months in the year they are kept unusually busy, but for the remainder of the season .there are always jumping races of some kind to keep them in pocket money. It was races they were discussing in the leading room of a big cosmopolitan hotel, and it had really become a contest amongst those sitting round the fire as to who could tell the story of the closest race he had ever seen. It came to the turn of the Scotchman, and he enthusiastically described a race he had once seen when two horses left the starter's hands locked together, ran for two miles stride for stride to the judge's box, where it would have been quite impossible even for Alex Macaulay to have separated them, but just at the critical momeirt one of the horses put his tongue out, and the judge decided in his favour by a tongue. The Scotchman tumed round to his listeuers and asked each one in turn if they had ever seen a closer race. There happened to be" an American in the room, and looking Scotty full in the face dryly remarked : "Wai, Mister ! I once spent a fortnight in Scotland." I regret very much That the controversy over the Jockeys' Union has not

brought before the public some of the good old rulers of the sport in this Dominion have done. There has been too much pulling round about the things that may not be satisfactory to. both sides. But let us take the benefits that the jockeys derive from the present Accident Fund arranged for them. Owners pay ten shillings for .each horse-they start in a race once a season, and their responsibility ceases. From this fund the whole of a jockey's expenses are paid should he meet with an accident, besides a very libeTal allowance above this to recompense himself for the loss of wages. The paymentsjn connection with oue case quoted by the "Referee" reeently showed that over £5 a week had been allowed an injured jockey for about a year. Has any union of workers in the Dominion got such a generous compensation law to look after the interests of its members? But above all this, do the jockeys as a united hody want a union? I don't think so. The heads of the profession are doing well under the present management, and the rules ■ of racing make good terms for the rising and younger boys, provided the latter play the game and look after tnemselves. Take for instance, young Ellis, in F. D. Jones' stable ! That boy has iooked after himself and shown ability with the result that he has had invested for him several hundreds of pounds, being half the riding and winning fees he has earned this season. His employer has not only taught him his profession, but has paid ! him all the while, and when Ellis' indentures expire he will, with luck, have probably a nest egg of £2000 or £3000 to start with. Can any other profession or trade union turn out a journeyman in three years with as much in his pocket or | such good prospects before him ?