TURF GOSSIP

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 67, 19 March 1910, Page 15

TURF GOSSIP

% ffiy WHALEBONE.)

The street bookmaker was bribing the new policeman. "It's always said that *money talks,' " said he, "but if fh'g half-quid so much as 'whispers,' never expect another. See?"

X>. tMJaher lias accepted a jheavy rgtntrHug fee to ride all Lord Rosebery's horses trained at Newmarket, except on occasions ■when Bayardo is engaged, k≤ by special and previous arrangement the son of Bay Benaid and Galicia will claim preference.

iAII the EYenclL racing fraternity regard M. James Henntssy as the luckiest man connected "with the French turf. Not only does 'his luck hold good in racing, but in other forms of speculation. Writing last nion-th the Continental correspondent of an English paper says M. Hennessy is credited ■with winning about £40,000 at the green, tables at Monte Carlo.

It Is a coincidence that In the first two races in England in which numbered saddle cloths were worn the ii-orses finished as they ■were numbered. In the ilapperley Steeplechase King Pluto, 11, was followed home by Claydon, 12, and KLnight of St. John, 13, and in the Novices' Steeplechase Bright Park, 1, won from Katrina 8, and 8.A., 21, these being the only horses which ran in the two races.

Mr Vyner sayeOiat wtien £he decision was arrived at to chloroform poor old Minting, wJio was utterly played out, it needed times as much as the **ve£" anticipated to produce the desired result, and before the result came, the horse received a final flicker of his pristine energies, trotted out with ail the energy and action of a four-year-old, looked round as if in full enjoyment of life, -whinnied at prospects in general, and then quietly died.

•Ast the (London Bankruptcy Court recently, Charles Henry Solomons, a bookmaker, stated that if people only paid their racing debts, he would not lhave been in the court. •He bad paid clients week after week, but wien "his week" came they would not pay Mm, and upon his suing clients they pleaded the Gaming Act. His failure was also attributed to the loss of £1200 sustained by backing horses. Tlhe liabilities are £2779, with no assets.

The sale is announced, by Mr S. C. Hildreth, of the great American racehorse, -Fitz Herbert, for £25,000. Fitz Herbert was last year's winner of the Suburban Handicap, run at Sheepshead Bay, and proved himself the champion of the year. Thanks to the successes of Fitz Herbert and another of ihis horses, Kins James, Mr Hlldreth's torf winnings last year amounted to no less than £21 ,546, the only owner whose winnings exceeded his being Mr James R. Keene.

In England some twenty years ago -Ehe doubting of pedigrees became such a habit (cays "Sport") as to reach the proportionsof scandal. Silvio, the Derby winner. of 1577. was credited to Macaroni instead of Blair AChol, as his owner represented. The alleged •"mix-up" of Bend Or and Tadcaster is to this day a source of gossip. After Gaiopin became famous a great many refused to believe him a son of Vedette. Up to that time the male line of Blackloek had been scorned by breeders—lt was "unfashionable"; and that it had now suddenly produced the best horse in England was too much for the equanimity of the pedigree faddists. Hence, investigation and conjecture were directed to account for the pheI ueroena.

An English scribe, -who recently had a look at the Derby candidate, Neil Uow, writes of Turn as follows: "A bright chestnut, he is a colt of beautiful bloodlike quality, and as regards power, especially ;'behind the saddle, he wfl.l compare favour- ! ably with anything that may oppose him in ! Ibis classic engagements. He lias a better i neck -than I'ra.o.tttrir, and, having betrayed I not the slightest symptoms of faulty respiI ration, there seems solid ground on which. Ito base the .hope that he ■will escape the roaring propensity which brought the raci ing career of that brilliant young horse to I a premature close. But there is the family i taint through. Goldfinch, and Ormonde, and a recurrence of the malady must of neces- . sity be feared, devoutly as one may pray otherwise. At the present time he is, ■happily, as sound as a bell in wind and ■limb, and has completely grown out of that leggy appearance which characterised Mm last year."

One of the most fortunate trainera of ■modem times in. connection with the English I>erby was John Porter, who in the course of thirty-two years turned.out seven winners, commencing with the late Sir Joseph Hawley's Blue Gown in 1868, and following with the late Duke of Westminster's Shotover in ISS2, and Sir Frederic Johnstone's St. Blaise in ISS3, the Duke of Westminster's Ormonde in 1886, the late Sir James Miller's Sainfoin in IS9O, Sir Frederic Johnstone's Common in IS9I, and finally, the Duke of Westminster's Flying Pox in 1809. Rielrard 3larsb's Derby record is also an excellent one, as since he took possession of Egerton House, fourteen years ago, he has turned out four winners of that race.

An English tort scribe, dealing ■with the recent Jack of money on the turf at Home, that the bookmakers aright float themselves as limited companies. He goes on:—"One has read a good deal about the scarcity of money in circulation for racing, it is doubtful whether there is really lesa ■money, but there is less of it in circulation. It is often alleged us a reason for there being no money in the ring that many prominent bookmakers have died, and •that, their fortunes being somewhat split up among their relatives, who are non-racing people, this money has gone for ever for •turf purposes. This is a very feasible theory, but does it not strike you that the money which was bequeathed to others had, ■long- before 'the death of the man in question, been sunk In investments, and that as for as it could be considered as ready money for the purposes of racing, it had ' gone ' many years before others had come into it? Undoiibtealy there were more men in the ring with a powerful backing of capital who laid big wagers than is the case to-day, but they did not have to lay these big ■wagers, and they stimulated betting on account of their being so substantially 'backed up; but the amount of money which each ■was supposed to possess was altogether an erroneous impression. I 'Chink there are still some rich men in the xing, but one can name them on the fingers of two hands, and, as a rule, those -who iwould be eapahle of paying very heavy sums do not lay in such big amounts, for the simple reason ■that they do not want to be shot at. In one or two cases I am nearly certain that the turnover —taklns it all -round —may be almost as big, butTTis spread over a far greater number of clients."

So many first-class stallions have been exported from England of late years, that there is a noticeable scarcity of them for the season "which will soon commence, and it Is welcome news that one at least has been retrieved, and -will reach his native land in the course of the next month or so (says the "London Sportsman"). This hoxse is Flotsam, by St. Frusquin, otit of .Float, who has made a. very great success at the stud of Senor Carlos Reyles in Uruguay, some of his yearlings selling in Buenos Ayres for as much as 40O0gs, and practically all his first ruoners being winners. Since, .however, the Buenos Ayres Jockey Club have limited a. large number of their races to stock bred in the Argentine, Senor Carlos Reyles has decided to disperse Ills stud in Uruguay, as be cannot compete with Argentine breeders under the circumstances, and as a result Flotsam has been secured for the Oobham Stud, and will stand there in the coming season at a fee to be shortly announced. His list will be limited to ten or fifteen mares, as lie'went through a season in the latter half of 1009. Flotsam's merit as a racehorse is well remembered. He beat his stable companion Rock Sand, lor the Middle Park Mate, and never finished unplaced in any race. His victories as a three-year-old included the •Newmarket Stakes and the Sandringham Foal -Stakes, for which race he carried 10.0, and conceded 21lb to Exchequer, who had just previously run a close second to Rock Sand at Ascot, though in receipt of only 71b from the Derby winnirr. Float. the dam of Flotsam, was quite the best ■two-year-old filly of her year, and she Is by Bheen out of Footlight (dam of Glare), by Cremorne out of Paraffin, from whom also descend Ladas. Cicero. Neil Grow, Lesbla, Bezonian, Flair, and Vivid.

A London "weekly sports review" cootains the following:—"ln a case concerning 'bettng frauds recently decided, it was prov:ed that a postman with many years' exceli lent references Irad been tempted to Ui4 ruin by a scoundrel who richly deserved the Ih-esivy sentence passed upon him. It was the old trick of a letter being posted in time, but tapped iv transit, and the result* of football matches enclosed. I wonder low many bookmakers are victimised in oneway every year? Betting on football matches is the greatest evil connected wfQ» the game, for, in addition to perverting t&a , honesty of many men, it helps to destiay the sporting instincts of those who InduUp in it. It is not considered dishonest to roi> a bookmaker. Men who mini.- there is a chance of getting 'something for nothing* do I not stop at trifles, and the ruiaatiOE/' end social destruction of those they can. lempt into their —men who otherwise rwonldi not think of acting dishonestly—is'V>oke<l ! upon a≤ a matter of small importance*.coinI pared with the getting , of a few pounds 'on, j the cheap." I personally know of a case i where it was proposed to rob a -South Ixra- ! don bookmaker in a similar "way; but the ] scheme fell through owing to the opposition ;of the useful third party. These scoundrels deserve not an atom of pity, and the ■heaviest penalty of the ia-w should be inflicted as a warning to others. Nor,, maybe, do the bookmakers dealing in football ■ results deserve much sympathy. - If "it be'trbe that the Dutch authorities intend bringing in a. bill to -close the betting ihonses in Flushing and other Dutch towns,.this evtl will' receive a blo-w from which it will not I easily recover."

Under the title "Jockeys Who Bet," iSpearmrnt," our London colleague, thns deals with the position of "the knights of the pigskin" at Home:—Whether it is k wise or an unwise thing to forbid jockeys "to bet, I am not now arguing. I am only; pointing out that, instead of the Stewards of the Jockey Club being feared' by "the general body of Jockeys, they are simply, ■tolerated as in the main Inoffensive gentlemen who indulge in talkee-talkee and rarely put words into action. It is my candid opinion that the jockeys have, by lone immunity from restraint or punishment, grown to consider themselves masters of the Turf; and it is not for mc to say they are fax wrong in their personal estimate. Very likely the "exclusive" ponagraph!st3 are partly at fault for this, as they are always stuffing the papers with small-beer jockey twaddle. "It's the papers," said a very eminent trainer to mc once, "that spoil the jockeys. They make too- much of them. A boy wins a race, and he isimmediately paragraphed as though he were a second Archer. The consequence Is tbat when he comes home he has the -airs of a; Prime Minister." I. quite allow" that ai section of 'the Press is seriously at fault in this direction. However, always here have I protested against the over-adulation of jockeys: Of course, where you have an exceptional man like tiklaher—a man who has gone on year after year maintaining a high) percentage—the pen of eulogy can be lifted. But even praise of Maher is discounted when the same terms aTe employed to every sort of rough rider-who manages to scramble home in a race or has so much in hand tbat he could not lose unless he fell off. My opinion of the ordinary jockey Is that he is a person of small size and smaller brains, and that he wants keeping in his place. Concerning selling races, "Spearmint" (well-known at Home for bis open criticisms of tne English turf) writes:—"One of the most deplorable arrangements of recent times on the metropolitan circuit is the habit executives have dropped into of placiing their two selling races—Jockey Club j-law does not allow more each day—first ;on the card. There are quite a large number of people who will not bet on selling races, and in the main their abstention keep 3 ■money in their pockets. There are others who dislike the selling race and yet are I tempted to bet on this dangerous sort of contest, because otherwise .they have to bang I about till the third event before they can Ktake any interest in the racing. In so jsaj-ing I am -writing under the sensible idea !that few go Tacing without "the intention ]of having a bet I am fully aware some ■ men do not. 'bet. and they need not if they ! are owners o£ good 'horses or regard Hie members' enclosure as a sort of social gathering place. They are beyond my present cognisance. I am dealing with the i people who go into ' Tatt's • or any one of !the silver rings. They are bent on betting, land it is sheer Pharisaism to pretend they ■are out for the benefit of their health or to watch the ' poetry of motion ' as exemplified in the running horse. When the i average man legally ' frequents' a race- ! course, he does so for the purpose of backing his fancy. Well, the average man has no liking for selling races. Tlrty are .the i lowest type of sport, and are oiten patron- | iseo. r by -the shadiest stables. When you ! call - attention to the in-and-out running I they. seem necessarily to involve, you are i waved off with, ' Oh, this sort <rf wretched animal Is always beating each other. No I one pays any attention to them.' Well ! and good. Why, then, should -the man "who I must reach the racecourse by the trains j 'that arrive before racing toe forced to hang I around -while 33 per cent, of "the programme !is 'worked off, he having no possible interest jin that portion of the card ') Too often, : sick of doing nothing, the man bets, and Iby the time the dependable races come on ;he foas lost all be intended to risk."

Writing against the introduction of the totalisator into the OH ~ Country, Mr. "Bob" Sieyier opines thus: There can be no two opinions as to the decreasing attendances at racing. Records each year tells us this in most incontrovertible manner. In order to regain the lost ground. it is argued In many quarters that the introduction of the totalisator would be a step in the right direction. We do not hold this view. Tie Englishman is not only more conservative than his Continental brother, but he is also more business-lite. ma opinions are strongly rooted, as a rule. Hβ believes the evidence of his eyes rather than what he is told, and he has the ability to weigh up the chances and mathematical odds in a manner that is altogether foreign, to the majority of Frenchmen. Thus, when he has made these calculations, it would not be in keeping with his •temperament if he had to pot his money into a machine and ■ accept any odds <th& mechanical invention may choose-to return. table commission ' •agents are" generally drawn from the ranks of successful backers \Y hen they go into the market, they naturally have a considerable following. This does not mean 'that those who wait for the lead are foiowing that lead pure and simple but they are just waiting to learn in substantial manner that the horse they wish to back is well, and expected In a lesser degree, this principle follows in France, where, as everybody knows, all betting U done In. the totalisator. We hear of bookmakers railing against the advocated introduction of the totalisator, but if its advent is ever chronicled in this country, the"'bookmakers will have no one to blame but themselves. There are several kinds of bookmakers, and the above remark has reference to those gentlemen who take up their positions on the rails, and never by any chance offer fair odds. They regard every backer as their legitimate prey, and cast out their nits, as the fisherman does his hook at the end of the line, to catch anything that may come within reach These men have not an atom of sport In their constitutions. They commenced 'career on the Turf in many ins-tances without the Bank of England, behind them . and ,no matter how well they have done since, such a thing as owning a horse is not in their nature. In this regard we would suggest to the inmates of the Club enclosures that they would do much better by going boldly into TattersaU's ring and making their wagers with some of the more commercial fielders. Among the latter there are men who will bet fair, and more than one of them will lay a substantial wager at a proper price. Of course, they bet to figures, and it occasionally happens that they cannot make a fair offer against one or more horses; but they can be depended on to treat their clients in an equitable and courteous manner.—lf those who have netted fortunes at She game were as liberal and straightforward as these, then the question of the totalisator would never have arisen. It is hard that the younger generation may suffer or. account of the pinching brigade. Yet the totalisator does not appeal to us, nor can we imagine 'it being in the least attractive to the majority- of the racing public, who nave the ability to discriminate between gambling and speculation.