TURF GOSSIP

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 16, 16 July 1910, Page 13

TURF GOSSIP

(By WHALEBONE.)

Pntii!h eb rs ? yenZ as broD « llt off in the effect with impunity. Regular exercise o' jramer (A. Taylor), and the jockey (B. DH-jout the year" are the b«t precaSn. ; ' 'against the digestive troubles from which stallions commonly suffer.— "Agricultural G-asette."

The importance of creating an Industry In blood stock in South Africa is (says a writer in '"The Latest") not receiving the •attention the subject deserves. Oue of the best sires in South Africa is Greatorex (by Carbine from Miss Bnttei-wick, by St. Simon from Miss Middtewick).

On Derby day, writes an old "Pink 'Un," a coster with his little donkey was toiling up the Epsom hill, when the regimental coach passed. Quoth, a gay subaltern: "Look sharp, guv-nor, or you'll be late." The coster, not even looking up, replied: "Hall right, sonnie! ow' d'ye know J. h'alnt going to the Hoaks!"

The Agnew-Perkins anti-oral bookmaking Dill, which makes the present prohibition against bookinaking on tUe race tracks at Jsew York apply to such offences when practised "with or without writing," and also the bill repealing that section of the law which.exempts trustees or directors of race tracks from liability for permitting gambling at their tracks, was passed by a decisive vote in the New York Senate on May 4. AS the same time a third bill making corporations or individuals keeping betting or gambling establishments liable for gambling carried on there with their consent waa amended. It was stated that a strict inter* pretation of this bill might be construed to prohibit card playing in clubs, and the amendment offered confines the application of the measure solely to race tracks Aa amendment by Senator G-rady to include stockbrokers' . establishments which, deal in stocks ou margins was Toted down The racing interests bitterly fought the passage or these measures, and declared their enactment into law would mean the end of racing in New York. Joseph Auerbach attorney for the Jockey Club, said the provisions of the Oral Betting Bill were so vague that arrest for betting at race tracks would probably continue until a test case was made. That the bills are intended to put an end to professional bookmaking and not to horseracing or individual betting is the claim of their supporters. They will not, however, affect racing this year, as they do not come into effect until September 1

People who imagine that King George V. is going to be a mere figure-head make a very great mistake. His Majesty is already showing a strong hand, has made some unexpected clKinsos in connection with his Court and its recent customs, and has hinted that there -will be other alterations. A high official has openly stated that the King is not at present inclined to take any very material interest in horse-racing, but that he will attend the most important meetings later ou. An intimate of His Majesty has declared that Oeorge V. finds more enjoyment in. a first-class football match, or athletic meeting than in a horse race.

It is interesting to know the terms on which the "Special Commissioner" secured the Doehiel horse Great Scot for the Cobham Stud. The writer quoted says he has been paying £200 a year for the lease of the him in Blair Athol's box; secondly, with a view to getting the best combination of ■Blink Bonny blood from his own mares, Koyal Blue and Oarberry; and, thirdly and lastly—he emphasises lastly—to make a profit if he could. The probabilities are the ■'Special Commissioner" will have no cause to regret sentiment obtruding itself in such a manner, for at £200 a year he cannot well miss a profit, seeing that Great Scot's fee is 46gs.

Under the heading "Fortunes from Tips n an Old Country sportsman declares that it is an open secret among racing men. that one well-known tipster made between £30,000 and £40,000 out of his clients last flat-racing season. Tie mode of operation among the tipsters at the top of their profession assures a good income, and the possibiUty of loss is nil. Take th e case of one man who spends thousands of pounds each, year in advertising his ability to find winners even when owners, trainers, and Jockeys are in the dark. He has a regular clientele of 500 who follow his tips and incidentally keep him in luxury. These clients pay 10/ each for a telegram sent out oa the morning of the race containing the name of the horse to be backed. In addition to the half-sovereign already expended they also have to put a similar isuin oa the horse sent out at starting price for the benefit of their adviser. What the tipster may get out of one.deal Is easily reckoned. If the horse loses, he is 500 half-sovereigns, or £250, in less the coev of the telegrams sent out Should the animal win, and supposing its starting price to be 5 to 1 against, the tipster receives a further 50/ from each, client, or £3 in all, and his day's profits amount to £1500, less trivial expenses. Tipsters of this standing do not send out wires every day, and they undoubtedly do their best to obtain information; ■of the right sort. In fact, nobody can call it a dishonest way of getting money, for if his clients lost money over the telegrams they paid for they would, it is safe to assume, try other sources of information. ft is not generally known that although Persimmon won His late Majesty, when Prince of Wales, his first Derby, his trainer (Richard Marsh) received a terrible fright. : Lake most of the descendants of Gatopin, Persimmon had certain peculiarities. After he had completed a truly splendid prepara:tion for the '-blue riband," he left his .training quarters for Newmarket station in. order ;to be "boxed" for Epsom. He suddenly l-.took it into Uβ head to refuse to go to the 'town of salts," and In the most obstinate and exasperating way declined to enter his box. Mr Sydenham Dixon, the author of "From Gladinteur to Persimmon," says 'that 'he was always an awkward horse I -to box, -not that he ever did anything very jmueh, but he would keep kicking.out .with ,one leg and turning slowly round and round. Never, however, had lie given half so much, trouble as he did upon this all-important occasion, and he seemed to have fully made up hie mind not to leave Newmarket. "After an hour of futile effort Marsh said'to'bis i head la-d, "I've tried everything I know to ■get a horse into a box, perhaps you'll have : a turn at it." The wiles an-d blandishments of that worthy proved do more successful ■than 'the endeavours of his chief had been, land the situation began to look really I serious. As 'the day wore on the little crowd of sightseers who had been at the station when the horse arrived gradually increased until it looked as though half 'Newmarket I had assembled there. At last, almost in jdespair,"'Marsh, called out, "I'll give a sovereign apiece "to those who will help to get ihim in." This did the business. There was an immediate .rush, and.'the._eolt. was almost lifted off his legs and fairly swept into the ■horse box, when he immediately put his head into the manger and began Jto ea-t his •corn as though his behaviour all through, had been of the. most exemplary iiescrip'tion. In. 'the gratification of the moment J Marsh was fully prepared to settle >fche claims for the promised reward on the 'most liberal scale, but on beginning to pay out the sovereigns it was a little startling to i find that at least 70 men had one and all played a leading part in the .boxing of Persimmon, end Marsh had finally to explain that he did not feel justified in disbursing the whole of the Derby stake money, particularly as the formality of winning the race had yet to be gone 'through.

In an article on historic long races, the! "Chicago 'Horseman" gives as an instance a champion race for trotters which took seven heats to decide. The winner turned up in Monte Carlo, a most unfortunate ■horse, for he raced for a whole season with a small pebble which'had become embedded in his hoof, and must 'have been a constant source of pain and irritation. He was most erratic at the start, but once warmed up, pain or no pain, h.e wanted to win. In shoeing ono day the farrier thought there ;was something wrong, and cutting a bit deeper than usual the stone was discovered. Seven heats were raced before Monte Carlo ■won three, and the race, strange to say, each of his heats being won in the same time—2.7l. In touching on tine possibility of King George being as good a patron of the turf as was his late father, the "Pink 'Un" says: "Of late we have seen far more of him on the Turf than we at one time did. He wasnot even heir to the Throne when, as Prince George, he visited Goodwood in ISS7, when Upset, who was the property of <his father's great friend, Mr Mackenzie, won the Stewards' Cup. The horse was trained by John Porter, and the young Prince desired to back him, but did not know how to set about it. This difficulty was solved by Mr Porter, who took 100 to 5 to ready money about the horse, and, when he bad won, han-ded over bank-notes for the amount. The Prince pocketed them with delight, saying that it was the first £100 he had ever liad in ready money that he could call his own." After his first successes with Adam, Jardy, Val dOr and Gouvernant, Flying Pox's stud achievements showed a falling off. Apparently, however, his sons and daughters are destined to emulate his early successes at the stud. Very few Flying Fox anares -are at the stud, but one of them, Neptrte, is the dam of the Grand Prix de ■Paris winner Nuage. Nuage was the best two-year-old in France last season, when ■he was unbeaten in the three races in TVhieh he ran, and established his right to be regarded the crack of the season, when he decisively defeated Marsa at Maisons L/affitte. Marsa recently won the French One Thousand Guineas, and her stable companion. Assonn, accounted for the Two Thousand Guineas, for which Nuage did not run. Nuage was, like his dam, bred at the famous Victot stud, where his sire, Simonian, stands at 3500 francs. Simonian is an English-bred horse, who has taken a leading position among French sires. He is by St. Simon from Garonne, by Silvio from Reveillon, by Cambuscan from Madia Noce, by "Weatherbit. Nepnte did not race.

The "fashionable" jockey of the present day Is as different to his predecessor ol fifty years ago as light is to dark (says an English exchange). Tien the professional riders did not ape the exquisite dandy nor did they beep a valet or a motor-ear. A veteran like John Osborne as representing the old school contrasts curiously with the modern or "up-to-date" jockey. Formerly even a successful artist of the profession would, after riding several winners , during the afternoon, have to do up his horse in the evening just like an ordinary stable lad. The luxurious "young gentleman" of the period would now turn up his nose in horror at the mere suggestion of such a thing. I have more than once mentioned in this column that Maher has received a retainer of between £4000 and £5000 to ride Neil ■Gow alone. This must be Che biggest sum ever paid to a jockey. It is recorded that in the days of Mr. Greville someone offered the great Flatman £50 for a year for a third claim on his services. Mr. Greville in the most indignant way exclaimed to the owner in question, "Fifty pounds a year for third claim! l>o you want to ruin, my jockey?"

On the ever-handy subject of "Turf systems," another English sport expresses himself:—Of course, I am not so stupid as to assert that following the stables on the plan suggested is an infallible way of mafc ing money on the turf. It is mereiy-au'ldea. which is not by any . means.. new, and has struck others besides myself. It is probablj-, however, as good, and far more simple, than some of the so-called "systems" which have been exploited with more or less success—generally "less." The philosopher's stone has not yet been discovered, and there has been a general failure to «onstruct a perfect system. Some years -ago Sir William Gordon MacGregor invented a system on the recurrence of events. It -w.aa confined to backing jockeys' mounts. The idea was as follows:.—On. the first race there would be 110 bet, but for the next race yon would back the jockey that woa the first event. Should the jockey not hare a mount in the second race you would again have no bet. The jockey who was successful in the second nice would be the one to back for the third event, and, should he not be engaged, you would invest your money on the jockey who steered the first winner to victory. The jockey who rode the last winner would be the one to back for the next race, and, should he not have a. mount, you would fall back on No. 2, and, if he was also standing down, your money would go on No. 1. Suppose, for example, the winning riders of the first races were Maher, Trigg, Martin and P. W-ootton. Wootton having wou the last race would be the jockey to back for the fifth; failing his having a mount.' Martin would be chosen; shonld he not be engaged, the money would go on Trigs C-*o. 2), and, if he was also standing down, then yon would fall back on Maher. If neither joekej- had' a mount you would have no bet. As regards the Investments. Beginning with a stake of £2, after every loss you increase the stake by £2. 'WheP a win occurs—no matter whether the ptvTf*as losses are recovered or not —you return to the original stake — namely. £2. When there are ouly two runners that race must be left alone. The slake to be divided in the case of a gentleman jockey who has immediately bßfo.-e ridden and won, being engr.ged iv the same race as a professional. After eight losing investments you return to the £2 stake. Whether there is any merit in this system I cannot say, for I have never heard if Sir William Gordon MacGregor found it the royal road to fortune. It is a bit too complicated for the ordinary punter, anil, furthermore, requires a "bank" which the vnst majority have not at their command. The finest and most conclusive argument asninst "systems" of nil kinds is that the "ring" continues to exist and flourish, and its members, for the most part, io nrallonr ia luxury. Often a careful and intelligent sturtent of the book can derive a good deal of pleasure, and perhaps a little profit, by judicious Investments upon his own fancy, and when this form of speculation is on'.y carried on in a mild sort of way, there is not the slightest harm in it. Indeed, it Is extremely difficult to work np any Interest whatever in a horse race unless one has a "little bit on." Personally, I f-'"i- the "evils of betting" are -eKSHEora&t -— ysrate*.

In the course of an interesting article on steeplechase fences, "3?oseidon," of the Melbourne "Leader," says: "Many racing executives are all too prone to listen 'to the ■waitings of interested persons when it comes to a question between sport and expediency, and, therefore, anything that can influence a desiraWe leaning towards the proper standard of cross-country sport must commend itself. If ■Wβ are to have ste&plechasing in the true sense of *he word, have the fences on all the courses round Melbourne and on ■the chief provincial courses a uniform height of, • say, 4ft, brushed and yielding—jumps that, while not dangerous to rider or horse, take jumping. As matters are at present, a 'chaser may be required to negotiate a jumping course such as Sandown Park or 'Epsom one day, and a couple of da.ys later be asked to take on Flemington. And the result of the change from the too low obstacles on the suburban courses to the fences at headquarters is, -as- a rule, disastrous. Much of the danger .Mould be obvda-ted by compelling the several racing .bodies to conform to a uniform height of fence, leaving it to 'their individual choice as to the composition. And in -this latter regard, the greater the variety of the jumps the better lor the horses, who would, owing to the variety in the fences, jump more safely."

Most of the deaths among stallions are due to various forms of stoniaoh and intesI'tinal troubles. This is the decision of a ■ prominent live stock iusurance company, af- ! ter an analysis of its records of the past [Sew years. It is not surprising that this is the case, for stallions are commonly subijeeted to the most spasmodic and unnatural •treatment so far as feed is concerned. After seven or eight months of neglect, light ; feeding and no exercise, they are forced to i take on a quick covering of fat by a mouth or so of heavy feeding and a continuance of idleness. AVheu the season commences after this erratic management the horse is "soft," sluggish and inactive. The owner, in an effort to inject life into him, drugs him with various nostrums. Through all this mistreatment the digestive sy-stem must bear the shock of the sudden changes and unsuitable feeding, which naturally fall more

'directly and heavily upon it t!>:in on any olher part of the body. It is risky to atity suddenly into v. condition of unnatural I functiou.il vigour. TJie only safe way to !'treat a stallion is to keep him in constant ■healthful activity. Horses are more accustomed by nature to take, and to require abundant exercise than any other farm animals, ana they . cannot be denied its tonic