TURF NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 148, 23 June 1923, Page 21

TURF NOTES.

1 (By WHALEBONE.) \ t ; The great crowd which gathered for . the Belmont Park races in New York on June 5 witnessed an incident of a strikingly tragic nature. Frank Hayes rode Sweet ' Kiss to victory in the Park ( Steeplechase, and fell dead before leaving the track. It was hia first win. Death - i.s believed to have been due to heart i failure caused by reducing Tiis weight. < Miss Una Shaw, who is regarded ]ri the Commonwealth as really an author- < i ity on the breeding of the thoroughbred, met with a serious accident recentty. She was found lying unconscious in a paddock, where she had been > inspecting her horses, and had been! kicked on the head. An operation was i necessary, and Miss Shaw is now pro- . grossing satisfactorily. With advancing years Beauford is falling into flesh (writes "Cardigan" in th e i Sydney "Arrow"). There is nothing strange in that, perhaps. Most men do j I likewise, most horses, too; but few I, i thought the Newcastle flyer would fol-! low the beaten track. However, it is a! fact, and his trainer, S. Killick, told mc at Newcastle recently that his champion is '"as fat as mud." Since Beauford decided to rid himself of his rider : and go for a gallop round the highways and byways of Newcastle , prior to t!:o last Autumn meeting, iip. has been spelling at this trainer's stables. In fact, he has been leading a life of leisure, and it agrees with him. I asked Killick whether he ; though lie would have any trouble in getting the horse into racing condition ' again, now that he has put on so mucn condition; but ho was emphatic that he would not. "Ho is a most contented customer," he said, "and has the manners of a good horse. In fact, he is almost human in his intelligence." Killick is not a talkative man, but I believe he considers the spell Beauford has hail j has done him the world of good, and that in the sprint; he will be even better —if tli.it is possible—than ever before. If so, and if Killick does not know then j nobody does, the invading New Zealanders and the best of our own horses are in for a sorry time. The distances of the spring weijrht-for-age races will also be more in his favour than those of the autumn, and I<p may tackle the DSandwick Plate on tin ' sal day. If he ho is bigger and stronger than ever l>ofore he may stay better; and as the Randwick Plato is on the last day of the meeting, he might vet test David and tho three year-olds over two miles, ji don't suppose there is any possibility of his going to Melbourne for the Cup meeting. He is a bad traveller, and possibly Killick would not take the risk, with ILr. Mackay away in England. Tn a suburb like Randwick dozens of kiddies, still attending school, are booked for racing stables. When first they enter a trainer's employ what .day dreams must they indulge in—of how in a few years' time they will be at the top of the tree, outriding the Muuros and Tooheys, and patronised by the Booths and Marsdens of the game. J?ut disappointment awaits the majority. Xot everyone can be n successful jockey, and the unfortunates have to scrape a meagre living. Yet there is always a chance of being the lucky one and in a few years becoming a wealthy man; for there are few better-paid "professions than that of a jockey. Take, for instance, the jockey of the moment, J. Toohey. Tooliey was not a success right away. It took years of battling and determination to bring him to the top of the tree, and it is- the same determination that will keep him there. No doubt Tooliey, although only a young man, is in the happy position of being able to stave off any evil day which may happen along. "His great successes in the last few }-ears —successes which include three Doncaster Handicaps —would secure that Toohey has pro- ' bably made more money this* year than any other jockey in New South Wales, though his winning percentages do not approach those of Albert Wood, who has had the fortune to win both the -Metropolitan and Sydney Gup, as well as valuable weight-for-'age races' on Beauford and David. Tooheys only really,big success in Sydney this season was on Tho. Epicure in the Doncaster Handicap, but he has won some very handy prizes, which would bring good presents from the owners. Ridin<r winners for a stable like Booth's, with its big betting patrons, means a handsome share of the winnings. Mr. A. Vockler. the well-knowai turf authority of Australia, is responsible for the following: The tote, as a place betting medium has lamentably failed to meet the requirements of 1, 2, 3, investors. The machine doesn't let you know what odds you are going to get until after a race, is run. This is a vital objection place punters have to the Tote. They want to know the odds they are accepting, before a race is run, not after. Place betting at Randwick and other courses ought never to have been abolished. It was only brought about by the intervention of the authorities owing to complaints made regarding the pawnshop odds dealt out by the few cormorantic Rin? tralen-. who J had a monopoly of the business, which J they conducted on trades union lines. The Chief Secretary adroitly took advantage of the opportunity to prohibit place betting, and thus divert n> the file—thereby bringing ineiv.iso.] t.i\ revenue to the I'abinpfs colters—the; bullion bagged by the 1. -'. 3 bush-j ranger bookmakers' The racing public | I are clamouring for legitimate place i betting to be reinstated under nov-j I eminent supervision. They have no j itime for tho Tot.-, which is only a hvbri.l apology for tjio place system. 1 The Government should at once ram'nlv with the wishes of the racing pub- ! lit- who supply the wherewithal to ik- ■'•!) the great game of the Turf Igoinir. provide the stakes. officials , I salaries, and the bookmakers. Tote, and admission taxes. The public's requirements should, therefore, have first clr-im on the Government. A fourth of the straight-out odds regulates place betting all the world over, and it was tho refnsal of 1. 2. 3, Ring Vultures to j conform with this rule which led to their ostracism. Let the Government re e.-tabli-li place betting under tho supervision of an officer in attendance in the betting ring, to whom place betters may appeal in cases where l bookmaker* refuse to lay the fair! market odds.

When one totals up the ■winning percentages of a crack jockey and considers the huge amounts he must pet in presents from large betting stables, it is easy to understand that the ambition of hundreds of youngsters is to become a jockey (says a Sydney writer). Tho operations of card-sharpers in the Sydney race trains have been reduced to the minimum. This was due to the activity of plain-clothes polioemen, who made several trips through the trains between Sydney and the racecourse. The Police Department is now paying special attention to these sharper*, and visitors to the meeting appreciated the change. Usually they got no peace from the crooks. Secret trials of raeehoreea are not unknown in this country, though they are probably not so frequent nowadays as they were when long odds could be obtained prior to etarting day. Recently in England two horses landed a stake and started at long odds on account of the of their trial gallops having been religiously kept among the selected few. Commenting upon this a London wrijter says:—'There seems to be a sudden- craze to gallop horses at various time 3of the day, with the finishes far, far away, and I suppose that one day men of observation will be seen calmly viewing the whole area of training grounds from aeroplanes, a-fterwa-rds flying away to London with every detail concerning the work. That it will all come one day is certain, and my only hope is that it will not be in ray time." Tie fees of bookmakers operating at Randwick are to be increased to £5 a day. The State Government has decided to allow the operation of a new by-law passed by the committee of the Australian Jockey Club to that effect. At present "bookies" at Randwick pay £3 15/ a day in the paddock, £1 5/ in the leger, and 10/ in the flat. The new rate, which will take effect on July 1, will increase the club's revenue from £15,000 a year to £24,000, and as the State Government receives half the receipts from this source, the State Treasurer will be handed an extra £4500 a year. For many years tho A.J.C. lias been trying to secure the approval of State Governments to a by-law increasing .bookmakers' fees, but each Government was unsympathetic. Tho main argument submitted by the A.J.C. was that smaller clubs were charging higher fees than Randwick, where 80,000 people frequently congregate. The new rate will cause considerable resentment among the "bookies," but it is quite on the cards tliat heavier burdens will be placed upon them in the near future. When tho matter was referred to Mr. C. W. Cropper, secretary of the A.J.C, ho said that his committee had for some considerable time past regarded it as anomalous that the fees at Randwick should be less than what they were on suburban and pony courses. The position was that bookmakers in the saddling paddock at Randwick paid £3 15/ per day, against £4 8/11 at pony meetings; £4 10/- at Warwick Farm", £5 at Moorefield, Canterbury and Rosehill; and £5 5/ at Hawkes'bury, where the attendance could not be compared with that at Randwick. I n the leger, the fee per day at Rand wick was £10/,' against £2 4/6 at pony meetings, and £2 10/ at the principal suburban meetings. In the future, for 21 days' racing per annum, bookmakers at Randwick will be charged £105 saddling paddoc-k £42 leger, and £21 flat. Even then, leger bookmakers will not be paying as much per day as at pony meetings and suburban horso meetings. Mr. Colin Stephen, chairman of the Australian Jockey Club, who is on a visit to England, had some interesting remarks to make on the Derby, in an interview with a representative in England of the "Sydney Bun," after the race was run. "I first visited Epsom in ISSS," said Sir. Stephen, "and have seen five Derbies, but Epsom has remained the same, except the crowd, which has grown amazingly. It was a perfectly managed meeting, and I saw no unpleasant incidents. I did not see a single drunk, though the crowd on the hill was enormous. I was amazed at countless motor vehicles, and the scarcity of horsed vehicles, four-in-hands seeming to be extinct. The traffic control was wonderful, considering the tens of thousands of vehicles on the road. Tho course was in perfect order and beautifully turfed, but appeared to ride dead. With its downtill run at Tattenham Corner, and uphill finish, it provides the greatest test in the world for a good horse, though a good jockey also shines to advantage. A threatening feature was the weather. When the horses were parading prior to the Derby, heavy rainstorms passed over the start" at the five furlongs, but did not reach the stands, though the mist, spreading on the far side of the course, made the visibility bad, and it was extremely difficult to follow the race. As a field the Derby colts showed more quality than would be soon i;i a similar race in Australia. Tln> rnrp appeared to be very fast n:n, am! thn time, 2.23, was exceptionally pood, in view of the fact that the going win .'dead. Knockando led at a great p.u-c ,jfor six furlongs, but I did not sight I Town Guard during tho raeo, which appeared to be clean run and without ! incident. It appeared to mc a ftirlnnff ! from home that Pharos would wit. but Papyrus went away from him as they i came up the hill, and won like a champion. I was told that Parti, was practically loft at the post. If that lis correct, lie must be a rattling good I horse, though his appearance did not [nppelil to mc as nni'-li as that of I'npyjms and Pharos. The Australian. A. VFalker, rode Parth, and proved him- ! self a good boy to «ot \vm mount so (close at the finish. I was amused hy the jaunty way in which Papyrus left the weighing enclosure after the race, [Ho was not in the least distressed, and walked like a real winner. Donoghue, before he went to the weighincroom, kissed Papyrus on the nose. Then he himself was hugged and kissed by nn enthusiastic, old woman. Donoghuc was smiling, and was seemingly in his seventh heaven of delight at winning the golden spurs. lAs chairman of the A.J.C, I am an I honorary member of the Jockel Club. Everyone was most attentive to mo! The Prince of Wales recognised mc. and though the crowds round him wero cheering as he walked to the enclosure, ho stopped to shake hands ; with mc. and talked of events in Australia, and inquired of various spnrtins L friends there."