Riding By Apprentices

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 99, 28 April 1945, Page 18

Riding By Apprentices

A CORRESPONDENT writes:—"l read with interest your article in the Sports Edition of the 14th, wherein you comment on the action of the Auckland Racing Club in calling the apprentices together for a lecture by the patrol steward, W. A. Ryan, and the chief stipendiary steward. This is a step in the right direction. "Speaking from a long experience of racing, I feel the boys are just as good a type as those offering in the past. In the opinion of the writer, much of the inferior riding can be traced to the fact that the apprentices of to-day have had the chance of riding in races before they were fully trained. This position has been largely brought about by the large fields, with the result that owners and trainers have been more or less compelled to engage apprentices with little or no experience of race riding. But for the capable apprentice, there are great opportunities— never in the history of racing have they been offered such chances. "Racing to-day has a huge following, and an increasing popularity--good jockeys are a vital part of the racing game—and to have good jockeys we have to see that trainers produce good apprentices. So to train these boys to become accomplished jockeys should be the job of racing clubs, Racing Conference and trainers alike—it is a vital part of the racing system. However, it is well for the boys to remember that all the instruction that trainers give them can be of little use unless the boys themselves keep physically fit and mentally alert."—Spectator.