THE DERBY.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19678, 23 July 1929, Page 12

THE DERBY.

HOW TRIGO WON. FAVOURITE HORSES UNPLACED. NEW ZEALANDERS' PICNIC. LONDON, June 6. Summer and sunlight had persisted right up to the day before the Derby. Wednesday morning, however, was leaden and overclouded, and people tcok their mackintoshes with them to Epsom for the great day"s outing. They needed them Later on, but the trek from London in trains, cars, omnibuses, taxi-cabs, motor-cars, and horse vehicles \vas done in weather that no one could criticise. The dusc had been taicJ oy shovvers in the night, and it was cool and pleasant along the road. A party ot V2U Aew Zeaianders dad booked to go out to Epsom by buses at ranged tor by Captain P. C. Pirani (.New Zealand Travel Bureau), ami they assembled at Waterloo place shortly after 8 o'clock. Each one of the partv was allotted an inside seat and an outside seat. The journey down was full of interest for the majority *vho had never seen a Derby Meeting before. The first twelve miles, of course, are just like any other ..us riUe m London, but after passing Parley the countryside is very beautiful, so that when the speed slackened oecause of the stream of vehicles there were plenty of things to occupy the attention. Eventually the cavalcade of buses carrying the New Zealanders took up a v..s.ujn on the high ground inside the course at Tattenham Corner. The party could not have been more fortunate. The wonderful panorama of the Downs lay below them. A good part of the coarse at the back could be seen, and the whole of the running from Tattenham Corner to the finish was plainly visible. With glasses the colours of the jockeys could easily be picked out, and the order of their tioing followed practically to the finish It is, indeed, a wonderful picture that forms itself on the Downs on the morning of Derby Day. From their advantageous position the New Zealanders could see it all. There on the left on the high ground at the back oi the course were the thousands of motor-cars iined up in ordered array, but not so closely packed but that the owners could not picnic comfortably. Further down the hill is the tented field. „ There are thousands who go io Epsom and who see none of the racing. They are there to enjoy the fun of the fair, to eat and drink, to throw for cocnuts, to enter mysterious tents where alleged wonders are to be seen, and to entrust their humble shillings to the bookmakers in the hope of gain. A Wonderful Panorama.

Then, on the right, outside the course, one could see the galleries of packed humanity—those who take their racing more seriously and are willing to pay guineas for a seat or for standing room on the grand stands. They have a view of the finish of the races, thev are near the bookmakers who woulcf look with contempt on less than a pound, but they miss much of the fund that Derby Day provides. And then beside the grand stands for the whole distance up to Tattenham Cordner, were the ordered ranks of red London omnibuses, four or five deep, and so accurately in line that it seemed a sergeant-major had had a hand in their arrangement. Outside and beyond were the caravans and tents ot the gipsies who had camped on their traditional ground in spite of the new regulations forbidding them. It was a wonderful panorama that was visible from the tops of the buses at Tattenham Corner —a sight in itself worth coming all that way to see, if one had not seen it before. And these million people had all been conveyed on wheels from London and the surrounding country throughout the few hours of the morning—a masterpiece of organisation. A shower of light rain fell about, 1 o'clock, and then after a bright period the clouds rolled over again, and before the race rain began to fall lightly and steadily. It was really not enough to spoil the pleasure of the day, but the sunshine, even with heat and dust, would have been preferable. Most of those who looked to win a little money on the Derby were disappointed. T t was essentially a day of rejoicing for the bookmakers. Cragadour. Kopi, Hunter's Moon, and Gay Dav were names which had been heard for weeks. But Triffo Walter Gav. and Brienz had made little or no impression on the public mind before the race. How the Horses Ban. As for the race, the start was a good one, although Kopi. Posterity, ana Leonard dwelt. Kopi was the last to leave the gate. Hunter's Moon had the inside position and made the best

of it. At the end of a quarter or a mile he was racing in front with Trigo and Barbizon. En Garde, Rattlin the Reefer, Roberto, and Gay Day were at their heels, but they had not gone much farther before Donoghue had to check Gay Day, evidently to avoid interference. Gav Day was never going well afterwards. At half-way Hunter's Moon, Trigo, and En Garde were well clear of the others, and half-way down the hill to Tattenham Corner En Garde dropped behind the other two. It was then that it looked as though Hunter's Moon would win, for on form he was a better horse and a better stayer than Trigo. Marshall, Trigo's jockey, appears to have been confident at this stage. The pair were level as they swung into the straight, and one expected then to see Hunter's Moon come right away. It was Trigo, however, which drew ahead, and Weston explained afterwards that hereabouts his horse began to feel the effect of racing downhill. Hunter's Moon has rather straight pasterns, and a horse so formed is at a disadvantage when descending a hill at full pace; he is also more inclined than others to feel the jar when the going is firm. End of the Eace. Just as they made the turn, Kopi slipped up and Posterity had to jump him, and Tom Peartree was interfered with. Then Walter Gay was forced to the outside of his field. Before the straight was reached Gragadour and Mr Jinks were holding out distress signals, and a little further on Gay Day was done with. Hunter's Moon came on with only a neck lead of Trigo, Rattlin the Reefer, En Garde, Horus, and Brienz. The first of these to crack were Rattlin the Reefer and Horus, and then Brienz came on the scene. Walter Gay, racing wide on the right, began to gain ground. A hundred yards or so in the line for home, Trigo "headed Hunter's Moon, who hung on to his rival well to inside the distance, where he resigned second place first to Brienz and then to Walter Gay. The latter put in some good strides, but Trigo had too big a lead to be really threatened. Though the Beekhamptontrained eolt was fast closing on him, Marshall's mount stuck gallantly to his task, and went home a winner amid very little cheering by a length and a half. Two lengths separated second and third. The Unplaced. Hunter's Moon, who ran a good race for a mile and a quarter, was three lengths away, fourth. En Garde, prominent all the way, was a length and a half off, fifth. Posterity (slow off and interfered with) was three lengths away, sixth. Intervals of necks separated Cragadour, who was seventh, N.P.B. eighth, and Rattlin the Reefer (who ran well for a mile) ninth. After a gap of two lengths came Le Voleur tenth, Mr Jinks (lost his place at the end of six furlongs) was eleventh. A length and a half off was Tom Peartree (running on) twelfth, after being baulked by the fall of Kopi, Cavendo (ran well) a neck off thirteenth, Aristotle (prominent until half-way up the straight) was fourteenth. Barbizon (far from disgraced) was fifteenth, Reedsmouth sixteenth, Horus seventeenth, Reflector eighteenth, Leonard nineteenth, Gay Day (ran ungenerously) was twentieth. The last pair were Roberto and Grand Prince, except Kopi, who came in riderless. Grand Prince was last. Time 2min 36 3-ssec. Owner of the Winner.

Trigo's owner, Mr W. Barnett, is said to be a most admirable sportsman, who delights in breeding his own racehorses. Mr Barnett is a Belfast grain merchant. He bred his Derby winner. Therein lies half the joy of this great triumph for him. His trainer, Mr Dawson, may have been left somewhat dazed for a moment or two, but he made a rapid recovery, assisted to that end by the knowledge that he is the half-owner of the latest sire of a Derby winner—Blandford, bought by him as a yearling from the National Stud for only 730 guineas, a winner of much distinction himself, and now assuming the crown which is bestowed on every sire of a Derby winner. It often happens that when fortune comes to some people it comes as an avalanche. How else can one explain Mr Barnett's great good luck this season in England? Last autumn he sent over two horses to be trained by Mr Dawson. One, Athford, was a three-year-old; the other, Trigo, a two-year-old, that had won the chief two-year-old race at Phoenix Park. Athford was an unlucky loser of the Lincolnshire Handicap. He then won the Newbury Cup and the Jubilee Handicap. And then comes Trigo to win the greatest of races and to remind us of the invincibility of Irish-bred horses on our racecourses this season. For, in addition to the exploits of Athford and Trigo, Parwiz won the City and Suburban, Gregalach the Grand National Steeplechase, Mr Jinks the Two Thousand Guineas, Royal Minstrel the Victoria Cup, Elton, the Lincolnshire Handicap, First Flight the Chester Cup, and Poor Man the Manchester Cup. A Chat with the Jockey. Joseph Marshall, the successful jockey, is a Brighton lad, aged 20. He has been attached to Mr Stanley Wootton's stable for the past six years and is still in his apprenticeship. Owing to the fact that his weight became rather substantial, Marshall took out a license last winter to ride under National Hunt Rules, and, claiming the 51b allowance in certain hurdle races, he rode several winners for Mr Frank Wootton and others. In an interview after the race he said that Trigo was always travelling well and at the top of the hill was almost alongside Hunter's Moon. "Coming down the hill," added Marshall, "I soon realised that my horse was going much more smoothly than Tommy Weston's mount, and when I took the lead, half a mile from home, I felt sure that I had the race won. In fact, you can say that I never really had an uneasy moment." Kopi's Fall. ! The tragedy of the race was the acciI dent which befell Kopi. Mr Sol. Joel's colt was the slowest beginner in the field of twenty-six. When they had gone a furlong he was absolutely last, but he made up a good deal of the ground up the tiring hill an<J was going strongly on the outside of the field when he had the misfortune to strike into the heels of Cavendo and came down. Dines, who was riding Tom Peartree, stated that his own mount was slightly interfered with when the accident occurred. The worst sufferer. however, was Posterity, who jumped clean over Kopi and must have tost an appreciable amount of ground. He had also been a very slow beginner, and considering that he was the sixth j horse to pass the winning post, it will | be understood that he might well have , secured a place had the luck of the j race not been so completely against him. . , , i Mr Barnett reecived the warm congratulations of the Prince of Wales | after the race. Early in the sea- \ son be cherished hopes that Trico I would win the Derby, and before the i colt competed for the Guineas he j backed him for the Epsom race to win j £BOOO. More recently, Mr Barnett purchased a n eighth share in the Stock ! Fxrhanee ticket for Trigo. and this brines biro in a further £16.000. When it is borne in mind that the value of +k* nerbv Stakes runs well into five fizures it will be realised that Trigo's owner' has won quite a fortune, in " ;+,, of not having supported the colt substantially since his original bets.