Won Both Legs Of Huge Double And Had Ticket

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29989, 26 November 1962, Page 12

Won Both Legs Of Huge Double And Had Ticket

(N.Z. Press Association) AUCKLAND, November 25. For the Pukekohe jockey, R. A. Barron, there has never been an occasion like the second day of the Waikato Racing Club’s spring meeting on Saturday. On Jovic, a rank outsider in the Waikato Gold Cup, Barron won his biggest race. Within two hours, on the second-leg winner, Poet’s Pride, he had taken another part in one of New Zealand’s biggest doubles.

To add to the day, Barron himself held one of two 5s doubles tickets that were taken out on Poet’s Pride on the course. That returned him £2282 8s 6d, an amount which made his riding fees for the day £lOl 2s a trifling amount.

Jovic was the least backed by a long way in doubles betting on the Waikato Gold Cup, carrying 1748 tickets (5s unit). Of that number only 33 were reinvested on Poet’s Pride. That was the least number on any of the second-leg runners.

Thirty-one of the winning second-leg tickets were held by T.A.B. betters. The one on the course, besides that held by Barron, was offered for payment by a middleaged. regular racegoer on behalf of a syndicate of 12. So that a distribution of the windfall could be made promptly, the syndicate representative asked for payment in cash. The successful jockey was more than happy to accept a cheque from the totalisator manager, Mr H. Payne. The record return for a 5s double in New Zealand is £4933. That was the dividend paid on Goldship and Prince Charming at the Methven trotting meeting in March, 1952. There was one winning ticket. Only Mounts For Day Jovic and Poet’s Pride were Barron’s only two mounts during tihe day and he handled them with confidence and great vigour, according to a correspondent of “The Press.”

A light-weight who regularly rides close to 7-4, Barron served his apprenticeship with the Ellerslie trainer, F. Gilchrist, and then worked in Waikato for a time.' Recently he has been employed by F. N. Phillips, a young Maori trainer who races Poet’s Pride on his own account.

With Jovic at such long odds there was no saying what the doubles dividend might be. Because of the big prices on offer in the second leg the doubles dividend could not be indicated in the usual way and betters were told they would need to multiply by 100 the dividends indicated for the ■ vanous runners.

Previously the approximate doubles dividends were announced over the course loudspeakers and the amount for Poet’s Pride was given as £lO,BOO. Kept In Front

The honours in the Gold Cup were all with Jovic and his rider. From an inside barrier position Barron urged his mount hard in the run to the first bend so as to stay in front, and he kept him there to win by a length from Old Parr. Two starts beforehand Jovic finished second in the Whangarei Cup, a mile and a quarter. From nine starts this season he has secured a first, three seconds and two thirds. Apart from leading all the way in the Gold Cup he went within a fraction of the race record.

In a win and place pool of £36,140 Jovic carried £258 10s winch made him the 22/22 in the betting. He is a chestnut five-year-old of plain appearance and is prepared by G. A. Vincent for Messrs I. S. and V. J. Williams. Barron’s tactics in winning on Poet’s Pride were ‘equally daring. Approaching the straight, he sent his mount very quickly after the pacemaker, Royal Dee, so that the two began the run home well clear of the others. Winnipeg II led the bunch and failed by only a short neck to make up the leeway. Poet’s Pride, a four-year-old by Poetical from Cilia, was 14/15 in the betting. On the win and place his returns were £34 16s and £lO 16s.