RACING Craddock Retired After 143 Races

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31462, 31 August 1967, Page 4

RACING Craddock Retired After 143 Races

Craddock, once the subject of a hostile demonstration at Avondale but in recent years a favourite with racegoers in Auckland and the Waikato, has been retired.

Until a good home is found for him Craddock will remain at Longford Park, Takanini, his quarters since his yearling days.

In only one of his nine seasons of racing did Craddock fail to win. That was as a five-year-old in the 1961-62 season.

At the second-last start of his career—a little more than a fortnight before his 11th birthday—he added $230 to bis stake-earnings with a third at Matamata. Craddock contested 143 races. He won 15 of them and

was placed in 36. His earnings were $34,500. Craddock, when offered as a yearling at the 1958 National Sales at Trentham, was a gangling chestnut colt with sufficient in his looks and breeding to encourage the late Sir Ernest Davis to buy him for $4095. With other purchases of Sir Ernest Davis at the auction he joined T. F. and R. C. Verner’s stable at Takanini. He has been there since.

T. F. Verner, the senior member of the training partnership, has long since retired and Sir Ernest Davis died almost five years ago. Craddock, seemingly ageless, out lasted in racing three other associates, the former jockeys, W. J. Mudford, R. J. Jury and R. C. Smith, all now retired. Smith won on Craddock three times, Mudford twice and Jury once. Losing Sequence Craddock's longest losing sequence was 33 starts. He began his four-year-old racing with a sprint win at Franklin and he did not win again—although he gained 12 minor places—until the Avondale Cup, his third race as a six-year-old. As Craddock and his rider, D. A. Raklander, returned for unsaddling they were greeted with boos and catcalls. The hostile demonstration continued during a presentation ceremony.

On the heavy tracks in winter Craddock excelled. Had his connexions shown less concern for his safety he might have become a fine jumper. He had one race over hurdles —the Orakei Hurdle Handicap at the Great Northern meeting in 1964—and came down at the first fence. After that, although he had shown great promise as a jumper in training, his connexions would not try him again. Since the death of Sir Ernest Davis his daughter, Mrs S. E. Carr, of Rotorua, and her husband have raced Craddock.

“New Look”

When the Geraldine Club reverts to racing on its home course next month the track at Orari will have a “new look.” In the last year much time, effort and money has gone into a project designed to provide a track which will compare favourably with any provincial course in the Dominion.

The club has spent more than $3OOO on improvements. These include realigning the track, banking the curves and providing two new starting points. The work has been supervised by a team of surveyors. The alterations have only extended the circumference of the track 35 yards. The distance around the course is still only a fraction over a mile.

From the five-furlong barrier there will now be an almost straight run until the start of the home turn. The seven-furlong start has also been changed. This barrier is now situated in the southeast corner of the course. A removable rail will provide a chute to guide the field to the course proper. More than 8000 yards of soil—l2oo to 1500 yards was previously put on the track—was required to correct the curves and bank the turns. The committee will inspect the track today. Although no decision has been made the club hopes to have race trials on the course before the spring meeting on September 25. The stake for the Geraldine Cup and the open sprint, the President’s Handicap, have been raised this year. The cup will be worth $2OOO, $6OO more than last year. The sprint stake has gone up from $lOOO to $l2OO. There are also increases in some minor events.