RANDOM REMINDER

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31498, 12 October 1967, Page 17

RANDOM REMINDER

PUNDIT OF THE TURF

About 10 years ago, because the New Zealand economy was looking more buoyant than usual, or because it wasn’t, a great deal of time and energy was devoted to the formation of investment clubs. These consisted in the main of frayed white collar workers and the scheme was to contribute small sums from each pay packet each month, and use the sum total to play the share market This permitted club members to sit about once a month, sipping coffee and gravely discuss the wisdom of buying another 23s worth of oil shares. Many of these syndicates have long since foundered, but their older brothers, the racing syndicates, remain, although they usually show an even smaller return than those devoted to orthodox commerce. Not many offices do not have at least one turf syndicate, in which members take turns at

plunging at the T.A.B. Sometimes, of course, it is necessary to invite some ignoramus into the group to make up a proper number, such as 10; most racing syndicates have considerable difficulty with their division sums. So from time to time the syndicates have to entrust their money to a member who has never heard of Harold Logan and can’t tell the difference between four over three and an unhoppled trotter. One such, after making his selections recently, informed the rest of the group of his prognostications, and they were delighted to discover that he had blundered on a double at Addington. A member, in possession , of the ticket, went to the Papanui T.A.8., as instructed, to pick up the loot. He was disowned; the ticket had not' been bought there. Ultimately w it was discovered the ticket had been purchased

in Papanui Road, the St Albans T.A.B. The ticket was dishonoured; these were not the winning numbers. Our uninformed - friend, having seen the name of Lordship always at the bottom of the list and giving away immense starts, had taken the bottom number he could see as he looked at the list over someone’s shoulder. He did not know it was a free-for-all, and that the horses were therefore listed alphabetically. But in the meantime, and without sufficient liaison with his colleagues, he had gone to his own pocket to advance the next week’s betting, plus half the previous Week’s supposed winnings. ... It could have been chaos, but the racing fates move mysteriously; by dint of a third place and a couple of scratchings, he came out of it all with his'' life, and a profit of one dollar.