Dishonesty disappoints Whittaker

Press, 28 September 1988, Page 48

Dishonesty disappoints Whittaker

By

JEFF SCOTT

The Halswell trainer, Jeff Whittaker, left the Methven Trotting Club’s meeting a disappointed man on Saturday, in spite of his star four-year-old Wait A Moment running a top race for second in the Methven Cup. Whittaker’s wallet, containing $250, fell out of his pocket some time before the Methven Cup. After the race, upon realising it was missing, Whittaker retraced his steps and recovered the wallet on the floor in the Drivers’ Room, minus the notes. “I don’t normally carry around that sort of money, but one of my owners had given me money to buy a horse cover,” said Whittaker. “It was just the principle of it being taken in the Drivers’ Room that annoyed me,” he said. “I would have gained some satisfaction by giving it back to a bloke,” he said. “If it had happened in the public area I would have more or less expected it, but not in there,” he added. They say things come in threes, as Whittaker was to find out later. At the start of the day he found his allocated stall for Wait A Moment was already taken by a fellow trainer, who had been instructed by club officials to move there because he had two colts.

When Whittaker went to occupy one of the boxes left by the other trainer, these were already occupied by others. Another trainer came to Whittaker’s rescue after his only runner at the meeting had contested the opening race. “He was going home early so let me have his stall, otherwise I’d have missed out,” said WhittciK&r. Then, as he packed to come home, Whittaker found a bridle was missing from his gear, which has yet to be returned. On the bright side, Whittaker was thrilled with Wait A Moment’s run, after being one of the rear runners in the big field turning for home. “Jim (Curtin) said he was going to bolt in when he hit the front but because Wait A Moment and Viewfield Prince were so wide apart, I don’t think my horse saw the other one had knocked off,” he said. “He must have stil run his last 800 m in 595.” Whittaker was approached by the Te Awamutu Harness Racing Club officials to have Wait A Moment start in a $lO,OOO four-year-old race at Cambridge on October 14, but he has declined the offer. The D.B. Superstar Championship winner was given a couple of days after Methven and will be prepared to race at the Canterbury Park meeting next month.