A JOCKEY’S PRAISE

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 195, 15 May 1936, Page 19

A JOCKEY’S PRAISE

Voitre and McCarten PIKE’S REMINISCENCES In an article reviewing the talent of the leading jockeys in Australia to-day, Jim Pike, who announced his retirement last month, has the following interesting comment to make on the ex-New Zealand jockeys Keith Voitre and Maurice McCarten :— “K. Voitre, from New Zealand, is a noted bustling rider through a race, but he might not be as strong as some in a finish. For a year now he has had that phenomenal luck which comes the way of many jockeys. The beauty of such a run is that it gets riders the prime mounts, aiid they go on winning to such an extent they seem invincible. “As he is of age, his light weight should always enable him to do well, tor he ii> unlikelv to get to a stage where it will deprive "him of good chances. “Maurice, McCarten is ‘the gentleman among jockeys, as the saying goes. Not meaning, of course, that all jockeys can’t be gentlemen simply because they aye jockeys. Here's the sort of fellow he is. You’ can boat him jn a hot finish where there’s plenty of give and take. And be will be the first to congratulate you, and if he sees you take a smart point, will commend you for that, too. “Very genuine, McCarten is, and an ornament to oui - riding profession. He is a very ‘heady rider’ through a race, with a keen look-out for chances. He finishes well with hands and heels, and like myself doesn’t favour the whip often. He knows he does better without it, and knors that most horses do, too. He ranks among our beet, “There aren't many New Zealanders who have done really well over here, hut he has kept up a long sequence of capable riding whjch resulted in winners. There is very convincing evidence of his capacity and his solidity. Big betting stables stick to him, and put him up on their best horses. A very trustworthy fellow, and a sound horseman who rarely misses getting the best out of his mounts.”