MEN AND HORSES

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 11, 14 July 1928, Page 11

MEN AND HORSES

A GREAT. FIGURE SOME HOMILIES (By S. Saunders.) v It is a matter for general congratulation that arrangements have been made by ■which Sir George Clifford will'retain the presidency of the Racing Conference without having imposed upon his willing shoulders too heavy a burden. Eaeing in this country is not merely a popular sport. It is an established institution, touching so many aspects of life that its direction and management' are of national consequence. For more than three decades Sir George Clifford has, borne the greatr er part of this burden of responsibility with such a conspicuous measure of success that racing bodies in many other parts of the world have turned to New Zealand for information' and guidance. Those who have followed at all closely the development of racing in the Dominion since the begining of the present century will realise, in some measure, at any rate, the magnitude of the services Sir George has rendered to the sport and to the public during that period; but his activities have been so numerous and widespread that even his most intimate friends and his closest associates have lost count of many of his efforts and achievements. The net result of his long-sustained labours in this .direction, however, is recognised and appreciated everywhere. That a, gentleman of his/parts should have devoted so large a Bhare of Ms life to the purification and elevation of the Turf is a piece of great good fortune for which the present generation and the generations to come should be sincerely grateful. With many of Ms friends remains the regret that a man so richly, endowed with qualities of statesmanship did not embark upon a political career. He has qualities which would have car-, ried Mm to any height in this sphere. But perhaps he chose the better part. It; obviously to him was the more congenial, and it has left wide open to him the opportunity of precept and example. Sir George's assistant in car-, rying on the work of the Eaeing Con-! ference has been well chosen. With knowledge .and experience, with enthusiasm and.,the judicial mind, Mr. 0. S. Watkins^ is a worthy colleague to a great administrator. : ■.' •; ", CRICKET.'' ' ■)-■■' '■ ' Away back in i hie historic past—in the early 'seventies to be' precise—two school teams' were pitted against one another on the beautiful cricket ground! aVfashionable.Leamington in Warwickshire. By arrangement, in order to balance the superiority the visiting team had displayed on previous occasions, the home teanf had been,fallowed to play a mastor, a county batsman, and a groundsman-coacn, a bowler with a nasty rpund-the-wicket ball that whipped in from the off. Tho visitors had first strike and, considering the tricks of ; the coach, had done more than passing ,well, running up a score that promised to be very handy in a one day's;matchi; The home team opened: its innings with- the county batsman ; and one of his pupils, and the, very first ball delivered—by a youngster, with his heart in his mouth, who afterwards acquired some fame at Lordsglanced off the master's pads into his wicket. The tension in the field could be felt for half moment, and then a little group,.of the visiting side broke out into thoughtless demonstrations, only to bo severely checked by their: captain in language, they were not likely to forget, s But the incident did not end thero. r The headmaster of tho offenders had been a shocked spectator of their lapse, and at the conclusion of' tho innings, which left tho visitors With a substantial lead,.he called the captain aside and they conversed together for a time.- At assembly next morning it was announced' that tho. five boys who had forgotten-themselves would not play: in match cricket for tho remainder of the .season, which still'had a couple of, months .of.glorious English summer weather to, run. it is safe to say that the; lesson expounded in the great cluss100m remained .with all the lads that were fortunate enough to sit at the feet of a teacher who sought: to uphold the best traditions of .lay as assiduously as he did to, commend to the youthful mind the virtues of work. AT THE WRONG TIME. +i This far, away incident wns recalled the other day by an oxhibition of the smaller vision" at tho steeplechase meeting o f tho Wellington - 1 Eaeing Club., fir these days, what with motorcars _ and bitumen and the tolerance ot the speed inspectors, it is possible tor any respectable family man to see a race at Trentham without letting his next-door neighbour know he is out of town. Eyen the Speaker of the Legislative Council, who was raised in a cradle of sport, can manage as much as this, provided the honourable gentlemen over whom ho presides are o£' .the .same mind. Tha, prime attraction at the Wellington" Meeting; this year, to those who entertain no particular regard for the totalisator, was the appearance in the big steeplechase of Beau Oavalierj the winner of the Great Northern Steeplechase, the Wellington Steeplechase, and tho Grand National Steeplechase last year, and of the Great Northern Hurdle Eaee this year, whoso name and fame are. perpetuated in a dainty afternoon tea cake of wide and deserved ...popularity. '.. With-all the eleven-thirteen on his back tho Chesterfield gelding was made a good favouritq. for. the .piece, de. resistance on tho card, and ho flattered his by showing the way at a great pace over- more than two-thirds of the distance before, toppling ov.or ono of the paltry fences that; disfigure the best-, equipped and best-appointed,racecourse in the Dominion. It was a clever and daring effort to hustle the favourite off :his feet that .brought him. down—a perfectly legitimate proceeding on a rueticourse that would have: been execrable in the hunting field—but it was disturbing to hear exclamations' of satisfaction from men and women who obviously had their, money invested; in other directions. Of course the1 offenders had ; had no ill-trill' towards Beau .Cavalier or his-connections,;, but/like the.boys at.Leamington, they selected, the; wrong time for jubilation. '? Barracking" as it is .practised, -.at some football matches is bad enough, and apparently is not discouraged 'in tho"schools; but rejoicing over tho discomfiture, of a chivalrous' opponent is. a long stride towards barbarism. THE HORSE. No one with any practical knowJ ledge'of the; subject can look through a. volume of "Itymous Horses of the British Turf," which Was quoted in these1 columns a .fow weeks ago, with-: out being struck .by the growing difference, in. appearance between tho New Zealand and the English thoroughbred. It. is ;not. only Mr.- Eouch's exquisito photographs in "Famous Horses" that make tho advnntago stand out so emphatically on i tho side of the Home product. It. is tho real substance and quality of the animals the1 English artJ ist photographs. This fact is confirmed by the importations oi1 thoroughbred horses from.the Mother Country, chiefly, of course, s>res. These, in the great majority of cases,., arts better boned, better framed, and better put together than arc the "great majority of tho sires brnd. in this country, Wifliout going into the subject at nil deeply it may be suggested to the racing clubs t.liat tln> multitude- of short distanceevents they provide year in and year ,

ont do not assist in keeping the New Zealand thoroughbred up to the Home standard. To go far back, so that invidious comparisons may be avoided, it is a fact that neither Traducer nor Musket left in New Zealand male progeny in the second and third generations nearly aa successful at the stud as he was himself. Then there is the fact —which might be particularly commended to the attention of the Wellington Bacing Club—that while the big jumping races &re contested at Home by numbers of thoroughbreds it is only on rare occasions that a cleanbred horse is found contesting the New Zealand Grand- National. Sprig, the ■winner of the English Grand National last year, has a flawless pedigree running back to all the big horses of last century, and Mr. Eouch's photograph of him is that of a great framed horse capable of drawing a full loan of gravel anywhere. As a matter of fact he carried twelve-four over the Aintree course, and at a sale of hunters at Tattersall's he would be described as capable of carrying eighteen stone to hounds. . .. ; ,'. . . A STEEPLECHASE COURSE. All this is preparatory to saying to the Wellington Eacing Club, which is so admirably equipped in other respeds, that it is time, and past time, that1 it provided itself and its patrons with an adequate; steeplechase course. It is of my. friend Mr. George Aynssley ■ that the story is told that walking round the course at Trontham one moonlight night some years ago to ascertain the character of the obstacles he was to ride oVer on the following day, he stepped' across them all without taking his hands out of his overcoat pockets. The. fences, may look less contemptible j to-day than they were at that time, but > then people see them . only a,t a distance, and in the .daylight^ when most of them are festooned with harmless manuka twigs. Of course, fences of this kind are as fruitful of accidents as are obstacles of a more substantial type. They practically are disguised hurdles, and are raced■■, over as if they actually .were hurdles.. . The/principal steeplechase on Wednesday demonstrated the fact that they can produce as many thrills as can the big fences at Eiccarton. But this is a questionable virtue. Bacing over hurdles is not a good preparation for the negotiation of big country, and many a promising horse has been lost to the sport by mixing the conditions. The owner of Beau Cavalier evidently is anxious that his horso should shine over, both hurdles and real fences, and. his ambition to provide another' exception to the general rule is entirety laudable. Beau Cavalier, however, Is;a good enough horse to have something t.o.say in the matter himself, and his exhibition last week did not imply that ■he was in entire agreement•' with his owner. Be that as it may, the Wellington Club requires a steeplechase course worthy of its status in the racing world,.and it .ought' to sei about getj;ingoric.:.