A MATTER OF WEIGHT TOO HEAVY AND TOO LIGHT .

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 108, 9 May 1932, Page 4

A MATTER OF WEIGHT TOO HEAVY AND TOO LIGHT .

The difficulties some horsemen have in getting down to the right weight is) not fully understood by those not closely connected with racing, but. two recent instances recorded will serve to take away some o£ the glamour.generally thought to surrotmd. the career .',o£ the. successful jockey, A northern horseman had to work hard to get down to ride ; Cruachanat 9.11 in the Tongahoe Hurdles at Hawera last'week, but he managed it. On the second day Cruaehan was weightedjat 9-10, and when, the Same jockey went/on the .scales .the pointer soared. to 10.5. That will convey some idea of just how much weight .the rider had to get off in the first place to take the moun£. The owner of Cruachan refused to put up that 91b overweight, and he secured another; horseman. Cruachan won.

This northern jockey makes no mistake about getting down to his lightest weight when the occasion demands it. He will don two, and sometimes three sweaters, and walk for miles at a stiff pace. It is rather surprising that gome jockeys do not take on walking contests" at athletic meetings; the^-gefc plenty o£ practice. KEEPING FIT.

This walking method is probably the test for reducing; providing it ;is' done properly and the pace is) on, and is an improvement on .the old "sweat boxes." While the big majority of riders have to.get weight off, .there are other cases where an attempt is made to increase the poundage of light toys. There was a recent instance o£ a 3.0 boy who was to ride' later on at'seven stone. To obviate the necessity of qaiTying two stone of dead weight in the lead "bags', the boy'? employer, the' trainer,'■'. decided to "build him up," Cocoa and many other similar body-building- .foods were administered with commendable abandon, to the delight o£ the boy and the .satisfaction of the trainer.

Came; the race for, which, they had been preparing, and the boy on.,' the scales proved that he had put on nearly a stone in weight. In the race Tie could not do the horse justice, for he had become too "podgy" and had -consequently lost his balance in the saddle, and the schemes of the stable went astray.' : '

Concentrated building up therefore is not to be recommended for light; jockey boys. Far better to let Nature take its course. Continued treatment" as in the case cited would only end-in the jockey being forced to take the weight 'off in later years by stoking coal at the.local gas works, Turkish baths, and walking tours in the heat of the day; "