ON THE SANDS

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 111, 13 May 1933, Page 7

ON THE SANDS

RACING AT BAGDAD

Just outside Bagdad is a -"desert; racecourse/ with the stands and paddocks in, a little oasis of trees and flowering shrubs. The track is a mile and a quarter round, and the going consists of a slight layer of dirt on a cement-like foundation. Nothing liut Arab ponies—who run unshod—could stand such a test. There are seventy-five meetings (on Saturdays and Sundays) per annum, and the stakes vary from £30 to £IQO. They pater for about 1000 horses, trained "privately," and ridden by well-turned-out native jockeys. , ■ Thanks probably to the comparatively high charges for admission and a big minimum totalisator stake, the attendances are only small. In spite of this, the betting is extraordinarily good. An ordinary, untried youngster can be bought for £30 or £40,., whilst a good young performer will fetch anything up to £3000 in the Bombay market. Strains of blood are held in great respect out there, so a Stud Book, which the, Government is starting, should be a great boon to breeders. At Beirut, the races are run over a six-furlong "circular sandy track, with grass in places. No thoroughbreds are allowed. The stakes run for . average £80 to the winner and small place money. Some French jockeys do the riding, but one or two English "boys" are seemingly limited to riding work and helping the semi-professional trainers. The better soil and training conditions have a marked effect on the outward appearance of the horses there, but how far this is an advantage on a racecourse H is difficult to say; as, so far, there has been no definite rivalry between the Egyptian, Syrian, and Irak-bred Arab.