GORDON RICHARDS

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 150, 28 June 1938, Page 15

GORDON RICHARDS

"PURELY SPRINT RIDER" Australian racing men who have seen Gordon Richards in action do not share the English surprise that this jockey has yet to win the Derby, says a Sydney writer. Richards rode the favourite, Pasch, who finished third. He has been leading English jockey for thirteen years. In Derbies as well as in other races he has the pick of the mounts, but he has ri'iden in ten without a win. "I told friends Pasch couldn't win the Derby when I knew Richards would ride him," said Mr. Bert Jolley, a Sydney owner who returned only a few months ago from two seasons in England. "Richards is purely a sprintrider, and nothing he is on has a chance over a distance, unless the sheer superiority of the horse prevails. Of hundreds of classic races over a distance he has won only four. "He'll never win a Derby unless he gets on a Phar Lap who stands right out in the field." said B. Bear, who saw Richards ride last year. "He perches up straight on a horse, with an awkward seat, which he adopts apparently so that he can use the whip to the utmost advantage. This is all right for short sprints; but when it comes to a long race, in which patience and artistry are necessary, Richards is simply out of it." Mr. Bear said Darby Munro would run rings round Richards for skill, and would hold his own with most of the better-class English riders, because he keeps a horse balanced even under strong punishment. Mr. Frank Robinson, an Australian with experience of English racing, says that Richards succeeds in so many small races because he is nippy and cheekily courageous. He points out that Steve Donoghue was just as enterprising and forceful as Richards, but he had the brains to differentiate between a Derby and minor events, and won six Derbies. OAMARU ACCEPTORS (By Telegraph—Press Association.? OAJIARU, June 27. Acceptances for the Oamaru Jockey Club's Winter Meeting, to be held on Saturday, are:— 12.30 HACK AND HUNTERS' STEEPLECHASE, £130; 2 miles. Corban II) 8 Delrain 9 6 Chile 10 2 Nightbound ~ 0 3 Sunny Comet . 10 1 Uncle Jim ... 9 2 Survoy 9 10 Vantoon 9 0 1.5 OAMARU TROT HANDICAP, £130; 3.43 class; 1 miles. Almnnt Cling .. scr Tinker scr Devotion scr Cerberus 24 Gicnhoime .... scr Smile Again ... 36 (■rand Slam scr Parrlsh Chimes Great Joy scr (T.) 60 Marfax scr Sylvie's Best .. 60 Parishioner .. scr 1.40 WINTER HANDICAP, £150; 7 furlongs. Valmarch ..98 Silver Slipper . 8 1 Moneyless ... 811 Mount Val ... 8 0 "Royal Gallant 8 7 Silver Sail ... 8 0 Roseman .... 8 7 2.30 BURNSIDE HACK HANDICAP, £120; 6 furlongs. Astaire ..... 9 6 Mazzaiparch . 8 0 Thermidor ..9 1 Maori Maid ..8 0 Yolo Dale .... 9 0 Remembo .... 8 0 Strip 8 8 Lord Ouyen .. 8 0 Garonne 8 5 Royal Refrain . 8 0 Donadea 8 4 Amoena .... 8 0 Sunny Dawn ..80 2.55 GRANGE HANDICAP, £173; 1% miles. Mungatoon ..9 2 Mount Val ... 7 7 The Surgeon . 710 Balmenter .. 7 7 Royal Gallant 7 9 Yalantua .... 7 7 Pink Kobe ... 7 8 3.30 WAIKAURA TROT HANDICAP, £130; 3.1 class; I>4 miles. Cerberus .... ser Myrna Loy scr Cyrano scr Oasis scr Devotion scr Regal scr Idle Along scr Sylvie's Best .. scr King Potts scr Master Potts ... scr Lady Slipper .. scr Precious .Metal . 21 Mohican scr 4.5 FAREWELL HACK HANDICAP, £125; 1 furlongs. Thermidor .. 9 0 Glenacre .... 8 5 Drinkup .... 8 12 Sheeny .... 8 1 Volo Dale ... 8 12 Steer Clear ..8 0 Moonraker .. 8 9 Bahama Maid 8 0 WINNERS IN AUSTRALIA Recent winners in Western Australia include Tommy Dillon, a gelding trained by M. B. Edwards some years ago. In Tasmania the successful horses included Betty Huon by Prince Pointer —Judy Huon, and Jean Logan by Globe Derby—Belle Logan. At Elphin, Tasmania. Sivecu by Birdwood—Milky Way, Emilius Way by Emilius—Milky Way, and Logan Derby by Globe Derby —Belle Logan were winners. The lastnamed. in the Ravenswood Handicap, 3min 42sec class, was set to give away 168 yards, and he won by a yard in 3min 38 3-ssec. Logan Derby is regarded as one of the best pacers in Australia or New Zealand, and was a good winner at the Inter-Dominion Championships held in Perth, and but for developing lameness would have been a competitor at Addington at Easter. HORSE POWER'S MARKS It is some years since a three-year-old has been assessed as tight as Horse Power this season, and his marks make interesting reading. He is handicapped on 2min 13sec for a mile, 2min 47sec for one mile and a quarter, and 4min 31sec for two miles. When War Buoy carried all before him as a three-year-old he opened -his next season's campaign with a victory off a 4min 40 sec mark. It is an interesting point in connection with these horses that they both won six races in their two- and three-year-old seasons, and yet at the dif- j ference in marks Horse Power is at | least three races the worse off. j