A WRETCHED DAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 44, 20 August 1938, Page 22

A WRETCHED DAY

HEATON'S TURN OF LUCK

(By "Rangatira.")

/The weather on the day on which the one-eyed gelding Despised won the Great Northern Steeplechase was the most/disagreeable that had ever been experienced at Ellerslie up till that tiihe.; Before the first race started there ■was /a furious storm, with lightning, thunder, torrential rain, and then hail. The starters for that event, who had already assembled at the post, had to return to the paddock till the storm abated a little. As the afternoon wore on, the saddling paddock became a quagmire, ahd there was such a sea of mud that it was only under great inconvenience that navigation was possible. Some 2000 persons saw the racing. The course over which the steeplechases were run was like; a soft ploughed paddock. DESPISED, OUTSIDER. , When the field paraded for the Great Northern Steeplechase (writes "Spectator" at that date) it was seen that the starters numbered eleven. • Shillelagh was the favourite, and his stablemate, Despised, was the complete outsider of the party. The first obstacle at the top of the hill the first time over proved fatal to the chance of Shillelagh. The water jump in front of the stands was taken by Deceiver a length in front of Booties, with Flukem, Despised, and Scaltheen closely following. Deceiver and Booties continued to make the running, but going up the bill the second time Booties ran out ahead of Despised and Deceiver. As they came down the hill Despised assumed command. Going up the hill the last time Despised led by fifteen lengths from Scaltheen* When the top was reached, however, Despised fell at the second obstacle there; but Heaton was quickly on his feet and back in the saddle. ■* Scaltheen was now out in front with a commanding lead, but Despised rapidly made up lost ground and as they swept into the straight he was closing on Scaltheen, Nero, and Chester, who were all ahead tif him. With a fine jump at the last fence he drew level with the first pair, and he finished in a.resolute and wonderful style to beat Scaltheen by three or four lengths. "Where Despised . suddenly came from at the finish was a surprise," another writer stated in his report, "and he was cheered heartily as he returned to scale." A GREAT OVATION. It is needless to say, this writer goes on. that Koss Heaton had a great ovation after returning to the enclosure for the plucky manner in which he rode Despised. It was a great feat, after getting dislodged from the horse about six furlongs from home and then remounting him to win. Despised went to the post unsupported by the stable, as they thought that they had a< really "good thing" in Shillelagh. Mr. T. Wylie, who bought him a few days before the race for £80. is a dealer in horses well known in 'Auckland. Heaton did not have a penny on the horse. In eulogy of Heaton, "Spectator" wrote at the time: "If I had been asked prior to the race to name the most unfortunate cross-country horseman in New Zealand I don't think I should have hesitated a moment in making a selection, and that selection would have been Koss Heaton. The mere fact of this unlucky jockey's being up on the son of Cap-a-pie on an Auck-

land racecourse was quite enough to prevent the most reckless of backers from standing him for even a trifle. If there is a horseman I am pleased to see have a turn of luck it is Koss Heaton, for he is a decent fellow and has had more than his share of misfortunes."

It remains to be recorded that a week after winning the Great Northern Steeplechase Despised was submitted for sale again at auction, and he was knocked down to Koss Heaton at 65 guineas. Heaton, as was ascertained later, was acting on behalf of Mr. Andrew Austin, one of the stable's strongest supporters. Despised won many races the following season, including hurdles at Riccarton, Wanganui, and Ellerslie (four times), and steeplechases at Ellerslie (twice). In the spring at Ellerslie he won the hurdles on the first day, thdn competed in and won both the hurdles and the steeplechase on the second day. At the summer fixture he won on all three days, over country on the final day. Those feats saw his zenith, for he never won again.