"SPREADER" IN SYDNEY.

NZ Truth, Issue 473, 11 July 1914, Page 8

"SPREADER" IN SYDNEY.

I was at Rosehill, and "Inside" the roar of tho ring is ably sustained by close upon a hundred voices, plenty of New SJealatiders among the mob. One noticed M\, Spott, Gub Watson and Bob Solomon (doing big business); th.erb |s also a fair sprinkling of New Zealandera among the mad,d|ng crowd. Jack Ilennab. Oeo. Price and others could bo noticed on the lawn. Tho books* aro all kept together, Kach bagman has a large polo with his namo attached to the top, and ho has to lake his stand and bet next to thu pole. The money 'that's at a meeting like Roschlll is a staggerer, sure. They made a mare named Llgero a hat order. In a field of 23, but she was payIng equal to half iho "limit" at the finish. Any favorite that touches ujv dor fours Is pretty "dry." The majority of tho flekla start at a price vhat would uHtoniHh tho New Zoalund punter aa rogurds liberality. Forest I'rlnce mot a poor lot tho drat day and him cro\vd gavo him v Holld ohanon, but ho juat failed to give a utonc and ujnu pounds to an aged Oaulus gelding, called Gorlloa, whose recent reversal of form has been of tho torrid order, foreat Prince jumped like a Htutf and might have won, no Cress said, If the second last Jump had not been down, which l«t Uorliau through. The latter Is a rotten Juniper, like the rest of the field. Now Zealand form la not taken so sorlouMly to-day an \va» wont. It takes something extra good to win at tho ponied. In htUf the events ill «. "horse" meet* Ing Iho rettl "dry" thing does notexhU. Thpri* are generally half v doxon wellbnckod hordes and fours or flvca "the

field" is quite a common occurrence right up to the time the barrier rises. There is more room .for a good hurr dler m. Sydney just now than any other description of racer. . „ The public fornj bettor is fairly shrewdr^jie has to be, to last.' He has such a lot of racing put down for. his approval that he gets educated up to most of the fine points of the game. At an ordinary weekly race meeting m Sydney a guesser could easily starve. -Most of the "half heads" .fqlr low the rush of stable money and take the shortened price. At Ascot (ponies) on Prince- of Wales Birthday they had 293 entries for seven events, and a punter that could pick the programme could easily Win a couple of thousand, and get it. Pony racing has long since been shorn of its worst faults and to-day is m a flourishing and well-managed condition. The appointments at the metropolitan courses, bar Randwick, are not a circumstance to what can be found on, say, the Hawke's B.ay course, From two to two and a' half miles are the average distances for hurdle races, and, when the poor quality of the cattle concerned is brought to mind, it's a wonder they don't lessen the distances to one and a half and one and three-quarter miles, and in-: crease the stakes. Forest Pj-ince landed the two and a , half miles hurdle race at Rosehlll on Prince 1 of Wales's Birthday. He met the same old crowd and fairly jumped his way to the front. Lucky Jack Hennah didn't go for the goose m his usual style. Saturday's defeat, carrying a ton of weal tly damped the ardor of the stable. , . Berg was "loosened up" first time .out m the 14.1 at Ascot Started seer ond favorite m a big field, but was unsign ted, It's migh ty doubtful if he'll ever win a. race m Sydney. • About 20,000- pepple at Ascot on Cup day. Not quite that many books. They started at 11 a.m. and put through seventeen races m time for, the crowd to be home to tea. Valhalla is doing good work on the tracks at Randwick. He will start m "a suburbain^. sprint this month; bjit a ;doubt about his starting In the Epsom Handicap. ' ' We have it on the most UN-reliable authority that Jack Hennah contemplates double harness before very long. The lucky young lady is a member of a: pantomime company at present touring the Dominion. ,