HE WAS A GOOD HORSE

NZ Truth, Issue 1204, 27 December 1928, Page 10

HE WAS A GOOD HORSE

But When He Left Country He Also Left His Form

When Runnymede was sold to go to Sydney after his Riccartbn successes, itew Zealanders were sorry to see the chestnut leaving these shores. •

BIG money had been offered— five thousand so it was said— and that was enough inducement to isell most horses; And from Bill Donovan he went to Sydney to the care of Peter Keith. ■,;.:: '•. ■••■■. Primarily bought' to win an A.J.C. St. Leger he failed m his originalmission, and thereafter.^ To dare mention .Runnymede as a good three-year-old was tantamount to calling^ the wrath of kll ; Australian writers down on one's shoulders. But Runnyrnede was. a good horse — never mind, what haye been his deeds since that day. . ' ... ■•■'■» AS; a two-year-old he was a lanky hairi sandwich, but on a course where the turns were generous, he could gallop. '. •'■■■■■ • •.':■ •• '■. :' . ' •.-■■: ' ■;' ' "." : , "N.Z. Truth" liked him after his first I performance— at Napfer: Park. He ran off the 'course that day, but a few weeks later down the straight Wellington stretch,' he made tile opposition look cheap. " . ' < He started . off ' his , three-year-old campaign m an, auspicious -fashiorj, I but a reverse was met with at Trentham when Te "Kara beat him m the Champion Plate. . 'v But had Runnymede got suffic ient room over the last furlong, -another tale would , have been ; vVritten. ■" . Next came the New Zealand Derby, one., of ■ the truest Derbies ever run m this country. A stable-mate was engaged, -Tiega,

and his part was to go out and make the pace. He did.= The first mile was a scorcher and when Runnymede scored, the time x-ecorded was the best ever posted m a Derby, either here or m Australia. • The Stead Gold Cup was his next and last race m New Zealand and he beat Rapine that day. t Then came his sale and m its wake his numerous disappointments.' ; To New Zealanders his continual run of failures was inexplicable. He was the horse if it could be got out of him. Then came an explanation — and one that was borne out the other day by an experienced Sydney looker-on— he was being raced big m condition. Runnymede was the type of horse that to put condition on him a spade 1 was necessary and then it wa^ a waste of time. . The hungrier he . looked, the tighter he could be drawn, the better he would do. Came a success early m the month, and, lo and behold, Sydney had him up .m the position of honor \ for the Summer Cup, run atißandwick on Boxing Day. ; ' " 'i Winner of one race m three , years and he was boomed again. But then caijie another knock — Runnymede was withdrawn! ' .-

Scene: Smoker of city tram-car. Stern-faced, anti-tobaccoite, addressing stranger opposite, puffing a huge ;pipe.;\vith evident enjoyment. ' ;( 'po you know, my friend, there's enough poison m that pipe of yours to kilt a fiolcl-mouse or 37 blvte-bottle flies?" The smoker: "That so? Well, if ever I see. a field-mouse smoking a pipe I'll tell 'the cat." .. Joking apart, there's a lot of nonsense, talked and written about smoking. So long as the tobacco is pure and as free from nicotine as possible It can't, do ...much harm. . But thece'a the rub. Those imported tobaccos ' just reek with nicotine. That's wky their habitual use is so. injurious." Our own New Zealand tobaccos, on the other hand, are almost free from nicotine, so that you can indulge m them to your Heart's- content with perfect ' safety. Also owing to the toasting of the leaf, their flavour is simply delicious, and their fragrance delightful.. Purer ... or choicer brands money cannot buj. Ask for "Riverhead Gold" mild, "Navy Cut" (Bulldog) medium, or "Cut Plug" No. 10 Bullshead full.*