RACING NEWS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23491, 4 May 1938, Page 17

RACING NEWS

By Sentinel Schooling McHeath, Surge, and Amy Johnson are being schooled over hurdles at Wingatui. Recruits Several recruits to hurdling appear in the nominations for the Invercargill meeting, and the fact augurs well for the Dunedin winter meeting. A Recent Winner Gloaming's pilot, the ex-New Zealander George Young, trains High Class (a sister to Talking), who recently won a good race at Randwick. A Likely Line When nominations close next week for the South Canterbury Jockey Club’s meeting they may supply some idea of the strength of future fields for hurdling and cross-country racing. A Long Absence Marcus Cicero, who figures in the acceptances for the Nelson meeting, has been off the scene for over a year. He ran third at the Otaki-Maori meeting held in May of last season. Small Fields Some of the fields engaged at the Amberley meeting are on the lean side, and may be more in that direction when seen at the post. A crowded calendar and far too much racing is responsible. The Great Northern Fields

Quite good fields have been engaged in the Great Northern Hurdles and Great Northern Steeplechase, and supply ample evidence of plenty of material being on hand to supply good racing for the winter campaign. A Small Stake

The field for the Flying Handicap to be run at Ashburton is good enough to provide a race for a £IOOO stake to be run at a metropolitan meeting. The same remark applies to the field nominated for the Ashburton Cup. Spendthrift

The disappointing Spendthrift is to be treated to a spell and then returned to Riccarton to be prepared for the early spring meetings. Spendthrift is disappointing because he won like a sure improver at Wingatui, but failed to line up to that promise of performance. At Ashburton The Ashburton Racing Club received a particularly good list of nominations for the meeting to be held on May 14. As usual, since the adoption of singlecard meetings, Wingatui horses are not engaged, but a couple of Southlanders in Viking and Irish Birdcatcher are engaged.

A Union A union of stable-hands in racing and trotting has been formed in Christchurch. Very few realise that anyone connected with racing and trotting stables has to work seven days a week from daylight to dark, and more. Some years ago advertisements were inserted in the Christchurch Press and Lyttelton Times calling a meeting to consider the idea of forming a jockeys and stablehands’ union. Only the writer and the late Robert Derrett put in an appearance, and the meeting disa couple of hours listening to one of persed after the writer had enjoyed the best riders that ever sat in a saddle. A Bad Loser Sir Robert Peel, who raced under the nom de course of Mr F. Robinson, was particularly fond of horses. His father, the great statesman and founder of the famous Metropolitan Police Force, owed his death, strangely enough, to falling from his horse. In the 1850’s “Mr F. Robinson ” was a very heavy gambler and a bad loser, in that he could not bear to see any of his horses lose. It was said of him that on his favourite course. Newmarket, he would sit on his hack and at the first sign shown by any of his runners that it could not win. Peel would gallop off in the direction of Cambridge, so that he should not witness the defeat. This owner never failed to tell a defeated jockey that if only he had ridden to orders he would have won. This led one of them to remark that all of Peel's horses should have been entered in races of not less than two miles, when there would have been sufficient time to have carried out all his instructions. An “Evergreen”

Sam Heapy, who is 55 years old and a nephew of the famous Loates brothers. leading jockeys in England in their day, recently rode his three thousandth winner on a horse owned by mron Brugmann, for whom Heapy has acted as private trainer in Belgium for the past 24 years. Heapy was born at Derby, England, but has been domiciled in Belgium for 35 years. During that period he has trained more than 2000 winners. This is a turf record that may never be equalled. Fred Archer’s winners totalled 2747. Myles Connell rode 1084 winners, and R. Lewis’s tally is in the region of 1000. Lewis will be 60 years of age next November. A. Hyland, who is said to have ridden more than 1000 winners in the Riverina district, is still on deck. Hyland, who has seldom visited Melbourne, is 50 years old. Claiming to be the oldest professional jockey in the world, H. Graham, of Rhodesia, South Africa, and formerly of Ballarat, is riding as well as ever at the age of 61. Graham, who was born near Ballarat and did his early riding in Victoria, had his most successful season as a jockey only five or six years ago, riding 142 winners. Altogether he has won more than 1000 races. He rode his first winner on a goat at the football grounds at Mount Egerlon. near Ballarat, in 1877. Graham still has in his possession the first 21b saddle used by R. Lewis. This saddle belonged to Graham, and he loaned it to Lewis for a race. It is on record that several other jockeys have continued their career in the saddle until well over 60 years of age, and amongst them is the late Robert Derrett. one of the best of all times in the saddle.