AN ENGLISH SOCKETS OPINION OF NEW ZEALAND RACING.

Otago Witness, Issue 1797, 30 April 1886, Page 20

AN ENGLISH SOCKETS OPINION OF NEW ZEALAND RACING.

MR T. OSBORNE INTERVIEWED. By Rata. Christchdrch, April 27. Having been introduced to Mr T. Osborne, the celebrated English jockey, whose deeds are all duly recorded on the scroll of fame, and whose photograph appears in tho now universal advertising almanacs, I was pleased to have an opportunity of meeting him on the evening ot the Great Autumn Handicap day to learn from him the impressious he had formed of our doings over here as compared with what he has beeu used to at Home, aud since his departure from the old country, of what he has witnessed throughout the continents of America aud Australia ; and I am glad to be able to say that those impressions are immensely favourable to our young, but as he terms it, " go ahead " colony. Of course one of the best traits in a professional jockey is his inmate reserve, and it was only when I begged him as a favour to give me his opinions that that reserve was removed, and then only in response to | queries put by me. This being the first race I meetin gat wh ich he had beei i present in New Zea - ' land, he said he could not help expi easing surpri.se at the character of the ground, and after one or two races hud been run he was pleased with what he termed tho '"goo't going" that was shown ; and having taken in at a glance the arrangements, he haid he -could almost fancy himself back in the old country — the substantial buildings :md the. permanency of the other arrangermmts removing all impressions that he was in a country which was uninhabited by white people 35 years ago, A.s regards the horses, he expressed himiulF very much pleased to sco such a

well-bred and, considering the time of year, wellconditioned lot, which he considered far in advance in point of quality to fchc Australian luirhos ; and without going into the meiils of the different races, he expressed himself as being highly gratified with the day's racing. One thing he admired specially was the manner in which the several classes of tho community were distinguished from the remainder, and he pointed out to me the difference between our arrangements aud those of the Australian turf. There, he said, the ladies were compelled to congregate where they could, and were subjected to all sorts of annoyances, fiora which there seemed little or no redress. There they had to be subject to the annoyance of bookmakers shouting the odds close to their refined ears. Hero, ho pointed out, the ladies had their own particular quarter, where a mctallician would not venture to disturb them, but those latter could do as they pleased in their own happy hunting ground ; and he could trace the English style in the arrangements throughout. Alluding to the fact that Mr Penfokl and Mr Stead each had plenty of English experience in the racing world, I said, " Why should not these things be ?" " Oh, but," saj sMr O.iborue, •' there are even improvements on the Englishsystem. For instance, there are generally mistakes made in posting up the numbers and weights, &c. ; but hero everything worked like clockwork, and tho races were all run to exact time." In fact, Mr Osborne assured me that he was not at all romancing when he said that he had not been to any race meeting in tho world where the arrangements were so perfect in proportion to the size of the population and the youth of tho colony. He suggested that the only thing he saw that wanted improvement was tiie widening of the course, as no starter could got a large field away as well as he should on ho limited a space.