Page 24 Advertisements Column 2

Otago Witness, Issue 1950, 4 April 1889, Page 24

w ( ould ..have them held up to execration and 'Warned off every course in the country. Making an example of, say, a dozen of this- crew is perhapa the only way in which a reform can be effected. But I protest against condemning a man on mere suspicion.' I say that a person accused is entitled to a fair trial, and I will be no party to retailing charges of fraud until' satisfied that there is satisfactory evidence on* the point. As a better method, I would advocate that we take a new departure in trotting irades. What is wanted is intelligent and effective supervision; and as one way of establishing that'supervision, I would suggest that in every trotting race the stewards be told off to take ap certain positions all round the course— say a man at every furlong post— with- instructions to keep his, eyes open while the horses are within his view. < When the race is over these watchers should assemble in the stewards' room and decide once for.all, by an affirmative motion one way tor the other, whether the horses have or have not been>trying. This would be the time at which outsiders who have evidence to volunteer could be examined ; and the event could then be. squared up with right off the reel. There, may be a better j method of achieving the desired end. If so, let , the author fetch it along. lam as anxious as anyone for honest racing, but we shall never get it by enforcing a haphazard disqualification now and again when a peculiarly flagrant swindle is bowled out. We must have strict and regular supervision as a basis -to work on ; we must have ib understood that crooked trotting is certain to be spotted and, punished. It is the distinct duty, of the Dunedin Jockey Club, as the only, metropolitan club that promotes trotting races, I to inaugurate this or some other system .whereby justice shall be done to all parties concerned. Depend upon it, if the stewards keep a lookj out such as I have suggested,' riders will be more careful than they are at present, and there will be less hanky-panky ! worked at the back of the course. The public j are, I think, unduly suspicious at present, and ' in their anger are disposed to be not only un- | generous but unjust ; still, there is no denying, the fact that trotting at the Ferbury is in need of reformation; and I respectfully but firmly, oall on the club to take intelligent heed to the ! warnings heard on all sides, and to consider how they can^ best consult their pwn dignity and conserve the interests of their patrons. In the alternative, trotting will day by day become more and more tainted with rascality,, the sport will be carefully left alone by honest men, and the whole affair will at last be suppressed. *** Commenting on the trotting races at the Forbury on the 23rd and 25th ult., the Canterbury Times says : — • " The Dunedin people are by no means pleased by the' performances of the Canterbury representatives, Random and Black Rose, in the trotting events at the Anniversary meeting on Saturday. Before leaving Christchurcb, Black Rose had been tried to cover the three miles in 9min ssee, and as she had 38sec start from Anneau dOr, the first winner on Saturday, she should have set Mr Smerdon's mare the task of beating Bmin 27sec. Instead of this, Anneau dOr won very easily in Bmin 45sec, and Black Rose finished absolutely- last. Random made even a worse exhibition, as he commenced exceptionally well in (the Three-mile Trot, and then repeatedly broke until his chance of winning was entirely extinguished. It was rumoured after Random's victory on the i second day at Dunedin that his owner would be required to give the stewards some explanation of the gelding's trotting on {Saturday, but nothing appears to have been done in the matter. And what could have been done ? We all know that Random should have won by nearly a quarter of a mile, but his owner seemed to be making desperate efforts to increase his pace, and this would have been an answer to any charge that might have been formulated. It is a fact — a very unfortunate faot — that over-riding is the surest and safest way of losing a trot, and until these races are run in mile heats, and the stewards have an opportunity to change the jockeys, the abuses of which we hear so much are likely to continue. Perhaps it is due to Keith to state that Random is a very difficult horse to ride, and has performed in a very inconsistent fashion on one or two previous occasions." * # * These suggestions about the advisability of ordering a change of jockeys and inaugurating mile heats are well worth consideration, and it may be that they are preferable to the alteration proposed by myself. It is for the Dunedin Jockey Club to make a choice. They must do something. ♦** Another breach in the ranks of Eng- 5 land's famous jockeys. Death has claimed Jas. Snowden. He expired on the 6th February, at Doncaster, after a protracted illness. The late horseman was born at FJaxtnn, in Yorkshire, October 26, 1843. He steered Blair Athol when he won the Derby and St. Leger, Butterfly and and Jenny Howlet in the Oaks, and Roehampton and Dresden China in the Northamptonshire Stakes in two successive years, Beauclerc in the, Middle Park Plate, Sweet Sauce in the Stewards' Cup at. Goodwood, Paganini in the. Great : Bbor, Handicap, and also rode winners of other important events, ' amongst them the .Goodwood Cup and the Great Yorkshire Stakes. Jem Snowden's fame will (says a London writer) go down to posterity chiefly in association with the pale white-faced chestnut, Blair Athol,for whom he was selected as the rider for his maiden effort — viz , the Derby of 1864 — by that keen judge of horee and jockey, the late William I'Anson, of Spring Cottage, Malton. During the winter mysterious rumours were. current that the highly-bred Stockwell colt at Malton was something out of the common, and those who had the opportunity of seeiDg him at exercise reported him as a handsome descendant of the emperor of stallions, moreover a splendid mover, yet few, except perchance W. I'Anson, Jem Snowden, who rode him in his trial, and long Jackson — Jock of Oran, as he was designated in ring phraseology — really knew that a diamond of the most brilliant water was being instructed on Malton Heath, destined not only to electrify racing men of every degree, but in later years to transmit to future ages a blazoned and glorious, name of untarnished honour. When " Blair " arrived at Epsom, some of the would-, be cognoscenti took objection to him on the grounds of exhibiting too much daylight; and suffered in proportion to their prejudice. General Peel was the popular fancy, perhaps through having creditably won the Newmarket big three-year-old event, and Lord Glasgow himself was full of confidence that his then favourite, Tom Alcroft, would return to weigh in as the rider pf the winnner, whilst on the other hand Scottish Chief, ridden by the boy in yellow, was e»thnsasticaHy supported by the great Scotch ironmaster. In the preliminary canter, however, Jem Snowden had a confident smile upon his face ; and as he patted his gallant steed encouragingly on the crest, he almost seemed to say : ° Blair, to-day you have a heavy task, but only run as true at Epsom as you did when asked on your native Malton Heath, and the coveted blue riband of the turf lies at. your mercy." Blair apparently understood the thoughts of his rider ; and occupying throughout a capital position, after requiring a gentle reminder to exhibit his prowess, the. bonny pale chestnut reached the post toe easiest of winners from General Peel, Scottish Q\M being third. Lord