THE VANDYKE CASE

Otago Witness, Issue 2410, 10 May 1900, Page 38

THE VANDYKE CASE

The South Canterbury decision in (he case of- Vandyke is- criticised by other writer* as well as myself. Thus the Canterbury Tunps : -The verdict i« somewhat hard to understand. If the case was sufficiently strong to cause a vote of censure to be passed on Mr Fitzgerald, the stewards virtually accuse that gentleman of failing to run his hor.=e out in the Higli'ij'cight Handicap. A man v either guilty or not guilty, and if the latter, why >hould he be censured? And what is the meaning of the _ words "similar running in future would bo iriore 'strenuously' dealt with?"' What similar running? The only conclusion that can be drawn from the motion passed is that, the horse, in the opinion of the steward*, was not ridden to win his first race, for if they th ought otherwise they could scarcely censure or deal more "strenuously" with the owner at some future time. If the officials of the club considered that some inquiry was necessary, why did they allow the totaljwator money to be disbursed until they had decided the point? The action of the stewards suggested a laudable desire to protect the interests of the public and also to promote pure racing ; 6ut paying out the totalisator money to the backers of a horse into whose running the

stewards deemed it necessary to hold an iti- - quiry wa,3 Bca-rcc'y, fair to tlioso who had supported Jupittrf in the AutaroO Handio*».

In nine 1 cases out of 10 the dividend has much more to do with in-and-out ruiaiiitfg than has the value of a stake, and no one under suspicion should be allowed to secure one 'farthing of the totalisator dividend, even supposing a few back«rs might suffer thereby, as it is better to be hard on the few rather than permit one to get away with ill-gotten gains. Unfortunately the stewards were unable to arrive at their decision on the first day of the meeting, consequently Mr Fitzgerald, not knowing what might befall him in the morning, could not see his way to accept with either of his horses on the seoond day. Though Vandyke's two efforts at first sight appear somewhat hard to reconcile, it must not be forgotten that Bristol was in particularly good form at the meeting, and as he covered the seven furlongs in heavy going in lmin 33isec with 8.12 on his back, it will readily be admitted that Vandyke could not go much faster. Time is not by any means reliable, certainly, but gauging Vandyke's performances by that test, he was not entitled to disqualification. The distances are quite different, we know, but although it was just possible Vandyke was not unduly worried at the absolute end of the journey, no sensible man expects to see a horse ridden out when he has no ohance. It is, of course, impossible to say whether Mr Fitzgerald committed any improper act, but the stewards certainly did not approach and decide the matter in such a judicial manner as might fairly have been expected of them.