THE CROSS BATTERY INQUIRY

Otago Witness, Issue 2761, 13 February 1907, Page 54

THE CROSS BATTERY INQUIRY

Students of racing- do not require to he told that the public had plenty of form to back up their support of Cross Battery an the St. Albane Handicap, in which =he 'vrz>3 sent out favourite. The daughter of Stepniak has proved m private and pubhe that she k one of our most brilliant horses in training, but yet she tailed off from the start, and even Signalman, who gave her about half a dozen lengths at the use of the barrier, had raced past her in the first few strides. With three furlongs gone. Cross Battery wag several lengths behind the field, and it was easily seen that in the early part of the race at least she was running considerably below form. She turned into the straight well out from the rails, and) inside the distance ran up and finished near to Signalman, who was fourth past the po=r. Cross Battery's work prior to the meeting strongly suggests that she should have been with her field in the early part of the race, and it would have been astonishing if the stewards had not asked for an explanation of her running. Owing to the Star Chamber method of conducting inquiries, the nature of the explanation was not made public, and if the reason for the filly's bad display was a good and valid one, it U a great pity, for the benefit of all concerned, it was not made known. If the explanation was satisfactory, the writer fails to see why R. King/who was in the saddle, should be censured, as that suggests the rider, and not the horse, was to blame. It is, of course, quite possible that the fault lay with the filly, who,, in common with, the majority of cur horses, has been executing- her work on plough gallop*, and would not act her best on grass by reason of the change of going. This is a good reason, and it is a. wonder it is not made more use of than ib is, bu* these not-guilty-but-don't-do-it-again verdicts cannot be calculated to improve our turf morals, a<? if there is innocence, the official verdict ehould be returned aecardinßly. and not qualified with a. stigma of guilt.