TALK OF THE DAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3098, 30 July 1913, Page 49

TALK OF THE DAY.

By Sknti.n el.

SLOAX AND SPEED . Recent events in the racing world have drawn attention to the Sloan seat, and instead of the almost universal praise which it gathered a few years ago there now seems to be a growing idea that it is not all that fancy painted when Tod Sloan woke up the English riders to the fact that races are won at the start as well as at the finish. About the time that Sloan was riding on the crest of success as well as on the crest of his mounts an English trainer proved, to his own satisfaction, at least, that horses ridden a la Sloan strode out an inch or two more than when ridden in the old-time style. Everyone became a Sloanjto, and even Morning-ton Cannon pnllc-d up ids irons a hole or two in order to go a bit with the fashion. Now we find the Sloan scat hold rcsponsible for all the bumping and boring that has been going on, and it has at last attracted world-wide attention and condemnation as a result of the unfortunate climax to this year’s Derby. In the Siever-Woottou affair the learned judge gave it as his opinion, based no doubt on the evidence, that the short stirrup was probably responsible for a good deal of the socalled foul riding. Much good will be done if recent events result in jockeys lowering their irons, and until something occurs in this direction horses will still continue to zig-zag home at the finish of their races. When it conies to a battling finish, a very small percentage of Sloan’s disciples arc any assistance to a horse. In fact, one might say they arc almost useless, or worse than useless, because if it becomes necessary to punch out their mount they endeavour to sit up. and by doing so get into greater trouble than the horse. In a close finish it is odds on a medium eroucher, whose leathers permit him to sit up. beating the extreme percher, who has to sit and suffer and assist his mount if possible by tapping it on the shoulder. An old-time theory hold, with considcrab’e reason, that the neck of a horse is the first part to tire, but modern ideas have absolutely ignored that contention by placing nearly all the weight on that part of the animal. A horse’s neck carries the full weight of the extreme SioaiTTr’s body; the eroucher using a rational stylo has his weight over the shoulder, but in avoiding wind-pressure does not go to the extremes of riding on tiio neck of his mount, and. by hanging on by the bit, throw part of the weight on to a horse’s head, thereby accentuating all the faults of a style that has never been adopted with complete success. The best critics in the world claim that Sloan was an artist in the saddle. One of the best of all time, but a mere imitation, does not necessarily mean that the imitator is also an artist. Sloan gained his success as much through being a great judge of pace as by the short stirrup; but the main factor that helped him was the manner in which he revolutionised the riding tactics of the period by coming straight through from the start. His advent upset and broke some of the casfiron ideas of the time, and the genera! resu't was that races were run at a sounder pace from end to end. Times became a bit faster; but it was improved pace and judgment of pace by such as Sloan as much, or more than, the seat on the mount that helped to bring faster records. The general idea that the perch seat made for speed saw an almost universal adoption of the seat. Long-legged riders endeavoured to crouch as far out as the short-legged riders, and the result at times was both ridiculous and disastrous. We have now had a fair test, spread over some years, to note how much the perch on the crest of- a horse increases speed. Any improvement in speed may with reason be claimed as (1) due to the sounder puce at which races are run; (2) to the fact that improved tracks lend assistance in that direction; (3) and that the crouch reduces windpressure. It is, however, not necessary for the leathers to be so short as to make a rider sit on his heels in order to achieve a crouch. The seat adopted by successful riders, such as 11. Derrett. C. Jenkins. J. M‘Combo, R. King. L. (k King, and others using a simi'ar length, is a modified crouch, allowing all the advantages of the peat to be obtained, and when it comes to a finish holding the additional merit of permitting a rider to sit up and drive home to the last ounce of a horse’s capability. Other riders could be named who arc successful, and undoubtedly good men on a horse, but they would do more justice to their mounts if they would drop their irons two or three holes. The Sloan scat, lias not. so far as N ow Zgaiand is concerned, brought about the great improvement in speed that might have been expected when it first became the vogue. and acclaimed as the only way to ride. Not only has the Sloan seat failed to bring about

an automatic improvement of speed that was to follow its adoption, but some of the beet gallops of recent years were not achieved with a Sloanite in the saddle. Riccar.ton is the track where the apex of New Zealand form generally finds demonstration, and a brief glance at speed exhibited there may be of interest. Conqueror, with Derrett up, galloped 46 l-s.sec m the V% elcome Stakes of 1907. Ouideis, with the same rider up, recorded 48sec in the race of 1382, and so did Silvcrmark in 1886. Philson also ran 48eec when he won in 1893. Golden Lily galloped 47 3-sscc with Hewitt; but the speed honours of the race rest with winners that were not Sloaned to victory. Golden Slipper’s Imin 14scc in the Champagne Stakes, with J. M'Combe up. is the best of recent years identified with the race, although Autumnus recorded the same speed when ho won. Golden Slipper lost two or three lengths at the rise of the barrier, and in the straight had to change her line owing to a failure to got through on the rails; .vet her time was Imin 14soc. A very meritorious gallop was put up by Achilles when he ran Imin 27sec under 9.8 in the Challenge Stakes of 1905 with Jenkins up. Loyalty ran Imin Msec in the Challenge Stakes of 1893 with T. Buddicomb, when it was a six-furlong course. As far as distance is concerned. Canteen’s gallop of 3mm 27 l-ssec stands out as a most notable performance. Ho did not have a rail berth in the race, and turned into the straight either fourth or fifth from the inside. His time, considering the fact that he did not travel a short journey, is the speediest Cup ever run. if Bridge’s much-questioned record is ignored. In Canteen’s year Achilles 9.6 and Wairiki 9.2 were h’.s most stalwart opponents. The two last-named put up the greatest gallops seen in a New Zealand Cup, probably, during the history of the race. Gainsford, the rider of Wairiki, had an old-time tongs seat that stands as the antithesis of the crouch, and Jenkins, who was up on Achilles, adopts a modified crouch. Here we have these placed horses putting up record performances, and neither ridden on his ears. Machine Gun had Hewitt up when ho ran sSsec over five furlongs with 11.5, but the gigantic son of Rubina was not to be measured by the stones and pounds allotted the average racer. He would go fast under any conditions. A couple of seasons before that phenomenal gallop Pallas ran 58sec with the old-time horseman W. Brown in the saddle, and recorded his mark very comfortably. Merganser put up her 2min 35i|sec under 9.3 before the days of the Sloaner, although Donovan always rode fairly close to his horses. Other old-time gallops could he quoted to show that speed has not been wholly and solely identified with the porch seat, and if it cannot make horses go fast and finish strong (which is just where it fails) why adhere to a foolish stylo that has little or nothing to justify its further existence? THE SHORT STIRRUP. The short stirrup perch has been charged with being the originating source of all the trouble that occurs in fighting finishes climaxed by bumping and boring, instead of the horses corning straight home in approved style. The perch is responsible for Trouble at the start of a race just as much a.s it is at a finish. The perchers generally ride dead on the bit. and consequently annoy their mounts to such an extent that they will not stand quietly at the barrier. On more than one occasion the writer has noticed Mr H. Piper loosen the reins of a heavy-handed rider who was endeavouring to make his mount stand by pulling on the bit. When a bit of freedom was granted the horse would probably stand Like a graven image. Such a thing as good hands showed a strong tendency to go oat of sight when fashion introduced the perch and riders grabbed the reins within two or three inches of the bit. Tim crouch rider lias sometimes too little rein in front of his hands and too much behind them. llis whip gets hidden in the tangles, and a change of hold takes more work on his part than it does for a skipper to put his ship on another tack. Half the backing and filling at the barrier is due to the short, tight hold, and horses that hang at the rise of the barrier in many cases are unconsciously made to do eo by the th rot ling grip which prevents them from striding away. A horse cannot jump out with a rider hanging on to his head. A certain amount of freedom must be allowed, and if no pay is allowed tlie horse hangs (ire, and eo the had start. The illustrated papers frequently show snaps of starts, and in them it is not uncommon to note horses with months wide open as a result of jumping out from the barrier whilst at the same time their rider is hanging on io the reins. The perch rider is absolutely dependent on the reins, and very few of them give their mounts the necessary hit of head in the first stride' or two from the rise of the harrier. When they do go away the perch rider sometimes drops on one side or the other, and causes his mount to bend, as tile result of the ruler’s body throwing the weight to tlie off or near side, as the case , may l>e. and thus create the bumping and jostling too frequently noted in the first stride or two after the rise of the barrier. Ilorses are continually backing out of the barrier through the perch rider hanging on to the bit ; but this does not. of course, include those who are backing and fi’ling v. ith the object of getting out with a flying start. Since the Sloan seat came into vogue horses show a greater tendency to run out at a homo turn. This is particularly noticeable whore there is a short run in. and the field has consequently full speed on before reaching the straight. The almost common use of ring-bits does not help a rider with poor hands to steer a mount that is not inclined to run straight. The old-time branch or plain snaffle went out with the introduction of the barrier—in fact, they were frowned upon by so-called authorities, and are in consequence a great rarity, although one cannot go to a meeting without seeing a horse or two that would probable go better with their assistance. In recent years the gear manufacturers appear to have recognised the fault of the ordinary ring or semi-Newmarket hit, and now make thorn with a square face, working on a swivel to the cheek, and eo gain part of the advantages of the branch snaffle, without having the prongs to catch in the bar nor; so that lal’er-day innovations such ns the barrier and porch seat, and a consequent too short stirrup, are not unqualified blessings to tlie business of racing. The perch seat and other fads will live their day. and go ont only when they have proved beyond the powers of the average rider. The most I important step towards their modification, if | not their death, was furnished by the Derby j fiasco finish, and whilst regretting such a j climax to the most important race in the word, there may be some compensation j found if good grows out of the evil, and

so makes for a welcome and much-needed change.