TALK OF THE DAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3101, 20 August 1913, Page 49

TALK OF THE DAY.

By Sentinel.

UNSATISFACTORY STARTING. The somewhat unsatisfactory starting noted in connection with trotting races has latterly been the subject of much discussion, and on all sides one hears demands for improvement, Under existing circumstances it is far too common an occurrence for horses to be called off or lose a portion of their handicap, or, worse still, to steal a better handicap than that which they hold in the official figures. This state of affairs has been condemned time after time, and it is little short of marvellous that it has been tolerated so long. Stewards must be blind or exceedingly fatuous if they cannot sec that it is imperative an improvement should be made. The best interests of the sport demand it, and a long-suffering public requires a better chance to get a lair run for their money, instead of seeing it thrown in the air at the very outset of a race. The present system has been condemned, and a desire lias been shown in some quarters to return to the old-time start by distance, together with its flat-footed despatch. The latter method of starting has been dubbed an experiment, but when the sport was in its infancy races wore handicapped and started by the distance system. The impovement in speed swept the old style out of existence, and it gave way to the practice of standing the field in the rotation of the handicap, and despatching the horses from a walk-up start. This system had the fault of making the limit horses commence from a flat-foot start whilst those near the other end of the handicap got away from a moving start. Under that system it was quite common to see scratch horses come up and got away at almost top speed. An improvement on th’s system consisted in allowing the limit horses to stand a' few strides back from the post and conceding them the privileges of walking up as well as the scratch Jot. If the starter insisted on each horse walking up, and made it a cast-iron rule that that gait should be adhered to and no other allowed under any circumstances, a good start resulted. It, of course, goes without sayhig that the starter dominates the field, and not vice versa ; otherwise we have the unsatisfactory despatches all too common at present. Further improvement in speed saw the introduction of the walk-up start in high-class events at Tahuna Park. This was adopted with considerable success bv Mr L. C. Halett, who achieved the almost perfect start, and under that gentleman’s control the perfect start would have been an assured fact if ho had had adequate assistance to prevent infringement of a walk-up law or that nothing dodged away from the wrong mark. Unfortunately his retirement has not been followed by any imitators .ascending to the same high place as that occupied by the originator, although there may be one or two makhig the ascent. ft is only natural a suggested remedy should follow' the existence and recognition of an evil. The walk-up start is easily the best system of starting. Any faults that exist are duo to the method of varying out the system and not to the system itself. The standing start gives too much advantage to the pacer over the trerrtcr. No one requires to bo told that, and in mixed fields of both gaits the walkup start is by far the most equitable method of despatch. Long experience, however, goes to show that one man cannot watch the clock and all the horses of a big field, and the perfect start, or at least one giving general if not universal satisfaction, will never he achieved unless cluljs give the assistance of two or three men to help the starter by seeing that horses come up at the desired gait and keep their place in the handicap. The assistance could be given by the stewards, or. if it was preferred, paid assistance could he obtained without any great tax on a club's finances. Trotting clubs do not seem to have yet recognised jVio imperative necessity of giving the starter far more assistance than he gets at present. If any such official is sufficiently egotistical to believe that he can play a lone hand with a. big field, the _ stewards should force ass : siance upon him. The starter dominates (he horses when thev are Ot the pest, hut the stewards dominate both starter and the fields. The primary cause of trouble with starting consists in allowing £c!ds to come up too fast, and occasionally

allowing the limit horses to strike into top speed when they are too far away from the starting - post. The moment the limit horses get into their speed, the rest of the tick! is also keenly anxious to hurry, and thus wo see the moving start being actua’ly a it rng start, with all its attendant evils. The racing start facilitates fraud, because a horse can be easily driven off before its proper start with the deliberate intention of getting pulled out of a race. There is another manner in which stewards could assist clubs, and that is in deleting a race from the card, and thus avoiding the great pressuro on time which breeds the haste partly responsible for unsatisfactory starts. If a starter cannot wield the necessary authority to make horses walk, then the starter should be instructed to walk.

HORSE SENSE. The horse was wry much ;n evidence in Christchurch during the past week, and in the course of a leading article on the intelligence of the equine race a local paper claimed that the light-harness stock are brain.er tiian the thoroughbred. The writer of the article in question stated that the thoroughbred is bred for speed, and that their trainers and riders do ail the thinking that is required. Such a statement seems very unjust at a time when on all sides one hears ot the “ cleverness ” of this or that horse racing over hurdles and fences. When one recalls to mind the mu.tiplicity of gear and trappings that the light-ha'inees horse has to cairy when alter the spoils of the racing arena and compare it with the fact that the thoroughbred runs comparatively naked, honours, as tar as intelligence is concerned, appear to rest decisively in the gallopers’ favour if the brain controls the action of the limbs. Indeed, it may be so id that the light-harness horse, generally, has not sufficient intelligence to go at top speed at its natural gait and do so without the risk'of serious injury. It has been found necessary to call to its aid artificial assistance and protection. Hence the geared-to-death pacer. The pacer in full panoply of war is an abomination to the eye of the horse-lover It seems obvious that a horse which cannot travel at a natural gait without artificial aid to control action, to enhance speed, or to prevent injury by striking itself, is either minus intelligence or physically deficient and lacking in S'.mo very essential matter The pacer requiring the” straps is a racing monstrosity that has little or no excuse for existence. Thu improvement of any breed of horse along natural lines is commendable, but the geared pacer is merely an artificial animal kept going for the amusement of the public, and its practical value is a matter of little or no importance, because another branch of the breed in the true gaited trotter is infinitely the better animal for utility work, whilst the thoroughbred stands high above both of them. The pacer and trotter obtain their courage, speed, and stamina from the thoroughbred, and it might bo claimed with considerable reason that, in addition to supplying the above qualities the galloper also supplies the bulk of the intelligence displayed by the b.ghtharncss horse. The superiority of the thoroughbred in every respect scorns undeniable. It can go much faster at a natural gait than a pacer or trotter, and can do so with a minimum of artificial aid, whilst the other breed generally require all the gear that can bo invented to render assistance to rhem. It, has been said that the American light-harness horse is particularly gifted with intelligence. It may appear so, but the reason is very probably due to the fact that the trainer of the American horse brings unusual intelligence to bear when attempting to develop his charge. Hence his charge reflects the trainer’s knowledge and horse sense. The general run of American trainers know more about the horse than the average trainer of the gallopers. They studv deeper, know more about the traits of the horse, can talk fluently of pedigree and records, whilst great numbers of those connector! with tho thoroughbred show their superficial interest and shallow knowledge by getting bogged if asked to give the pedigree of an animal in then* charge. The sire and dam is. perhaps, freely quoted, but a halt is made at the second or third generation. Both breeds, no doubt, suffer at times from being handled bv trainers who are not burst-ng with intelligence. The thoroughbred gets considerably the worst of the deal when it is handled by an incompetent trainer, who generally has. as a natural result, incompetent boys to look after them. Both probably possess a natural intelligence which is much greater than is generally allowed. Development and noticeable evidence < f its existence is greatly dependent on" the education received and the intellignce of the teacher. No attempt is made heie to belittle the light-harness horse but the writer declines to subscribe to a claim which states that the patrician of the equine race has an inferior intellect to the plebeian of the same tribe.

THE GRAND NATIONAL MEETING. The Canterbury Jockey Club’s Grand National meeting' of 1913. by the stirring contest in one event on the programme, has won the light to a red-letter page in turf history. Such a race as that provided by the Grand National Steeples will never bo effaced from flu* memory of any sportsman who witnessed it, nor will it ever fail to arouse enthusiasm when it is run again and amain in racing conversation. It. is readily granted on all sides that such a great battle was never previously fought in Australasia. and, indeed, it is very doubtful if the world lias over seen a more exciting climax to a cross-country rare. It vas worth what the old-time turf scribes loved to phrase as a ‘‘ hare-footed pilgrimage ” for the privilege of witnessing, and so long as Riccarton can provide such sport or f no - thing approaching it the course will always remain a' Mecca of racing. If there is anythin" latent about one’s sporting instincts it is’such racing that rouses it into life and creates appetite and desire for more. It was a race of races, a sporting banquet, such as ancient Rome loved to feast its eves on when charioteers drove with thenlives at stake. The purveyors of the feast can take a pardonable pride in their banquet and the chef who concocted the menu has won a laurel for such a famous achieveinent. It seems almost unnecessary to pry tribute to the horsemen who rode in the race. It stands a a a self-evident fact, and the gallant manner in which they handled their mounts deserves high prake indeed. Even the losers can solace themselves with the thought, that, even if thev did not win. still they put up a battle which left a very narrow margin in the victors’ favour. As to the horses, it need onlv he recalled that the placed lot each shouldered 11.0 or over. Such a fact stands as solid evidence that the present-day chasers are not larking in stamina, nor do they loiter when racing across country. The groat success of the

gathering did not, however, rest on one race alone. The National Hurdles was an excellent race to view, although the great pace s<-t up tended to spread the field after the horses had travelled a mile. The pace did not give horses much time to measures their fences, and some fau.ty jumping on the part of North-East and one or two others helped Morning to have a comfortable run from the last obstacle. Dorando came up fresher than anything that raced in the big steeples, and scored comfortably in the Beaufort, but it was a most interesting race to watch when the eon of San Fran and Gold Pin were carving out the pace in the Lincoln. The Sydenham Hurdles was another particularly fine race, and if Loch Mabin had not mulled the last hurdle ho would have thrown even more excitement into a close finish between Beacon and Marton, instead of finishing half a length away. The flat racing was also full of interest from start to finish, although followers of form got well beaten at times us aresult of horses that landed amongst tha money being unsighted when under silk at previous appearances during the meeting. From a financial point of view the meeting was a gigantic success, even though a vast amount of money was shut out during tha three days. The attendance was easily far and away the best the writer has over seen on the course during the past 12 or 15 seasons. and there seems little doubt that tho Grand National meeting is not only tho one popular fixture on the calendar, but annually growing greater and becoming a strong magnet, attracting the presence and cash of tlie sporting public. The attendance included visitors from all parts of the Dominion. From the far north and distant south and every pomt of the compass cculd be seen faces not in evidence at Biccartcn since last August, and in all probability will not be there again until the next Nationals come up for decision. With the conclusion of the card came a general exodus, and Christchurch on the follow - ng Monday was comparatively sneaking a deserted village.