EARLY OTAGO HISTORY

Otago Witness, Issue 3865, 10 April 1928, Page 15

EARLY OTAGO HISTORY

THE BEGINNINGS OF RACING.

By

Old Identity.

VII. It may be of interest to present day sportsmen and to others who patronise the turf to know something about early happenings in connection. with racing and about ths difficulties experienced by a few enthusiasts' in getting a Jockey Club established in Dunedin on sound business lines. Christchurch had led the way, and it was “ up to ” Dunedin to follow suit. Everybody was more or less interested in hprses; people could not leave where they were located except by means of a horse or horses, and it was only natural that an instinctive love of the animal should prevail generally among the population; and almost compel membership of a racing body. The owners of the Silverstream course were anxious to resume possession unless a large sum per acre was forthcoming. In view of the difficulty of access this was an impossible proposition for the existing Jockey Club, which up to i,..it time had never been a properly organised body, and really was only maintained by “ send in* round the hat.,*' as it were. About 1r69 a lease of Forbury Park was acquired from the proprietors for about 30 years. Thereupon the preparation of the course, as it was afterwards known, was begun. It was quite a stupendous task as the park was simply a swarnp, from one end to the other. Through the extraordinary zeal that was displayed by those at the head of racing affairs in Dunedin at that time, the course was opened for racing by 1871. It was, however, barely in order; —in fact, for two years after the opening quite a peculiar wave of green turf might be observed in front of the galloping horses as they appeared rounding the turn into the straight. After that the ground became quite consolidated, but there was always more or less of a spring in it. The execution of that undertaking was a true indication of the good team work fo~ which .Dunedin has always been noted. The course was surveyed and properly staked, but the training track with a wide ditch between it and the course was done first lor draining purposes. The water was got rid of by a windmill at the caretaker s cottage. Those who conducted racing at that time in Dunedin were Mr H. Drivei, Mr John Stevenson, Captain Hutc.iinson, Mr H. Gourley, Mr George Dowse and Mr N. 11. Taggart, with a few others they were responsible for forming the Jockey Club of to-day. Mr James Hazlett came on the scene about 18'1'0, and - was a tower ' of strength to the c.ub from its first Forbury meeting up to the time of his death, while Sir -George M'Lean came on -a little later still, and also did much for the club during Ins hietime. Ari immense ainount o work was done in a short space of time. Grand stand, people’s stand, -stewards rooms, .looseboxes, lawns, etc., were all ready tor the first meeting in 1871. Between that time and 1874 races were held by both the D.J.C. aud the Tradesmen s Club. By the latter date, however, -the D.Jaj. had got into working order, and the Tradesmen’s Club became defunct. In 1874 the Dunedin Cup was run for the second time. The first Cup was won by Knottingly in 1868, and in the intervening years what was known as the Otago Cup was competed for, over a distance similar to that for the Dunedin Cup. Lurline won the first Cup run -at Forbury, and was ridden by “ Dick ” Mason, who was at that time a long-legged boy. The writer can see the mare now in his mind’s eye, and doubts if anything better has been seen in Dunedin, or, indeed, anywhere else, since—a great raking mare, of perfect conformation, standing 'about 16 hands. In that year a spring meeting was also held, and . it. has been continued up to the present time. Up to 1881 ‘all wagering was done through the bookmakers. The control or rallying point for those who wanted to bet was at the old Empire Hotel, which was on the site of the present Carlton. The landlord was Mr George Dodson, a good old Yorkshire “sport,” who looked all the time as though he had been built to order; or, better still,. as though he had just walked out of one. . f Leech’s famous drawings—a type apparently extinct, like the moa, as it is never seen nowadays. For three nights or so before the racing day excitement ran'high at the Empire, and much betting took place, while simultaneously Calcutta sweeps were got up on the chief-races. On the night before the'Cup was run it- was the practice just to- look in and - see how'things were moving and learn the state of the odds generally.

The layers usually had their books full before that time, but there were always punters ” about to take fairly long odds about outsiders, and that class of betting and the getting up of Calcutta sweeps kept th. 'gs very lively. The sweeps "-eie always drawn in the billiard room and this was always packed from about ' ‘3O. p.m.. There was no eaily closing in those days, and rowdyism was non-existent—in fact, would not have been tolerated. That style of thing, combined with betting through the bookmakers on the course, was what took place prior to the totalisator, and most inspiriting it was right up to the fall of e flag. The _ books” would be going at top with their hoarse voices: “I’ll lay 111 lay, 111 lay/' and were always getting some of the noble army of “ punters ” to respond; but only those, as a rule, as all the bigger backers had got all they ■"'anted at an earlier date. Backers ot that time knew exactly what they were going to get if they won. Not so, however, with the totalisator, as all investors hare to put up with the starting price, whatever that may be. Betting today, relatively to the population, is much more extensive than in those times; but one cannot help remembering that the great argument that was put forward in favour of the “machine” was that it would act as a curb to betting in so far that youths and others would be unable to runup accounts with bookmakers; and, through not having the ready cash, would be debarred from indulging in totalisator betting. Another instance, if such were necessary, of how the best laid schemes 0a , mice R an £ aft aglee. The bookmakers of that day were men who did their -job well. Some of the older sportsmen will remember H. Prince Lyons > Snider, Weston, Belcher, Drake, and others. Prince was quite a genius in his way in the matter of quick ■wit, retailing funny and entertaining stories stored from earlier days, and probably embroidered somewhat ‘to suit the taste ■of listeners. After his return iTom the spring racing in Australia, it would always be with an enlarged repertoire. On one occasion Judge Ward was a fellow passenger of his. They foregathered after sitting near each other at meals, and peals •of laughter were frequently heard from them. In fact, the judge spoke to no one else. On arrival at Wellington he was asked if he knew who his friend was. His reply was: “ I never thought of asking.” On being told, he replied: “Well, Ido know that-he is the most interesting man I have ever travelled with, and also the wittiest.” Weston was the champion billiard player of Australia and New Zealand. Belcher was or had been a professional pugilist. He was a good-natured. man who gave boxing lessons in the off season. All these ln , en disappeared after the introduction of the machine, and retired to fresn T’oaaa < an 4 P asturei s new. They made books on the leading events, or most of them did, and always paid their way.

The racing of that time had not the present-day bustle; there was more time to look about the course, races run over longer distances; and there were five in a day instead of seven or eight as at present. Forbury Park was a beautiful little course of a little over a mile, very handy to town, and many happy days were spent there by Otago sportsmen and by those from Canterbury also, such as Dr Prins, Sir George Clifford, the- Hon. W. W Robinson, of Cheviot, Messrs George Stead, W. P. Reeves, of Middle 1 ark, P. Campbell, Henry Lance, and others. Nor should one leave out of the picture those on the professional side— Ted Cutts, Bob Ray (of whom Mr Robinson once said, “Bobby? Why, Bobby is really the cleverest man I have ever known—rich praise from an employer, who referred, of course, to Ray’s natural ability), Goodman, Jaihes, Cotton, and Stuart Waddell, the last-mentioned happily still going strong, and of him it may be said that “ Age does not wither, nor time stale his infinite variety.” I think James Cotton was one of the pluckiest men ever made. He was alwavs up against it ’’ financially, rode, and had to ride, all sorts of man killers over fences, just for the pound or two to be made out of it. He would ride anything just to keep the pot boiling. One day the writer was standing on the sandhills near St. Clair, and the following story will give an idea of the sense of fair play in some men:—A resident of St. Clair was on the beach, and with him was a fox terrier. . Coming from the St. Kilda end was a man with four or five greyhounds. When the hounds saw the fox terrier with one accord they took after it. The terrier, in a state of terror, took to the sea, «,nd the greyhounds followed and endeavoured to kill it. Cotton happened to be riding past with his boys exercising some of his horses. He took in the situation at a glance, jumped off his horse, handed the reins to a boy, and rushed into the breakers to rescue that terrier. Up past his waist the water broke at times, but after flogging off the greyhounds and getting bitten himself in the process he gathered up the terrier, very mangled, and handed him to his 9JY ner ’. whom he had never seen before. His only remark to a bystander on getting on to his horse again, wet from his feet .\ s ,P ec kv was, “ Some people seem afraid of a little water.” That action portrayed the real man. Men such as be got the V.C. in the War without realising that they had done anything out of the common.

The two most exciting finishes for the Dunedin Cup were those of 1879 and of 18S0. The former between Mata and Sink-ing-Fund and the latter hotwoen St. James and Occident. In the first case the judge’s verdict was a dead heat, which was run off and ended in favour of Matar. Many people thought that Sinking Fund won. The boy riding him also thought he had, owing to the fact that he felt his knee in front of his opponent’s as the horses passed the post, and knowing that his horse had a very long rein, ihat is, from the saddle to the bit—not a bad test—lie was astonished when he saw the verdict against him. Mata was a very stout horse and won easily in the run off, and was undoubtedly a good deal shorter in the rein than Sinking Fund. In the race of 1890 the judge would have made no enemies had he given the verdict of a dead heat, but St. Jann»> got the decision.. The friends of the winner thought his chance was negligible unless a strongish pace was observed, but for over a mile and a quarter the horses

ran at a strong ♦hree-quarter pace, after winch they tamo fully extended. At that point Occident was lying fully -35yls ln rear, and had it not been for that fact must have won easily. On the other hand,®had it been a true run race from one end to the other, it is likely th«*>t St, James would have won and nothing else.' Some called it a dead heat, wnuo others said that Occident did get up ana win. A dead heat rarely gives imqualiiicd satisfaction, b-ut tho judge is really the only one with a true line to guide him. To those beyond the box it always appears as though the horse with tho inside running has won if it is a dead heat, and the opposite seems to be the case to those standing to the left of the box.. It is easy, therefore, to see how opinions mjy clash. The average substance of horses racing to-day is not what it used to be before the advent of the totalisator. Many horses, tn fact, are racing over the shorter races of to-day, .and presumably paying their way as racing fixtures for fairly good stakes are held all over the country that would never have had a cnance .of winning races over the longer distances. That matter, however, does not trouble the racegoers of the presentday, as the majority go to enjov s»n afternoon’s excitement. The total isa'tor is the chief attraction for them, and they aro quite unmindful of the fact that tho machine gfete practically all the monev, a substantial proportion going to the Governmorit as Well • as a proportion to tho club. Tho present style "of riding compares very unfavourably with that of former days.. It .came into vogue owing to the Americans carrying all before them in England one season, this being put down to the supposedly superior stylo of riding of their first jockey, a man named Tod Sloan. Many competent judges, however, said that the riding had nothing to do with, the success of the Americans, but was owing to their excellent horses, and. their extraordinary fitness during that season. The style of riding they introduced has, however, become universal, much to the sorrow of many of the older generation. It has struck the writer that some of the best riders of the day, notwithstanding the short stirrup, sit further back than some of the good riders of by-gona days. An illustration in the Australasian, of March 10 shows Trivalve and Chaotia galloping in a race, and there it will be observed that both jockeys are sitting quite as much on the saddle as those of former days did, notwithstanding the short stirrup. Apparently, however, it takes genius to do that. Only a few are capable of it, while the rank and file perch themselves up not unlike the toy monkeyon a stick that is given to children <o play with. Shades of “Watty” Clifford, Derrett, Bob Ray, and many others ’ What would they say if they could only see it? Well. Derrett can, as he is still looking on. I wonder what Stuart Waddell. “ Dick ” Mason, Derrett, and others think of it? It would be interesting to know. Fred Archer, of historic riding fame, rode long, but when he got going his weight was well on top of the animal’s withers and relieving the driving muscles of any weight, and in a close finish he could outride any jockey in England. For all that, the writei doubts if he was a better horseman than, say, “Watty” Clifford, of New Zealand fame; certainly be did not' look as veil on horseback. These are the impressions of one Old Identity, who has had considerable experience in such things and probably are, more or less, shared by others. All the same, racing.to-day has much to commend it, the appointments arc so perfect, and. everythii.*» so beautiful that racegoers have no cause for complaint.