COMMENT ON RACING.

Southland Times, Issue 20662, 18 April 1929, Page 3

COMMENT ON RACING.

To the Editor. Sir, —I crave sufficient of your valuable space for the publication of a paragraph culled some years ago from the London Sporting Tinies. It is from the pen of “Field Steward” that paper’s able and well-known sport correspondent, and to me seem apropos at the present time in view of certain paragraphs which have appeared in your sporting columns subsequent to the Riverton Racing Club’s Easter fixture. The paragraph is as follows: “Sometimes it is inevitable that a personal note must creep into my columns. There are two or three owners and trainers, who have ’struck off on the wrong leg' so far as my writings are concerned—mV personal individuality is, of course, immaterial to readers. All connected with the turf professionally are endeavouring to earn their living—l exempt certain owners from this —by giving their best to their employers. Now I, as a journalist am obviously a great looker-on at the great game. Anything I assimilate I find it a duty to purvey. You (in the collective journalistic sense) can shower bouquets, for season in and season out, on owners, trainers, jockeys, starters, judges, clerks of courses, local stewards, jockey club pillars, bookmakers, professional backers, ‘mug’ punters, and the ‘w'hole bag of tricks’ who count in the turf realm. Once, however —mark you, only just once! —you call a colour cerise instead of cherry you arc ‘outside the pale’—according to the view of the mildly criticized. They want to know you no more. They talk instead of the friendship they possessed for your father and grandfather. They conveniently forget the good things for the one little item they resent.” “St. Clair” need have no fear that his writings in support of clean racing.are misunderstood by right-minded sporting men and women who recognize his ability as a correspondent and remember what he has done for the great game in Southland—l am, etc., SPORT NO. 2.