SYDNEY STIRRED

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 91, 8 July 1927, Page 6

SYDNEY STIRRED

THE SONGIFT CASE INTEGRITY OF JOCKEY STORY OF TORN-UP BETTING TICKETS Opinions and statements in tic n with the Songfit (Usq uaihifa n will be broadcast throughout the circles where racing is discussed. ~ cords a Sydney writer. ’ Neither the horse nor his disqualify trainer is well known, and naturalist? 1 great centre of concern is 05* Munro, leader of his profession in Am tralia. Most keen racing men, and partim larly owners and trainers who hail employed and know Munro well, ran** themselves on his side, declaring it is incrediable that he could have SI 1 himself to a scheme to pull a p»jkr! favourite. THE BOMBSHELL They expected that the stewards’ in quiry would lead to acquittal. Cons* quently the disqualification was & bombshell. Connections of the horse deny that anything improper was connected with Songift’s race. They say that over £2OO was in. vested on him. But this represented the investments of several persons connected with the horse. Mr. Leech was formerly & bookmaker, and is a resident of Paries' and a close friend of Songifts owner Mr. T. Morgan. A day or two after Mr. Leech made the following statement to a Sydney paper: He stated that Mr. Morgan had posted him a cheque for £7O. which he had cashed with a well-known citr sporting hotelkeeper. WORKING THE COMMISSION He asked the hotelkeei>er to work the commission on the horse, but, as the latter was not sure that he would be at the races, Mr. Leech took the cash to the course himself. There he met a brother of Mr. Morgan, to whom he gave £IOO, saying, ‘‘l’m putting £2OO on Songift; here's half the commission.” Together they waited in front of Bookmaker Reg. Catton. and when he offered a price for Songift Mr. Morgan booked £ 500 *to £ 50. The pair then separated and when they met again to view the race from the stand Mr. Morgan said that he had put £HO oji the horse, the other bets being £2OO to £SO and £240 to £4O (cash). SAW IT FADE AWAY

Mr. Leech states that he had £IW invested in cash bets, and the pair agreed that the extra £4O speculated by Mr. Morgan’s brother would be on “with the money.” They saw Songift beaten, and together they walked off the course to Mr. Morgan’s car. As they walked Mr. Leech pulled his betting tickets from his pocket and said, “Well, they’re no good now,” tearing them in half tnd

threw them away. He has since found that those tickets would have been valuable evidence, for if he could have produced them at the A.J.C. inquiry he might have escaped the 12 months’ disqualification he is now under.

TRIBUTE TO JOCKEY • As a keen racegoer, Mr. R. O’Halloran. secretary of the Parliamentary Labour Party, in the Legislative Assembly. expressed complete astonishment when acquainted with the news ot the disqualification. In a statement to a Press representative he said that, while he recognised that the stewards of the A.J.C were ever on the alert to safeguard the racing public, he nevertheless put Munro in a category with the most notable individuals of the past such as Jim Barden, who were noted for their integrity, and he considered they had erred in this case. Mr. O’Halloran added he was sure the racing public, too., would realise that Munro would not do them an injury by pulling up a horse on which they had bet heavily. His sporting instincts were too good for such a bast trick. . ?

RICCARTON TRY-OUTS

SUN UP IN FORM TRENTHAM CANDIDATES GO WELL (Special to THE SI X.) CHRISTCHURCH, Thursday. Conditions were ideal for training operations at Riccarton this morning, and those horses who hold engagements at Trentham next week were given their final gallop. The star performer of the morning was Sun Up, who traversed a mile on the trial grass in 1.44. He went very strongly all the way, and put up a good performance. The Sunny Lake gelding pulled up well and greatly impressed track watchers by lus formance. He is engaged in the Memorial the first day at Trentham, and his gallop to-day may cause mm to go out favourite. WILL BE AT SHORT PRICE Arikiwai and Philanderer were companions over six furlongs, which tne> left behind in 1.19 3-5. Arikiwai appeared to be going the better of tn pair, and will start a hot favourite m the Trial Plate at Trentham. Cornstalk (light weight up), Nincompoop were sent together o>e. five furlongs. Cornstalk hit out particularly well, but Nincompoop wa with him at the end of the gallop. Tn time was I 2-ssec. Nincompoop wi race well next week. Aberfeldy and The Harp put up a attractive performance over a miie. and next to Sun Up their efforts wer the best of the morning. Aberfeldy appeared to be going very easily, but ove the last half-mile The Harp made him gallop. They ran the last seven f ur " longs in 1.32 3-5, a good gallop. A NEAR WINNER? Aberfeldy has been jumping lately, and what beats him in the Vi - toria Hurdles next week will nearly win. , . Chickwheat, on his own. galloped a * tractively over seven furlongs in i--3-5. He went freely throughout, an finished strongly. f Solferite, Taboo and Peho were sem over five furlongs, which they pleted in 1.6. The trio raced ve-> evenly throughout, and there nothing much between them at * finish. Peho hit out in great styu. and may be hard to beat in the Te Ary Handicap, in which she is weign at 10.5. . Scamp worked well, but may not so well at Trentham as many ma out.