AINTREE SCENES

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 110, 12 May 1938, Page 4

AINTREE SCENES

GRAND NATIONAL DAY WHAT SPECTATORS SEE WANGANUI MAN ATTENDS I Patrons of the Wanganui Jockey , Club’s steeplechase meeting to-day and Saturday will be able lo see even contestant at every obstacle, and they will find themselves well catered for ‘ and provided with a programme ol racing under enjoyable conditions, i But a Wanganui man at present re- I sident in England found conditions *>• i the famous Aintree course far different when he attended the meeting on I the day that the Grand National I Steeplechase was run. Writing to Mr C. G. Russell, president of the Wanganui Jockey Club, this Wanganui man gives his impres- . sions as follows: “My wife and I have just come back from Aintree and, although the experience as a whole was very wonderful, from a racing point of view it was very poor. We motored up to Derby and stayed with some friend'. , 'and on Friday took train at 9.20 a.m. j for the course. All carriages were restaurant cars, and an excellent ; lunch was served on the way up. We j arrived at the course about 11.40 a.m , and then had to wait about till 2 p.m., when the first race started. To fill in the time we walked right round the course to get a close-up view of the fences. The circuit is about two and a-quarter miles and the fences are not as formidable as they appear in the illustrated magazines, with the exception of Beecher’s Brook,, which * is some feet lower on the landing side | than on the take-off, and again at the « Canal Turn, where two fences are a; ] exactly right angles to one another . and I should say only about 100 yards apart. The rest are all fair and rea- I sonable steeplechase obstacles, made of gorse or pine, but not standing upright as we have them but laid fla.. on top of one another. I don't know how they get them so tight and compact as the rail on each side of th? jump is only three feet high. What of the Race? "Now what did we see of the race itself? We paid 35s each to get into Tattersall’s Stand, and the people who patronise the greyhound meetings at Castlecliff would not be pleased at the facilities, even if they got the same ' for one shilling. The lirst race was ready to start soon after the walk round, and all I saw of it was the back view of several hats in front of me as there was no chance of getting on the stand. Directly this race was over we fought our way on to the top of the stand and stood up from about 2.10 til] 3.15, when the big rac' 1 was timed to start. There is no cover on top of the stand and a very cold wind was blowing. “The start, which was close to us, | was a fine sight, with the 35 horses , stretched across the track, but from i then on everything was too far away. I The first fence must, be something I like three furlongs from the start, ■ and as the horses are going almost j directly away all that one can see the colours rising up in the air, but who is which it is impossible to see. At the far end of the course the horses are not. far short of a mile away, and when they become recog- ’ nisabJe again they are coming I straight towards one again. The only [ fence that one really had a good view I of is the water jump, which is jumped once and is about 200 yards distant. I One has a fairly good side view of this. “The finish was wonderful, Battleship, the American horse, just beating Prince Danieli by a head. The riderless French horse, Takvor Pachn, actually finished first and interfered with Battleship a bit in the run home. “About 4 o’clock we were all feeling a bit tired and cold, and wandered out to the railway station, where we had to hang about till 6.20 p.m., when our train left. The same train, carriages and seats were available, and it did seem warm and comfortable by contrast. A very good dinner was served straight away and everything brightened up. Lack of Comfort “It was really surprising what the English people put up. with on the racecourse and the absolute lack of comfort and convenience. I don't think they can teach us much over here in the matter of catering for the public. Admittedly the crowd is immense—3oo,ooo I saw in the papers—and they are all spread out all round the 2.Umile course. One could only say that one had seen the start, the

j water jump and the finish. We drove , back to London on Saturday and that . evening I went to the pictures and in a comfortable chair and for the price of one shilling saw practically I the whole race on the screen. I have 1 a bouquet to hand the railway i authorities for their excellent organl- . sation and care for the passengers j comfort, but the racecourse people 1 don’t get any marks from me."