THE TONIC OF MYSTERY.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XVIII, Issue 1062, 14 July 1910, Page 7

THE TONIC OF MYSTERY.

Under the above heading, “Milroy,” of the “Sydney Mail,” penned the following anent the V.R-C. Grand National Hurdle Race: —Ataahua was beaten into the last three of the 13 that ran in the Grand National Hurdle Race. Ataahua is a sensational New Zealander. A couple of years ago he was winning a Caulfield National by about a furlong, but met with a mishap at the last hurdle, and the money was lost. The betting public had not by any means forgotten film and tris performance on that occasion, and they only needed the tonic of a little mystery to make him favourite for the Grand National without waiting for a stable lead when the weights appeared. The public dearly love a mysterious horse. Tell an ordinary backer honestly all you know about a horse, and advise him to bet on the strength of wnat you have seen in public, and he will generally listen indulgently—and back something else. But you whisper in his ear that So-and-So did a gallop in the dark, and he is instantly galvanised with a ferocious desire to devour the bookmakers and put them out of action himself, but will come again at anything mysterious that may arise. For the life of me I could not see why Ataahua should figure at 4 to 1 in the quotations before the acceptances were due, or at any time, but the reason for it was that the regular watchers knew nothing about him. He worked when they were not present, and to crown all did a gallop at Caulfield before daylight one morning. It is admitted in the report that it was impossible to see what was really going on, yet it was allowed that he beat Bribery by 100yds over the last mile and a-quarter of a long distance gallop. bribery may have gone with him all the way, or, perhaps, Bribery was the real Simon Pure, and was doing the gallop with Ataahua to help over the last mile and a-quarter; but it did not matter a rap what really was done, so long as nobody knew. The public concluded that David Price had something up his sleeve, and they were going to be with him, right of wrongEvidently it got about on the day that Ataahua was not the great horse his mjisguided backers anticipated, for he weakened considerably in the bet ting, and ran accordingly after having every chance as regards position in the early part of the race. He joined the great army of mysterious failures that in the past have helped the bookmakers to affluence and the public to the poor-house.