Best Australian Racing Stories (42 page)

It must be very depressing to return from a racecourse with empty pockets and a thaw setting in. Men must have strong constitutions to stand the wear and tear of English racing, season after season, and they earn the money they make.

Racing in the Australian Colonies is conducted under the most favourable atmospheric conditions as a rule, and therefore it is all the more delightful and enjoyable.

Racing men in Australia

I doubt if there can be found as much enthusiasm in a race crowd in any part of the globe as there is in Australia. No matter under what circumstances the racing takes place, the people enjoy it, and even the downfall of favourites has not much effect upon them.

Hundreds of men live ‘on the game' and appear to do well at it. How they live is a mystery to most people. They must have money to bet with, and to pay their expenses, and they always have a pound or two to invest upon anything they fancy. These hangers-on of the turf are a nuisance to trainers, for they are constantly badgering them for tips.

Many of them are friends of the jockeys and no doubt obtain information from them; and jockeys are much more ready to talk on an Australian racecourse than they are in England.

On the turf in Australia is an exceedingly pleasant existence. There are the usual ups and downs connected with it, and the same amount of good luck and bad luck.

It is a genuine cosmopolitan crowd on an Australian racecourse. The Governor of the Colony appears to forget his office for the time being and to take a delight in mingling with the people. A racing governor is bound to become popular while a governor who has no fondness for sports of any kind has no hold on the affections of the people.

Lord Carrington was one of the most popular governors New South Wales ever had, and so was Lord Hopetoun in Victoria, and both were real good sportsmen.

Class distinctions are not as marked on colonial racecourses as they are in England. There are no reserves for the Upper Ten, as at Ascot, Goodwood and other places in England. The AJC and VRC have reserves for their members, and there is far more extensive and better accommodation provided for the public in Australia. The accommodation at Flemington and Randwick is far ahead of that on principal English courses.

Racing in the sunny south is far more of a pleasure than a business. Thousands of people are not cooped up in small rings, as though they were so many sheep crowded into a pen. There is plenty of elbow room, even on a Melbourne Cup Day at Flem-ington there is ample room for the ladies to promenade on the spacious lawn, although there are fifty to eighty thousand people present on the course.

Ten thousand is a small crowd for a great race meeting in Australia, although it does not meet this number at suburban meetings, unless it be an exceptional day.

It is this feeling of freedom and comfort that makes turf life in the colonies so pleasant and enjoyable. There is so much geniality and goodwill about it.

Although men are keen on making money, and occasionally indulge in sharp practices, most owners are not averse to the public knowing what their horses can do and what chances they have of winning.

No owner I ever met likes to be forestalled in the betting market, nor is it natural he should be. It is not in human nature that such should be the case.

Granted the public pay freely toward the race-fund, in the form of gate money, if they bet that is their lookout but they should not forget that keeping racehorses is a very expensive game. Owners of racehorses have a lot to contend with and I think they may be pardoned if occasionally they say bitter things when they find themselves forestalled in the market.

The best part of the day, my opinion, is the early morning, and many a pleasant hour have I spent on the training track watching the horses at work. There are no restrictions placed upon the members of the sporting press watching horses do their gallops.

Formerly at Randwick anyone was allowed on the training track, but now only those persons who have business there are permitted to be present. This is a change for the better.

Every facility is given the representatives of the various newspapers by the racecourse authorities, and with but few exceptions they are treated with courtesy and respect.

The sporting pressmen with whom I associated during my stay in the colonies were a genial, jolly set of men, and thoroughly competent. We had some rare fun as we journeyed to the various meetings, and jokes and anecdotes flew around rapidly. Regular Bohemians they were, and warm-hearted and generous to a degree, always ready and willing to lend a helping hand to a comrade, either in his work or when misfortunes overtook him.

They were men who had many temptations thrown in their way, but kept honest and straight in their careers. Some of the happiest days of my working life have been spent in their society and as comrades the bulk of them were as true as steel.

We had our little differences occasionally and at times the arguments as to the merits of certain horses became heated, but all these disputes ended amicably and the discourse generally ended with, ‘Well, what's yours, old man?'

Yes, those were the jolly days, and if any of my old comrades of the Press read this book, I trust that they will allow the writer to class himself as one of them still.

Jockeys

Australian jockeys have a different style and appearance to the English. They are, as a rule, neat in their dress and it is an exception to see a slovenly jockey.

Good jockeys are few and far between. Many men are able to ride a horse, but this does not constitute a good jockey. Race-riding is an art that few men, and hardly any boys, are proficient in.

At the present time, however, there are some fine riders on the turf in Australia. Such men as John Fielder, the Delaneys, the Goughs, the Cooks, Lewis, Kelso, Parker, Huxley, Harris and Dawes Park are all thoroughly reliable riders. Martin Gallagher is getting on in years, but his hand has lost none of its cunning.

A good yarn is told about Martin Gallagher. At Rosehill he rode a certain horse, and he was called upon to explain its running. The chairman had a horse running in this particular race.

‘You could have been much nearer to the winner,' said the chairman.

‘Yes,' said Martin, ‘but I could not have won.'

‘Why did you not ride your horse out?' asked the chairman.

‘I got jammed in,' said Martin with a smile, ‘one horse kept me in all down the straight; in fact, this horse was “shepherding” me all through the race.'

‘And whose horse was that?' indignantly asked the chairman.

‘Yours, sir,' was the quiet but very effective reply.

Nothing came of that inquiry.

Jockeys are often accused of pulling horses when they are not at fault. I am sorry to say, however, I have seen horses deliberately stopped.

In the majority of cases the men who instruct the jockeys how to ride races are to blame. If a jockey does not carry out the instructions he receives, he does not get many mounts.

An Australian jockey has not much chance of making a big fortune from riding fees alone; there are exceptions, but not many.

An attempt was made by Mister W.A. Long, one of the members of the AJC Committee, to reduce the jockeys' fee for a losing mount to £1. I wrote strongly against this at the time, and so did others, and eventually the fee was fixed at £2 instead of £3. For a winning mount on the flat a jockey receives £5, and it is considerably more for hurdle and steeplechase riding.

When we consider the small number of mounts a jockey can get in a year, his income cannot be large. Thirty winning mounts is far above the average for a jockey in a season in Australia.

Jockeys are not allowed to bet, but they do bet, and heavily sometimes. It is a bad system, but it will never be avoided so long as a jockey cannot make a good income from riding fees alone. I have known jockeys standing to win large stakes on races. They have told me the amount on several occasions.

It is a pernicious practice for an owner to put a jockey up and give him orders not to win, and yet this is done by men who ought to know better.

I once asked a popular jockey why he did not decline to ride a horse when he was given orders not to win.

‘If I did I should never get another mount from him,' he answered, naming a well-known owner. ‘Not only that, but he would influence other owners against me.'

Accidents will happen during races, but many could be avoided if mere lads who know no more how to ride a race than they know how to fly, were not put up in the saddle.

These youngsters have no fear because they are unaware of the danger. There are far too many of these apprentices riding in the colonies.

One of the worst accidents I saw was at Randwick, when Alec Robinson was killed by Mister Cooper's Silvermine falling. Poor Robinson was literally smashed all to pieces, and was hardly recognisable when brought into the casualty room.

It is really wonderful how often riders escape. Tom Corrigan and Martin Bourke were killed, one a few days after the other. Corrigan, about the best steeplechase rider in the colonies, was killed by his horse Waiter falling in a steeplechase at Caulfield. A public subscription was raised for his widow, who got a good round sum. The little Irishman was one of the most jovial, goodhearted men I ever met.

Martin Bourke was killed while schooling a horse over hurdles at Flemington. Bourke was the most fearless rider, and the number of falls he had was remarkable. I think he had nearly every bone in his body broken at one time or another.

There are some fair amateur riders in Australia, but not so many as one would expect in such a country. There are hundreds of splendid horsemen in the colonies, and yet very few men capable of riding a decent race in the amateur ranks.

Jockeys have too much spare time on their hands, and this is not a good thing for anyone. I have repeatedly advocated the formation of a jockeys' clubhouse at Randwick, or in the vicinity, where the lads could pass away their spare hours. In such a club they would be free from public house surroundings, and would have their billiards in peace and quietness. Most jockeys are fond of a game of billiards.

It does not look well to see jockeys hanging around the entrance of Tattersalls' club and other places. Very few jockeys in Australia have retaining fees, and are constantly on the lookout for chance mounts.

For a big race leading jockeys will probably be engaged to ride for a stable, and certain jockeys may generally be depended upon to ride for certain owners or stables, but, as I said before, very few have retaining fees.

There is a vast difference in the way races are ridden in Australia to the old country. Waiting tactics are not often resorted to, and it is generally a hot pace the full distance. The severe 2 miles of the Melbourne Cup course is run at full speed, and there is not much chance of waiting on the road. This system of riding is in a great measure due to the time test. If a horse is timed to run 2 miles in say 3.29 or 3.30, then he has to do it in the race if possible. A slow-run race is an exception. I mean, as a rule the horses go at their top, but they may not be fast enough to make good time.

It would surprise many people to see the rate at which horses go over hurdles and steeplechase fences. In a hurdle race horses very often go as fast as they do on the flat. Steeplechasers are often ridden at a breakneck pace, which says more for the pluck than the judgement of the riders.

Tom Hales

When I first went to Australia Tom Hales was at the height of his fame as a jockey, but of late years he has almost given up riding and is rarely seen in the saddle. His record stands alone, and he has ridden more winners than any other jockey in the colonies. He has won nearly every race of importance on the Australian turf, and his classic wins are too numerous to mention.

As a rider of two-year-olds Hales may be placed on a par with that master of the art, Tom Cannon. Hales has a wonderful sympathy with the horse he rides, and he and his mount appear to understand each other thoroughly. In such races as the Derby, Hales's judgement stands him in good stead, and his knowledge of pace was never better displayed than when he beat Carbine on Ensign in the Derby of 1888.

It was in this type of race for the late James White that Hales scored his biggest wins, and he rode scores of winners for the New-market stable.

Tom Hales, in my humble opinion, is one of the best men I ever saw ride a racehorse. He has marvellous hands, a clear, cool head, and is a wonderful judge of pace, a great finisher, and has a good seat. Above all, he is as honest as the day, and there has never been a whisper of suspicion against him during his long career in the saddle.

I have known Hales a long time, and his modest and unassuming manner and thorough straightforwardness have always favourably impressed me. Many happy hours have I spent with him, both on the turf and off, more especially in his beautiful home,Acmeville, at Moonee Ponds, near Melbourne.

Acmeville is a charming residence, luxurious without being ostentatious. Tom Hales at home is the hospitable host and Mrs Hales, a daughter of South Australia's most successful breeder of horses, is a model wife.

Unfortunately Tom Hales is a great sufferer from asthma and is anything but strong. His love of riding, however, is as keen as ever. The last time I was at Acmeville he returned with me to Melbourne in order to go on that night to Caulfield to ride one of his own horses at work next morning.

‘I never consider any trouble or inconvenience it may cause me, when there is work to be done,' he said, when I asked him why he left his comfortable home to go out to Caulfield. ‘I have always made it a practice through life to be on the spot when I'm wanted. I have done this for the owners I have ridden for, now I am doing it for myself.'

Tom Hales is a wealthy man, and has acquired his money in an honest manner, and has worked very hard for it, I'm afraid to the detriment of his health.

He has a fine stud farm at Halesville, near Albury, in lovely country near the banks of the Murray, and there he is devoting much of his time to the breeding of bloodstock. He purchased Lochiel, the famous son of Prince Charlie, but was induced to part with him, and I think he has regretted the sale ever since.