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AUSTRALIAN IDEAS OF ENGLISH RACING W Kelso of Sydney Australia a racing expert in the antipodes and a close observer drew some interesting comparisons between English and Aus ¬ tralian racing for the Australasian when he got back SydneyAustralians to Sydney Australians dont realize how well theyre treated in racing matters until they go to England said tlie Sydney man The expenses are heavier and you do not get the same comfort At some of thi courses it is ditlicult to get a look at the horses be ¬ fore they go out to race and then they finish away from yon At Flemington a Newmarket handicap down the straight six furlongs Is a bad race to see but at Newmarket they have mile and a quarter races over a straight course Newmarket Is an immense place and Randwick seems quite a pony track by comparison I suppose there are fully 5OftO horses trained at Newmarket and there isiio such thing as timing gallops there It was a great sight on Derby day the crowd making a Melbourne Cup attendance look quite small However of the courses I visited the one I liked best for a days racing was Sandown Park at Esher about sixteen miles from London while Hurst Park Kempton and Ncwbnry dateAll are also np to date All the jockeys in England ride very short anil Id like to hear our trainers when they saw each ridor come out with his knees level with his mounts withers At the machine a lot of fractionsness is usual and the starter does not appear to have the same control over the boys that Is customary here The horses spread out a lot at the barrier owners and trainers being afraid that if they line np close together damage is almost certain to result front kicking Most of the starts are effected when the horses are more or less on the move and an attempt to heat the barrier does not get a rider into trouble Jockeys are somebody in England and I dont think any starter would care to penalize Maher for one for such an offense All the prominent jockeys are kept hard at it during the flat racing season barely having time to slip back from one meeting for a change of clothes before they have to be off to another As for riding work apart from occasional trials they havent much time for that thatThe The Sydney man says the steeplechase courses in England are rather stiff The jumps are high and some are brushed in a way that is almost im ¬ possible to break through them is his idea Touch ¬ ing on training he mentioned that most of the horses he saw working at Newmarket did so In a sheet and a short hood
