view raw text
Trainer Confirms Experts The ¬ ory on Breathing of Horses Cites as Example the Record of the Horse HorseRocket Rocket Which Could Not Win Unless UnlessHidden Hidden in a Certain Planner An article by an English expert advanc ¬ ing the theory that a breathing spell was necessary for most horses at a certain point in a race in order to give them an oppor ¬ tunity to reinflate their lungs before the final rush was published in Daily Racing Form recently The contentions of the Eng ¬ lish writer have been the basis of consid ¬ erable discussion in turf circles and an English trainer by the name of J Riste has j written an interesting letter to the London Sportsman in support of the writers con ¬ tentions This letter is reproduced in part below belowNearly Nearly fifty years ago I bought a horse named Rocket after his winning a race at Lichfield for about U50 As I rode in the race I thought him cheap but I after i 1 I ward met the owner I Calder who bred him and he told me he was sorry I had bought him as he was too slow to win races As he was one of the largest and most ex ¬ perienced dealers in the West of England I valued his opinion I took Rocket home and trained him with my other horses at Cheltenham CheltenhamWON WON THREE RACES RACESI I was not long in discovering the reason he had not won with the result that I won three races riding him myself I then had him entered for a race at Worcester the native town of his late owner whom I met in the paddock Before the race I was then weighed out Mr Calder came to me and congratulated me on my success with the horse I told him I should win that race also alsoLord Lord Marcus Beresford was with him and asked me to sell him the horse I declined until I had won the race with him which I did I then sold him the horse on conj dition that he ran him in the race he was engaged in at Windsor and rode his acj cording to my instructions and me having so much of the stake which was a good one And oneAnd now for the secret I met Lord Mar ¬ cus in the paddock at Windsor when he was weighed Out when he asked me for my or ¬ ders about riding according to conditions of sale I told him he was to pull him back last after starting and not allow him to be near the others until he had gone half way His wayHis lordship not feeling satisfied with my instructions went to his trainer I Jones who was saddling the horse They both laughed at my instructions and came to me and Jones remarked that my instruc ¬ tions to his lordship to keep the horse a hundred yards behind until he had gone a mile were absurd absurdLOUD LOUD 3IA11CUS AGREES AGREESWell Well I said I am telling his lordship how to win the race as 1 am interested in his doing so nnd he replied that having bought the horse on those conditions he was loyally bound to do so soAnd And he did At one part of the race he was so far behind that it seemed to onlook ¬ ers that it was impossible for him to win But after a mile he let him go He over ¬ took them and won easily to the great de ¬ light of Lord Marcus and the satisfaction of myself myselfI I told him and Jones the secret I found out about RocKct was that if you allowed him to extend himself at the first part of a gallop a donkey could beat him at the fin ¬ ish but if ridden as I have explained noth ¬ ing could beat him in two miles And as Rockets form turned out to prove him the best of his class I have always felt proud of my achievement and it proves how true the recent article on lung reinflation is and how the difference in a horses running can be accounted for when he is ridden as men ¬ tioned tionedI I have often talked the case over with Lord Marcus and wondered what the stew ¬ ards would have said to him had he been beaten a long way instead of winning and thus shown a wonderful reversion of form after my winning the previous races with hun As there may be plenty of other horses suffering from a similar complaint I am afraid the jockeys are blamed when per ¬ fectly innocent and only send you these facts in support of your statement about lung inflation
