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MANIPULATING THE SHOES How Australian Trainer Lost Faith in This Method of Deceit. . Horse -with "Tillage Blacksmith" Shoes Goes 01 to Beat Hea-rOy Backed Opponent "With Big "Weight Up. 1 The following story of an experience of Joe Cook, a leading Australian trainer, is narrated by Outpost in the "Sydney Referee." Although even now trainers like to sneak gallops occasionally, they do not go to so pnuch trouble to deceive the workwatchcrs as in the old days, when horses were taken to the track at two or three in the morning and worked by moonlight. However, when training on the Clarendon course, Mr. Cook found that there was one man he could never beat. It did not matter how early he had his team on the track, this watcher was there. At last he decided to trick him, so commenced to work his horses in broad daylight. The watrher had quite a few shocks after that. Some of the worst of the string suddenly developed remarkable track form and beat horses which had always been regarded as much faster animals. By the look of the lead cloths it always appeared that the good horses had the best of the weights, but how was the watcher to know that the cloths on the second raters were packed with cardboard, with just a little lead in view to deceive anyone who was too close? Of course, there were many other methods of deceiving the watchers, but manipulating the shoes was one in which Mr. Cook lost faith after what happened to him when training Saunterer and Balthazer for Joe Abrahams. "In those days," he said, "it was the custom to gives horses searching preparation for long-distanec races. Saunterer was a great horse aver a mile and a half, but I did not think that he could go two miles. However, his owner was determined to start him in the Metropolitan, then a two-mile race. "Everything was going well when one day Mr. Abrahams came to me in a great state of excitement with the tale of how a horse had run a mile and three-quarters on the track that morning in 3 :19. He then told me he wanted Saunterer and Belthazer tried against the watch over the same distance that afternoon. I tried to persuade him against this idea, but he was determined to go throught with it, even if the horses broke down. "They ran the distance all right, and, though practically walking over the last furlong, put up the good time of 3 :17. Both were greatly distressed and Saunterer pulled up on three legs. We took him home and on examination found a huge stone bruise under his hoof. "I sent for Andy Downey and got him to make a big set of bar shoes. The horse could go around all right with them on and I gave him an easy canter next morning. "I was training a horse of my own called Waxworks at the time and he did a particularly good trial the same morning. Mr. Abrahams saw him working and laid me ,500 to nothing if I started him in the Welter on the first day of the meeting. Saunterer was in the same race and his owner decided to let him run, but to go for a big win on my horse. "Tom Pickard rode Saunterer and Paddy Piggott Waxworks. We didnt say anything to the boys beyond telling Paddy not to make his run until opposite the leger. However, he dropped back beaten there and Saunterer, humping his 134 pounds and village blacksmith shoes, finished in great style and was up in time to beat Miss Whiffler a head. We didnt have a penny on him and I took little notice of shoes after that."
