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BETWEEN RACES By Oscar Otis : Failure to Alter Amazes Visitor Phar Lap Australias Yardstick Dayis Consigns to Cal. Vendues Nemesis of Touts Dies in North HOLLYWOOD PARK, Inglewood, Calif., June 28. En route to Australia following a five months visit in the United States and Mexico is Peter Grant Hay, Jr., son of one of Australias more distinguished breeders. Hay came over on business for the familys large industrial holdings, but - while here managed to "take in" the races from coast to coast and in Mexico City, and spent a spell in the Blue Grass area of Kentucky. He was quite impressed with American racing methods and procedures, and asked quite frankly to fault American racing, or give us his impressions of our good points. He did so. One source of never ending amazement to a ranking Australian breeder was our failure to alter a larger percentage of male youngsters. "I think the proper procedure is to geld about 99 per cent of the colts in any given year." says Hay, "although every now and then a mistake is made. We ourselves fielded one we wish we had not, this being Counsel, a winner of the Caulfield Cup. But we have a half-brother to him, a colt by Parenthesis he by Son-In-Law that our trainer assures us has a chance to become another Phar Lap." AAA Hay assured us that Phar Lap was still the standard of comparison in Australia, even as Man o War is with us, and most every colt with championship hopes is compared with Phar Lap to the exclusion of most every one else. We suppose that such comparisons in Australia are just as futile as they are in this country, but such futility has never tended to dim the comparisons. They flourish in spite of the oft repeated axiom that nothing can be accomplished by rating horses of different eras against one another. Hay believes that Australia will in time have to adopt "track side" training, i.e., centering the barns adjacent to the track instead of the vogue in Australia of each owner having his own establishment, vanning to and from the course on racing days. But he also hazards the guess the practice in Australia will die hard because most trainers there do not like "eavesdroppers" getting a line on their horses, a line that American racegoers get because almost all training trials come under the view of competent and impartial dockers. Real estate residential developments in the neighborhood of the tracks will bring about the change, he believes. AAA The House of Hay maintains three farms in the land of "Down Under," one near Victoria on the mainland, another on the Island of Tasmania and the third, or producing farm, on an island named Flinders, in Bass Straights. Flinders Island is about 50 miles by 20 and is located in the shipping lanes between Victoria and Tasmania. It is, according to all reports, a veritable paradise of limestone formation, verdant and lush pastures and, as might be imagined, a pretty fine sort of place for a thoroughbred. It was developed by the senior Hay, as a thoroughbred nursery in 1901. At the present time, however, the farm is gradually being abandoned, the breeding interests being transferred to the mainland. The drawback was that the only steamers available to transport thoroughbreds from Flinders to Tasmania was a 150-ton schooner, not very big to accommodate thoroughbreds and which resulted in too many injuries when rough seas prevailed. The practice was to breed on Flinders, try the stock in Tasmanian racing, and those which didnt make the grade simply were ,not shipped to Australia proper. The Hay activities are now being concentrated at Kilby Park, a 150-acre development about 10 minutes away from the Melbourne course. AAA Recalling Phar Lap, the owner of that immortal but ill-fated thoroughbred, is consigning five yearlings to the California Breeders vendues the 19th and 20th of next month at Santa Anita. The owner is David J. Davis, whose Oak Dell Farm is one of the show places of northern California. The five yearlings, three colts and two fillies, all are by Hollyrood, long one of the Californias "steadiest" top ranking sires. He was a good race horse and sired such as See-tee-see, Hemet Squaw and Holly Tree. One filly is from Bullanne, a first foal from a winner of 21 races. She is a. Bull Dog. One of the colts is. from Gladelily, an unraced half-sister to Singing Wood. The Davis consignment is one of the most important to be offered during the two evenings of bidding. Western turfmen will be sorry to know that Frank H. McConnell, 71, retired San Francisco police lieutenant, died the other day in San Francisco. McConnell "was for decades head of the San Francisco bunco squad and was "loaned each racing season to Tanforan and Bay Meadows tracks before the tracks established either the TRPB or their own security service protection. He was famous for his photographic mind and he had a reputation and justly so, for keeping touts, confidence men and other undesirables off the race tracks and out of the San Francisco Bay area. His methods of dealing with these vermin was direct. "I know you," he would say, "now get out of town." They got, too. . . . His words of advice offered citizens for more than 30 years still holds good today. ... If you are approached to participate in the race the approach is usually made by telephone appear to string along with the calling party, make an appointment, then advise the police who will take over from there. If all citizens so approached by these swindlers would follow these instructions, confidence men using the old "fixed race" gag would be promptly squashed and these men would find themselves in prison where they belong. It might be mentioned that McConnell, as well known as he was on the turf, gained fame in another branch of sports. Before he joined the San Francisco police force in 1909 he was a nationally known middleweight fighter, once boxing 1 Mysterious Billy Smith for the title. i
