THE SPORTING WORLD

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume XLV, Issue XLV, 5 October 1917, Page 1

THE SPORTING WORLD

[From Ouu London Correspondent.] i KKSmU'TIOX OF RACfXG. J ' It must be generally accepted that the i decision of the Government to sanction 40 < ■ days' racing timing the balance of the year 1 naturally means good news. Fanatics may urge this and that, but the great majority of the people lecognise that the Government's ban was in the interest of the Em- ' pile, even though racing suffered. The .' removal of the restrictions seems to imply that we are not. in danger of being starved into making terms with the Germans. The latest returns of ships sunk bear this out, ; and nnless anything unexpected hajjpens there now appears to be sound reason for thinking that we shall be able to carry, on, whilst a further 4,000.000 acres of land are to be devoted to corn nest year. Forty days' i-aoing . may not satisfy everyone, but it is better than none, and above all it means much. Though somewhat belated, we .shall now have' a War Derby; Oaks, and St. Leger (known as the September Stakes). \ The conditions of the * events call for 30 entries for the Derby and Oaks and five less for the St. Leger. The first-named will be a sweepstake of £IOO, with £I,OOO added, the other races being sweeps of 50sovs, with added money of 500sovs and l,ooosovs respectively. It now remains to see how the events will be supported, and on all sides one hears 1 satisfaction that the' unbroken run of the , classics shall continue. .-. Of course, the resumption of racing does nob find favor,' and one fad-

dist lias been asking questions" in the House of Commons regarding betting. He wants the Government to put restrictions on betting,, but the Chancellor oj" the "pointed out that it was not practicable to prohibit all betting and the publication of betting news, lie also hinted that there was alimit to the interference with the liberties of the subject, even under war conditions. Faddists have made the most of the present conditions,, but those \ who (like i;he , writer) were in favor of the stoppage or. racing if it released thousands for work of national importance have no sort of syni--1 pathy with the foolish people who look on betting as a crime and think it can be stopped by law. • » • I'here is just one little matter iu con- ' nection with the renewal which, has given rise to comment. Twenty-eight of the days allowed are at Newmarket, with 12 ' for the provinces. Perhaps .half-and-half > would have been fairer, for there is no doubt that the war workers in big centres would enjoy a days racing on one of the ■ recognised holidays or on.a Sunday after- , noon. xUI work and no play does not lead l to good work, and those who have had r chances to study the Labor question are ; agreed that six days' work and one day's , rest will lead to a bigger output of shell than working without a break. 1 . Bt>XlNG> ALL IN. ■■- t 'There comes a time in the career of all , boxers when they are " all in." It is often the result of going on too long., a In connection with this one thinks of Fred Welsh and Sam Longford, who appear to ' have about reached the end of their fame. * Laugford was thought good enough to , tackle Jack Johnson when the latter was at the.top of the tree, and live years ago f he certainly was right there. A few years 1 makes a difference, and the result of his xeceat bout with Fred Fulton seems to 1 show "that he has had his day. For ' Laugford to fail to 5 respond to the .bell 1 when it souuded for the commencement s of the seventh round shows that he must have been in a bad way, his whole career having instanced his willingness to do r - battle. A, GREAT JOCKEY. The death'of Tom Cannon, sen., takes one back to the days of Archer, Fordhani, D Wood, and other giants among jockeys, of 1 the seventies and eighties. Tom' Cannon I was riding when he only weighed 541b. During his cares.]- as a jockey he scored in e all tlie classic races, his mount in the suc- * cessful Derby being the Duke of West- ; minster's Shotorei in the year 1882. He had four wins in the' Oaks, and he was up on Robert the Devil When that animal won 6 - the St. L'eger. After giving up riding, c Cannon did well as a trainer, and his wins ■ L ' included a classic success. Busybody, an '" Oaks winner, having been prepared by : ' him. He also turned out famous steeplee chase . winners in Playfair and Rodpath, '• winners oE the Grand National and Auteuil Grand Steeplechase respectively". It is fitting to add that Tom Caaouii was also a wonderful mentor of jockeys, of

whom splendid examples are found in Jack Watts. S. Loates, aiufiris ovni sons. Mornington and KcmptC:: The deceased was highly esteemed, and his death leaves "a blank in a small circle associated with racing at its best, and before rich plebeians entered the game and caused some of the best type of sportsmen to drop out. CHARITY CRICKET. It was a nappy thought to arrange a cricket match between English and Anstraltatn military cricket' elevens - for the 'benefit 01 the St. Dunstan's Hostel for blinded fighters. Many of the famous players concerned were no strangers to Lords ' fecund and test cricket. On the Home side were such noted players as Captain r. F. Warner, Lieutenant-colonel- J. W. Hi T. Douglas, and Sergeant C. Blythe, all test players, while-the others were all county men of note. The chosen men of Australia were also • worldrenowned, and included 'Captain E. P. Barbour. Lieutenant 0. Kellewav. C. G. M-Cartney, and Private T. J. Matthews. The •. Australians batted iirst, but only three Reached double figures. Barbour (30), Kelleway (53), and Lieutenant C. T. Docker (12! beiivg most successful. The excellent bowling of Private H....W. Lee, the Middlesex player, who took five wickets at a cost of 23 runs, was the main cause of this result. The English soldier cricketers did rather better. Cca-poial H. Makepeace, of Lancashire ?(13), Corporal E. Tvldeslev. of Lancashire (38), Warner (34), .Douglas' (20), and Corporal D. W. Jennings, of Kent- (26) beinj top-scar-eis in a totel of 162 for niiu

•wickets. Private C. T. Docker was the mast successful Australian bowler, with three wickets for 16 rans. FLEET-FOOTED. SOLDIERS. Some excellent -running was seen at the military meeting held dfc AMershot on Saturday, in -which Canadian and Somli African si.idiers -were cliieriy concernedThe great Reggie Walker, of i9OB OlympicGames fame, tinned out in the Jevel ICO yards, but was beaten half a yard in the final by G-unner Blades, of Canada, in JOfsec. Another well-known athlete in Staff-sergeant IS. \Y. Haley (Heme HiiJ Harriers.; won tht quarter, whilst the n-ile ,- fell to Driver Holmes, of Canada, and another from the Dominion in Sergeant CA. Thorpe was successful in the three miles. -Canada was ako to the fore in the- * high jump, long jump, aid putting the shot,, aud secured the unit trophy with a' total of 39 points, the Canadian field Artillery being the team. The Canadian Reserve Battalion, 17 poinds, w.is second, and the South .African Infantry third with 15 points.

SALE OP SCEPTRE'. That wonderful mare Sceptre just been sold for the benefit of the Red Cross fund, which receives 2,500 gnineps in con- ■ sequence. Sir W. Tatem was the purchaser, and the mare was given bv Mr Musker, who purchased Sceptre from Mr Tattersall fox. 7,000 guineas. Thus Mr Musker has made a very generous gift to the fund. Sceptre lias had a great career, . > first having been bought by Mr Sievier/us ' a yearling f or 10,000 guineas, and after-' wa.rds sold to Sir William Bass for 25,000 guineas, after having won about £23,000 m stake's for Mr Sievier. Everyone will hope that Sir W. Tatem -will be rewarded i for his enterprise, and possdblr Sceptre -will ' produce one or two more good winners before her stud career is ended. y