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STEEPLECHASING IN FRANCE. William C. Hayes, Enamoured of Sport. Describes Conditions Under Which it Flourishes. New York. June 29.— William C. Hayes, who lias just returned to America from abroad, is enamoured "of the steeplechase siioit as it is conducted m France. The French, lie avers, are the .inly people that race tin- thoroughbred who accord cross-country sport tin- distinction it deserves. -Nothing is too good." savs Mr. Hayes, "to put through the held in France. Votaries of the cross-coiin try game will not school a horse lor jumping that lias not shown high elass. The foremost sportsmen of the republic are in the game. We see a horse win a flat race worth s.ooo or 10,000 trams one day. and appear m a hurdle race a few clays later. Then he goes back to flat racing, and when next we hear of him he is running across country. "It is next to impossible to buy a French horse that has shown any aptitude whatever for lumping. 1 know a Welshman called Ruddock who has been in Paris with 1390.000 Of Knglish money since the beginning of the year trying to purchase French lumpers for service in England. lie Mad not succeeded in liliving one horse whe-li I left, because Frenchmen owning animals of the kind he sought were- unwilling to sell. And ste-cplcchasing is so well controlled in Fiance- it is becoming mote popular every day. ••We Americans made- a mistake in racing horses of onlv fair epialitv against Hie best chasers ol France. It would take the- kind of horses «e- run in stakes of high value- to hold their own wilii ani mals of the elass of the- horses that race »vcr kae lumps at Ante-nil. As evi-i.iom- w ho knows anything about American racing is aware, the steeplechasers we sent to France are only platers. Tin -y can win in plater company in France, but they cannot do better. Th ily really good American Jumper in France- is Thomas Hitchcock. Jr.s Stokes. He is a horse- of high speed and courage and be will. I believe, make- his mark." Mr. Hayes has no horses in America now. His last campaigner was Grandpa, which bore his colors to victory in manv important races. He solel Grandpa to Silas Veitch last fall when he made arrangements to go to Europe as manager e f Unstable of George Baportaa. Mr. Hayes, who was a skillful and papular gentleman rider, is killing time .iust now. but he may be expected ere long to get back into the cross-country game.
