view raw text
K of of i ■ be 1 of ■ ■ of , I v t 1 | | ; , I j i • . . ] i i ; • ■ i it _ -" _ — es v. ENGLISH RACING POSTPONED FOR A TIME. King Edwards Death Leads to Abandonment of All Racing Until May 23 — Grand Prix Horse*. ] bv LaataBL Mav 14. — The universally deplored death " King Edward led to the immediate abandonment 1 racing throughout Great Britain and Ireland. ■ For a time it was thought there were solid reasons Why it would be expedient to make an exception in " the east- of the Manche-tor meeting, but its man- ■ agers finallv decided to meet the heavy loss involved and declared the meeting off. So there will r a total effacing of the sport until after the burial , the king, its resumption being set for Monday. , Mav 23. at Lingfield Park. The following week will j bring about the running of the Epsom Derby, the Oaks and the other big events of the Epsom Summer J. , Meeting, and a fortnight later on will bring on -| T. "Roval Ascot." with its great stakes, but lacking E. its usual gayety and fashionable display, because the necessary somber colors of mourning that will be substituted "for the customary show of all that j wealth and lavish outlay can produce in the way of -j rich feminine costuming. j The announcement of the names of horses left in j. the Grand Prix de Paris after the declaration of j forfeit is alwavs particularly instructive, inasmuch j as it mav be taken as an expression of opinion on -y the part "of owners as to the esteem in which they , hold their representatives. Horses trained in Eng- "j land still eligible to run for the great French race ;. include Tressadv. Charles OMalley, I/einberg, King ] Midas. Admiral Hawke. Montreal. Nankeen. Bron- t zino. [Hater King. Witehwark, Whisk Rroom. New j Castle and a few others not so well known, and , amongst this lot something should he found capable j of once more winning the event for the old coun- J. try. . , Naturally, the turf newspapers have devoted much j naaee ka King Edwards long earner; as an ardent turfman, and many interesting features have been j developed. He was immensely popular with and , beloved bv racing people of all ranks, and it is doubtful if aaj other class felt his loss more poign- • antlv. As to the effect of his death upon the , ■part itself, it can lie said that the Earl of Lonsdale , fairly expressed the opinion of the leading turfmen j when he said: . . •T do not think that the death of nis mm Majesty , King Edward will affect the turf in any way beyond the feelings of tin- greatest possible grief at the loss of so staunch a supporter and so magnificent a . sportsman, whose colors were always welcome, not only as king of England, but as one of the truest j and b.st six.rtsmen in existence, and whose natural high-minded and straightforward views on all sub- j j.ts apiHTtaining to the turf were obviously a mag- • iiiticent example to all those connected with it. And i deeply as we regret the terrible loss of so able I • man so true a sportsman, and so great a king, yet as I have said, except for the terrible sorrow j "at his untimelv death, which will lie caused in the hearts of all Englishmen, the British turf will not, | I think, be affected, and we hope that his high- , minded and BBerttag example will be followed by his son. King George V.. than whom there is no higher, or more justlv. minded sportsman." An interesting recapitulation of the racing career of King Edward, year by year, since his first venture as Planee of Wales in 1SN6, gives the following list of winning horses and their earnings: As Prince of Wales: IM Counterpane $ pJ i 1KS9 Galliffet and Shamrock II 12£ . 1S!«» Pierrette and Naudini 6,30 i 1S91 Pierrette, The Imp. County Council and Barraoouta 20,74j! i 1N92 The Vigil . 1" i ].V»3 The Vigil and Versailles 1.S60 i UN Fbirizel II 17.49o , 1N9.-. Florizel II.. Persimmon. Courtier, Thais and Safety Pin 40.805 , ]K!»G Thais. Courtier. Persimmon, Safety Pin. St. Nicholas, Oakdene and Eclipse 134,00.. , 1M7 Mousine. Little Dorrit. Persimmon, Safety Pin and Oakdene 7S.8..0 1S9*n Eventail. Lucknow and Nunsuch 32,80. , 1N!I9 Muscovado. Lucknow and Diamond Jubilee WW 1900 Diamond Jubilee. Lucknow and Lord yuex WBJm ; As King Edward VII.: 1912 Mead I ,--- VMC, Mead .I-T- t M Roseinarket and Chatsworth J"-, t 190.". Mead and Carstone ,1;!Y°, V.KKi Victoria. Osella and Clieverel 13.94U 1907 Pearl of the Loch. Slim Lad, Simpatica and Coxcomb 14.720 j 190S lerrier. Minoru, Slim Lad, Princesse de Galles and Marie Legraye 27,4o0 j l!K9 Vain Air. Minoru. Oahaaere, Saints Mead. Princesse de Galles and Moor- f.,„.k 100.720 1 1910 Witch of the Air 1.080 0 Summary: Races - Winners. V on. Value. . As Prince of Wales 26 74 9£M55 -. As King Edward 20 44 19o.020 [, _ Totals 46 118 86,945 5 . As befalls all good turfmen King Edward had u his tips and downs on the turf. but. viewing his ■ career as a whole, it can be seen that he had more e than average good fortune, having won the Two 0 Thousand twice, the Derby three times and the St. l.eg.-r twice. Persimmon, with a total of 4,-03. • was his greatest money winner. Although reports to the contrary circulated at various tiuios, lie was a light bettor. He raced for . the love of racing. He loved horses and could d shrewdly measure the value of their performances. ;- His views on gambling have been extensively " quoted He neither encouraged nor countenanced its ■ practi.-e He had a dry and caustic humor which " he esneciallv applied to the plunger. There was a a voimg patrician possessed of enormous wealth who ° aaec informed him -he was Prince of Wales at the e time -that he had 1910.sh0,000 on a horse that was s al».ut to run. , , . "And what is the value of your horse." asked the prince. . •■AlR.ut five hundred pounds, your royal highness. The prince nodded. ■ "A poor purse for such a treasure. he said. • "Yea are taking the same risk as the man who " sends a fortune by post and forgets to lick the llap of the cncluf c." "But my horse is ■ certainty, sir," protested the young man. , The prince smiled and pointed to the line of gesticulating " naakaaafcera, ••Those gentlemen have grown rich on •certainties • •■ he said. Bo much the crestfallen plunger admitted later, when his "certainty" finished a bad In connection with the death of the king a singular coincidence has been noted. On Friday afternoon | his inajestvs horse. Witch of tlie Air, won the Kempton Spring Plate at a moment when its royal I owner lav on the brink of deatli iu London. As events turned out. in effect his majesty had raced I Mi.ce-sf.illy on his dying day. la also was it with ! Queen Anne two centuries ago. On July W, 1714. when the queen was seized with her last illness. one of her horses, named Star, won the York Plate. Express riders were dispatched with all speed to J her majestys bedside with the tidings, but the . , queen lav unconscious, a state from which she never recovered. The late king was more favored i bv fortune. Witch of the Air Carried King Edwards colors for the last time past the post early in the dav. and. as his majesty did not lose consciousness until many hours later, he heard that the l«opular purple and gold had been carried to victory ; amid ringing cheers.
