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THE PERILS OF TATTENHAM CORNER. " If he only escapes accident coming round Tat-tenham Corner, and secures a good place, he will w 1 1 1 . "How often has this remark been made by owners of horses competing in the Derby when sneaking of lie chances of their colts. Anil what a big if* it is. for here is the real crucial point of the whole Struggle. A horse badly placed when commencing the turn round the Corner stands every chance of being Interfered with from both sides, for it is here that jockeys generally make their effort towards success, and a little carelessness on their part might easily bring disaster to half a dozen animals, with perhaps broken limbs for their riders." says London Sporting Life. "F.voryon,- has heard of Tattenham Corner, hut fi w indeed outside regular racegoers have ever seen it. or understood anything of the difficulties which must hi faced by a horse which has to negotiate it at nearly top speed. These difficulties are greatly Increased by the fact that the quarter of a mile which precedes the Corner is down hill, and there-tore considerable pace has been attained before it is rend ed. The late Harry Constance, who rode in nineteen consecutive Derbys. says of it: "What is known as Tattenham Corner is one of the worst bends I ever rode round or saw. It is not only down a very steep incline, but on a side hill, as well as a very sharp turn, and it Is wonderful to me it is not productive of more accidents. The nature of the ground and circumstances generally do not permit of a jockey easing his horse in rounding the bend, for w.re he to do so he would stand a great chance of being run into by the horses in his rear. Again. whatever nouttoa lie may be in he must keep to until well round the turn, for should he draw ever so slightly to one side he may interfere with another animal, and the slightest touch under such circumstances may have disastrous results. "The coolness and nerve shown by the jockeys generally in taking this dangerous bend proves that they appreciate its difficulties, and it is rare indeed that an accident has to be recorded. In recent years, indeed, only two. come readily to mind. The first of these occurred in the Derby of 18W, when the Duke of Westminsters Flying Fox won. On this occasion our French friends were the sufferers. Their champion, the grey Holocausle. had apparently got safely round the corner, though running a bit wide; but the possibility is that he had not got fairly straightened out again, for lie had hardly headed for home when In- pecked badly and fell, unfortunately breaking a fetlock joint, and had to be destroyed. A more recent one occurred in the Derby of two years ago. and probably contributed towards the success of King Edwards colt Minora, which occasioned the greatest scene of enthusiasm ever known on a race course. This time it was our American cousins who suffered. They held high hopes of Sir Martin, which had been bought by Louis Winans at a big figure, and had proved himself a good horse. Making the descent to the Corner he sprawled a little, and was consequently struck into by the horse following !n his wake. Valens and William tin- Fourth were forced to eome around to avoid him and his jockey. Martin. The latter was brought back on the ambulance, but beyond being badly bruised suffered no hurt. "A quick wit ted jockey is very often presented with a tine Queuing when coming round the Corner into the straight. A big. far striding animal is as likely is not to run a bit wide making the turn, and coming away from the rails leaves plenty of room for the horse Immediately behind him to dash through and secure the berth on the inside, which means so much towards ultimate success. This happened in the case of Minoru when Herbert Jones was quick to seize the opening presented by Louviers going a trifle wide. This piece of judgment on the part of the kings jockey undoubtedly went a long way towards achieving the most popular Derby victory in ttie anirils of the race. The Berks; course itself is practically in two halves, one up hill and one down. The start is on a slight rise, but after a few yards there is a slight fall until opposite Downs House, about 388 yards from the start. Then commences a rise of thirty six feet to the City and Suburban starting post. Her ■ the ground slopes a good deal, the outside of the track being nine feet higher than on the tails. For the next 380 yards the rise is much steeper, there being in this distance a gradient of twenty feet, equal to one in forty-five. "On the next COO yards, which reaches past the seven-furlongs post, there is a rise of thirty feet more. ;he ground here being 100 feet higher than at fin- starling post. The best going of the whole journey occurs on I he curve of the old Woodcote Stakes post and from here there is a rapid descent to Tat leidiain Corner. •Tin- horses come on to the straight course -bout half a mile from the winning post on -round Which fi lis one in twenty three and when past the Junction of the Great Metropolitan course there Is a descent • l forty feel to the beginning of the stands. ll along this stretch the cross section is very pronounced, the stand side being much higher than on the rails. From the grandstand to the winning posi there is mi easy incline."
