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SEVERAL FOXY OLD-TIME JOCKEYS. Englishmen Consider Fordham, Archer and Tod Sloan Best Riders Ever Seen in the Saddle English critics of race riding who think that George Fordham had no equal are of the opinion that the three best riders were Fordham. Fred Archer and Tod Sloan. This is a big tribute to Sloan coming from the connoisseurs on the other side of the water. Such a skilful trainer as John Porter held this view and the latest to agree with him was Sydenham Dixon, who wrote the following article on the trio: "Taking up an old calendar almost at random — it happened to be that of 186.8 — it was interesting to glance through the return of the Cambridgeshire and note the jockeys who rode in it. George Ford ham was on Sec Saw, Which won, the colt having then passed from the possession of the il! fated Marquis of Hastings and carrying the colors of Lord Wilton. Then Wells was on Blue Gown, who aceom plished about the best performance of his career by running second under 120 iMiunds; T. French rode Taraban in the somber livery of Mr. Bowes; T. Chaloner, father of George and Phillip of that ilk, had to put up a pound overweight to ride at 10S pounds on Lady Coventry, which was nominated by-Mat Dawson; T. Kenyon steered Kidde-minster. and Fred Webb was able to go to scale at S6 pounds on Porters Knot, a feat which will seem almost incredible to those who only knew him of later years when he had the greatest difficulty in keeping down to 120 pounds. "There were only twenty-four runners in that particular Cambridgeshire, a small field for that race in those days, indeed Adonis had no fewer than forty one behind him when he won it in 1870, and Pent Btre beat the same number in 1S74. Looking through other races at that particular Houghton meeting, at which it is safe to presume that all the best jockeys of the day would be riding. I find the nanus of H. distance, D. Butler, J. Osbourne. Cameron and T. Cannon. In those days the Houghton meeting extended over six days and there were nine races on the Saturday and would have been ten had not one of the matches fallen through. I might easily have extended my list of eleven jo, keys, but I would not include a single one whose claims to be considered absolutely in the first rank could pos sibly be disputed. I have not. for example, mentioned the name of II. Maidment. He had a run of marvelous luck, getting some wonderful mounts in the colors of Baron Rothschild and Henry Savile. and in all rode six classic winners, but could never be truthfully said to be a great jockey. Believed George Fordham Greatest Jockey of All. "I fully agree with Mrs. Malaprop that comparisons are odorous and shall certainly not make any individually; but I think all regular race-goers who are well on the wrong side of fifty will agree with me that it would be wholly hopeless to attempt to match the eleven jockeys I have mentioned from among those riding today. What an eleven mine is! Captain of them is the inimitable George Fordham. whom I shall always believe to have been the greatest jockey that ever lived. Nor am I at all alone in this opinion, which I fancy is shared by nine -tenths of my contemporaries. Only a few weeks ago Hotspur quoted a letter from John Porter in the columns of the Daily Telegraph, in which the following pa— age occurred: I think Fordham. Archer and Sloan were all geniuses in their pro fission, and of the three I preferred the first named infinitely the best. Here is an expert opinion which fully bears out my own view that Fordham stood out by himself in his own day and has never had an equal since. "Though he was one of the most amiable and good-natured of men. I dont think Fordham ever regarded Archer witli much friendly feeling. At any rat". I know that he was always desperately keen about beating him himself, and when he had retired from active service was always anxious to see Tom Cannon get tho better of the Tinman. Like every other great man, Fordham was not immune from making mistakes, perhaps his worst one being when he rode Lord Clif tens head off in the Derby of 1863. This undoubtedly arose from unbounded confidence in his mount, and he said just after being lifted into the saddle in the Epsom paddock: No one but me knows how good this horse is. The delay of about three-quarters of an hour at the post cannot have done Lord St. Vincents colt any good, but no one expected to see a favorite for the Derby make every yard of the running, and Chaloner snatched a head verdict on Macaroni, though both he and Fordham. as well as the great majority of the spectators, thought that the second had just pulled through. Many Brilliant Feats of Horsemanship. "I saw Fordham accomplish so many brilliant feats of horsemanship that it is difficult to 0B3 Which was the best of them all. Probably, how -cver, he never excelled his riding of Lecturer in the Ascot up of 1818, There was a wonderful fii hi for that race, including three Oaks winners in Regalia, Tormentor and Hippia. that fine stayer Rama, which had distinguished himself by an eight lengths victory over Lord Lyon in the Doncaster Cup of the preceding year, and Julius, which yvas shortly afterward destined to win the Cesarewitch with 112 pounds on his three year-old back, and thus created a record which stood until it was handsomely nlptd out by Robert the Devil thirteen years later. "Thanks to Tom Cannon on John Davis, which was pacemaker for Fordham on Lecturer, the race was run from end to end, and so good was the pioneer --he won half a dozen races on his own account that season, and had bsea handicapped to concede a couple of pounds to Lecturer in the Northamptonshire Stakes of that year — that they were well into the straight before he was done with. Then Heart-field, who was on Regalia, saw Cannon looking round for Fordhum. and. knowing what this meant, he watched his opportunity, and when John Davis was pulled on to let up his stable companion on the inside. Regalia, and not Lecturer, was the one that promptly took advantage of the opening. "A less consummate artist than Fordham might easily have got into hopeless trouble at this point. for they were only just below the distance; but the great jockey grasped the situation in an instant and, instead of running the risk of being bumped and bored or getting boxed in on the rails, he pulled Lecturer right back and came up on the outside. Of course he lost some ground by this move, but the little colt, which was a shade under fifteen hands, was too good to be denied, and won easily by a length and a half. Tnough Heartfield and Fordham were always on the best of terms and it took a great deal to upset the hitters equanimity, he did not at all like being bested in this fashion, and as they returned to weigh in said seriously: Tom. if youd beat me I should have objected to you. Every incident of this race of forty-one years ago is clear in my mind, and I always thought it was a daring thing on Fordhams part to pull Lecturer back when so near home. Some time ago, however, Heartfield gave me the real explanation of it."
