view raw text
GREAT ENGLISH JOCKEY PASSES AWAY Tom Cannon, Sr;, Full of Years and Turf Honor3, Joins His Old Time Rivals; Archer and Fordhairi. Thomas Cannon. Sr., one of the most famous English jockeys of all time, died at Stockbridge, England, Friday morning, July 13. Concerning his achievements, London Sporting Life of the following day said: "Tom Cannon was the. son of a Windsor horse dealer and was born at Eton in 1840. He was associated with horses from his earliest years and could ride sufficiently well at five years of age to .be trusted out on a. pony without supervision. "He served an apprenticeship AA-ith John Day at Danebury arid had his first mount in public in 1800, riding MaA-oureen in, a ,race at Plymouth. Tlie mare fell and Cannon AA-as flung over tlie rails, but, happily, escaped serious injury. Indeed, he won a race on tlie folIoAvlng day on a horse called My Uncle, At that period he could go to scale at fifty-four pounds, but his Aveight rapidly increased. His first big AVin. Avas on Isoline, in tlie Manchester Cup of 1803, and seventeen years later lie Avon tlie same race, on her grandson, Isonomy. Isonomy, Ormonde and Springfield, AA-ere, in Cannons opinion, tlie best horses he rode. Cannon also Avon tlie Manchester Cup on LAbbesse de Jouarre. He was successful in all the classic races and Avon tlie Derby on ShotoA-er in 1882. He won tile Two Thousand Guineas on Pilgrimage, Shotover, Enterprise and Enthusiast, the One Thousand Guineas on Repulse, Pilgrimage and Busybody; the Oaks on Busybody, Brigantine, Marie Stuart and Geheimniss, and the St. Leger on Robert the Devil. Busybody Avas the property of Abington Baird, for Avhom Cannon rode as first jockey for three years at the princely retainer of 15,000 pounds a year. Many Big- Handicap Successes to His" Credit. Among Cannons big handicap successes were tlie Cambridgeshire on Ackvrorth, the Great Metropolitan on Mdrriihgtori, the Chester Cup on Pageant, the Ebor Handicap on Isonomy, tlie Cesarewitch on Uobert the Devil arid Tenebreuse, the SteAvards Cup on Sweetbread and the LiA-erpool Autumn Cup on St. Mirin. -The deceased also rode the Avinner :of the Ascot Gold Cup on four occasions and Avas successful in the French Derby tAA-ice and also four times .in the Grand. Prix, de Paris. "Cannon married John Days daughter, and on his employer death; in 1882, became trainer at Danebury. He prepared Busybody to Avin the Oaks and nearly aa-oii the Derby of 1895 Avith Curzon; a half-bred gelding, oAvned in partnership by himself and the late Tom Robinson. Geldings noAvndays are; not eligible to run for the Derby. Cannon owned and: trained the City and Suburban Aviriner, Reminder, and the horse Avas ridden by his son "Morny." Other successes as a trainer were, achieved with Playfair Grand National, Redpath Auteuil Grand Steeplechase and Billow Ascot Stakes. Cannon removed from Danebury to Stockbridge nine years ago and gave up training in 1915. He was remarkably sucessful as a trainer of jockeys, among those AAha rose to eminence in the profession, Avho owe their skill largely to his tuition, being, his sons Mornington and Kempfon, the .late Jack Watts, S. Loates, W. T. Robinson and Arthur Coventry,. 4 . Cannon believed that jockeys Avere made, not born, and that hard Avork Avas the only sure road to success. His. son "Morny." used to spend five hours in the saddle-, Avinter or summer alike.
