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NO OUTSTANDING JOCKEY. CAPABLE EIDERS AT SARATOGA, BUT, NONE ENJOY DISTINCTION AS IN OLDEN DAYS. Willie Crump and 3. loftus Are Hailed as Leaders, but Not with Sufficient Advantage to Enjoy a Following to Affect Course of Betting. By J. It. Jeffery. Saratoga, X. Y., August 10. There- is a. general disposition among discerning horsemen gathered here to deplore the mediocrity into whicli race riding in America seemingly has degenerated. The opinion is widely entertained that never since racing has attained its present importance hns there been such n paucity of capable riders in the saddle in this country as at the present time. Since; the retirement of C. H. Shilling, who- is probably entitled to be classed as the best of the latter-day riders, no jockey has been developed who has been able to hold the premiership for anv cohsiderablo period. Several have flashed across the turf horizon from time to time in a promising wav. but none has survived the ordeal when relentlessly put to the test. Ohltimers on the turf whose "memories go back to the days when McLaughlin, Garrison, Isaac Murphy, Tod Sloan and other illustrious stars of the saddle were making turf history, are especially severe in their criticism of the present-day riders and their methods of riding. With practically all of the leading jockeys of the country gathered here, the lack of outstanding ability upon the part of any particular one of tlieni is strongly emphasized. It is significant that none enjoys a following of sufficient proportion to greatlv affect the course of the letting, as happened in so many instances that could be cited in the olden days. It should not be inferred, however, thatthefc are no riders here who are not equal to the task of generally winning with the best horse, for thero are, but it is difficult to select, one capable of winning frequently with any but the best horses. lllie Crump, who came here with good credentials, as befitted the leading jockey of the vear in winning mounts, has ridden so poorly since his arrival that the average turfman is wondering how he ever succeeded in making the fine record which stands to his credit since January 1. He was taken ill on Wednesday and removed to a hospital and although his illness is not regarded seriously, it is believed by some that the boy may have been troubled-for some time and that a rest of several days will bring him back into the stride which put him to the top of the list of riders. Jockey J. Loftus Is a. Finished Rider. A. jockey thnt the public would enjoy seeing in the saddle more frequently is .T. Loftus, who probablv is entitled to be regarded as the most capable of ail the jockeys here, but who rides only infrequently because of his inability to make the low weights generally demanded. Jockey Loftus is a finished rider, under contract to the A. K. Macomber stable. He had one of his best days at the Saratoga meeting Wednesday, when lie piloted home three winners for his employer, his principal score being with Sunbonnet in the Alabama Stakes. The outcome of the yearling sale of T. C. Mc-SS-fik wliose, crP of thirteen youngsters brought Js-a.luO. affords a striking example of the confidence with which buyers regard successful racing stock. It has been Major McDowells practice to iram and race the produce of the well-bred band of stallions and mares with which he has stocked Ashland Farm, once the home of his famous ancestor Henry Clay, the great commoner, at Lexington,. Ky. Major McDowells success year after year, with his home-bred stock, constitutes one of the pleasing chapters of recent American racing history. Only twice before has he sold his crop of yearlings. At the inception of his career as a breeder he conducted a sale -which realized an average of 300 per head. When the sale was over he repurchased one of the yearlings for ,100. This was Bracegirdle, the mare that has been chiefly responsible for the fame which has come to Ashland Farm as a breeding establishment. It Avas not until seventeen years later that Major McDowell again offered his yearlings at auction. Then they averaged 1.300 each, and now, after another interim of years, the average has climbed to ,240. Smoky Lamp, the chestnut filly hv Plaudit Expressive, whicli made an auspicious debut in racing by carrying the colors of Mrs. Walter M. Jeffords of Philadelphia to victory in the race for two-year-old fillies here on Tuesday, on the occasion of her initial start, was purchased from her breeder. John E. Madden, together with the good colt Bully Boy, 30,000 being laid for the two youngsters. Bullv Boy was purchased for the account of Samuel I Riddle, also of Philadelphia, whose horses race in the name of the Glen Kiddle Farms. Philadelphia Well Represented. Mrs. Jeffords is a niece of Mrs. Riddle and Is developing quite as keen an enthusiasm for the thoroughbred as Mr. Riddle, who came into racing a year or so ago. Both Mrs. Jeffords and Mr. Riddle -have been keen bidders and liberal purchasers at the yearling sales already held here this month, and it is evident that they each intend to engage in the sport on an extensive scale. W. H. Karrick is acting as trainer for both of them. Smoky Lamp is seemingly a high-class filly. She ruled favorite for her race on the strength of several sensationally good private trials and her victory over such a likely filly as G. 1. Widener, Jr.s Rose dOr was accomplished with much ease and in an impressive way. It may be mentioned in passing that Philadelphia is coming to be quite well represented on the turf, with such establishments as are maintained by Joseph E. and George D. Widener, Jr.. Capt. E. B. Cassatt, Mr. Riddle and Mrs. Jeffords, to say nothing of several less, pretentious stables owned by Philadelphians. Gwyn Tompkins, whb probably has developed as many good junipers in recent years as any other man in America, has just, shown up another "capable one in St. Charlcote, the five-year-old chestnut gelding by St. Savin Charlcote, which has already won two steeplechases since the opening of the Saratoga season. St. Charlcote races in the name of E. M. Weld, a wealthy New Yorker, for whom Mr. Tompkins developed Weldship. one of the best jumpers seen in action during the past two or three years. St. Charlcote is a steady going jumper and has won both of his races in a way that suggests a latent ability to cope successfully with better opposition than he has yet met.
