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GIMCRACK STAKES DINNER Occupies Unique Position in Af ¬ fairs of the English Turf Forum of Iuljlic Opinion Where Those in inAuthority Authority Speak ScmiOfficlally Jockey CIuli Tower Upheld NEW YORK N Y March The cus ¬ tom of having the owner of the winner of the Gimcrack Stakes as the principal guest at the dinner held at York on the evening of the running of the nice which was lirst contested for 155 years ago has been a good thing for the English turf It has pro vided a medium for a frank discussion of affairs in connection with the sport and has also offered an opportunity for those in au ¬ thority to speak semiofficially on matters of interest to racing folk the world over overLord Lord Woolavingtoii owner of Town Guard the winner of the race in 1922 as told in the Bloodstock Breeders Review after com I menting on the fact that his colt stood six teen hands two hands higher than Gim j I i crack which was only a pony but a gallant race horse none the less being a winner I of twentyfive races out of thirtyfive starts remarked that his colt was superior in one respect at least to the previous winners of the prize in that he represented Unionist and Imperialist interest without dissension He was British horn bred by a Scotsman from a mare whose granddam was by Car ¬ bine bred in New Zealand trained by Mr Gilpin an Irishman and ridden by Archi ¬ bald an American AmericanSpeaking i Speaking further Lord Woolavingtou gave utterance to a sentiment which might be j I echoed with force in this country where j I there has been a disposition at times to question the wisdom of the policy cf the I organization which has been the very salva ¬ tion of racing piloting the bark of the turf through storms which would have engulfed it in less capable hands handsItULWAUK ItULWAUK OF THK SPOUT SPOUTIf If because I have won the Gimcrack Stakes said Lord Woolavington I have really the right to give my advice it is that all concerned in racing should support the stewards of the lockey Club The Jockey Club is absolutely unique and though foreign 1 visitors and those from the overseas domin j l ions complain of our race courses and stands j and the general comforts or discomforts of them they cannot do so at York but 11 admit they have a right to do so at many places they can never alter the fact that i British classic results mark the standard value of the thoroughbred throughout the world and this solid and persistent fact is due 10 the traditional maintenance of racing by the Jockey Club in the country where the British thoroughbred was evolved to the benefit of the whole world worldIn In concluding Lord Woolavington ex ¬ pressed the hope that something could be done that would guarantee the validity of the nominations of a dead owner which are now voided by the English rule to the great loss of the heirs and to the detriment of the j horses affected He cited the case of the i late Leopold do Rothschild whose Galloper j Light was thrown out of all his English engagements and yet possessed the quality to cross the Channel and win the Grand Prix de Paris ParisSir Sir Walter Gilbey who gave the toast of The Jockey Club brought up the question of an increase in the membership of the Jockey Club and touched 01 other topics including paid stewards to act in conjunction with the steward of the Jockey Club and the licensing of bookmakers bookmakersLord Lord Hamilton of Dalzell in responding to GIMCRACK STAKES DINNER Continued from first page the toast of The Jockey Club said he did so as a private member of that body His remarks an excerpt of which follows like those of Lord Woolavington have a local application He said that modern racing haul many aspects but if looked into care ¬ fully it would be found resting on two solid foundations the love of sport in general and the love of a good horse in particular Kacing to many of its followers was amuse ¬ ment to many others it was a business but fundamentally and in its most important aspect it was and must remain a sport sportIt It would be a very bad day for tlie turf in the opinion of the speaker if the spectacu ¬ lar side of racing or the business side of it was ever allowed to overshadow its purely sporting side and lie thought the Jockey Club had no more important function to perform than to apply this test to every problem which came before it As long as this was done he did not think they would go very far wrong He did not suppose that the Jockey Club would ever be able to please everybody but so long as they held to this principle they would do well by the sport and keep it sound to the core coreIt It was comparatively easy to lay down a general proposition of that sort he main it to the thousand and one problems of daily life The one thing to bear in mind was that the ideals of sport must always be remembered before changes were embarked upon He did not suppose that there was any single human institution which was not capable of improvement but on the turf they must walk very warily indeed If this was remembered he thought that those critics of the Jockey Club who thought they were not moving as fast as they should would find cause for reflection
