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ERASERS VIVID IMPRESSIONS OF GRAND NATIONAL STEEPLECHASE SecretaryTreasurer of Ontario Jockey Club Thrilled by Run ¬ ning and Attending Incidents Conditions of Race Not to Be Altered TORONTO Out April 13 Vivid as his impressions were of his first Grand National not even the running of the spectacular race itself left as deep an im ¬ pression on Mr W P Fraser as the many incidents attending the greatest steeple ¬ chase in the world The spirit of the thing as he terms it has enslaved him as it has so many thousands of others and not only Britishers but sportsmen and sportswomen of every race creed and color and many who have never even wit ¬ nessed the running of the great Aintree classic The recent Grand National won by Gregalach was the first one the genial secretarytreasurer of the Ontario Jockey Club had ever witnessed and with its many spectacular features still fresh in ts mind Mr Fraser takes keen delight in recounting the many interesting sights and andexperiences experiences experiencesIn In his opinion there is no other affair of its kind that even closely approaches the Grand National either as a spectacle or the deep hold it appears to have on everybody especially Britishers even re ¬ motely interested in or connected with racing The excitement at Aintree on the day of the race is tremendous and for days before the running speculation is keen as to the ulti ¬ mate winner winnerEven Even on the boat transporting him to Eng ¬ land Mr Fraser was oombarded with re ¬ quests by fellow passengers to put a little bit up for them on the race and as he neared his goal and the date of the race approached the Grand National appeared to be the sole topic of conversation in the tight little isle isleMr Mr Frasers first Grand National and its many attending and interesting incidents will live in his mind forever and here he has recounted some of the outstanding occurences leading up to the race the grand spectacle itself and its aftermath A record number of starters a splendid race to watch under delightful weather con ¬ ditions with a horse carrying 175 pounds leading his field over four and a half miles until the last two jumps these were the outstanding features featuresCrossing Crossing the Atlantic everyone appeared to have an interest in the Grand National and then and there I might have become a commissioner for so many there were who seemed anxious to back their fancy fancyAt At Newmarket it was the National and not the Lincoln that was uppermost A Newmarkettrained horse won both races each trained by a member of the Leader family Coming back from Sandown the conversation was not of the days races but of which would win the Grand National and at least a dozen horses were named namedAt At Euston Station the day before the race forty minutes ahead of train time the platform was already crowded with people with two long corridor trains on each side bound for Liverpool One was lucky to obtain a seat The six seats in the carriage were occupied by an Australian Frenchman Americans and myself Leaving the train at Crewe for I was to spend the next two days in Cheshire I found many others evi ¬ dently bound for the same part of the coun ¬ try and all up for the great race on the morrow morrowFriday Friday morning a start was made at 1030 though only forty miles had to be covered before reaching Aintree From the time we left home it was a steady procession of motor cars until we crossed the river into Lancashire There the traffic was greatly increased policemen directing It at every crossroad School children lined the sides of the road all anxious to see the fun funPassing Passing Knowsley the Lancashire seat of the Earl of Derby where the king is usually the honored guest for the Liverpool spring meeting we are soon at the outskirts of Aintree a veritable jam of people trains motor cars pedestrians all heading for the course with nearly a mile yet to go wrhich we reached at 12 oclock Already the en ¬ closures are packed tents adding to the facilities for luncheon to which there was small chance of gaining access unless ac ¬ commodation had been previously reserved reservedWhat What a crowd it was In the paddock hunting men and women from everywhere soldiermen from anywhere enthusiasts from the world over who make an annual pil ¬ grimage to Aintree No one appeared to be taking the first and second races of the day seriously and here Masefields lines occurred to me An hour before the race they talked to ¬ gether getherA A pair of lovers in the mild March weather weatherCharles Charles Cothill and the golden lady Em Beautiful Englands hands had fashion ¬ ed them themThe The type was unmistakable and here hereagain again His face was of the country mold Such as the mason sometimes cutted On English moldingends which jutted Out of the church walls centuries since The first race over I secured a place on onthe the top of the stand which gave me a splen ¬ did and uninterrupted view of the whole course And now for the race The numbers of sixtysix horses were placed in frames of the number board two boards each contain ¬ ing twentyfour starters with three addi ¬ tional boards improvised for the occasion The parade starts on the rail with Easter Hero just the type Harry Hall would have loved to paint Great Spain Gregalach and Richmond II being perhaps the pick in point of looks Great Spain being regarded by many as the real type of Grand National horse and as the horses go far down the stretch and turn an extraordinary scene is presented Horses start to canter down to the post on the stand side with horses still leaving the paddock on the rail railNo No difficulty was found in getting the huge field of sixtysix horses away all of which cleared the first and second fences and had the third jump not been refused by one horse possibly all would have made the third fence As it was several horses either fell or refused at this point On into the country with Easter Hero the favorite still leading the field which now took the form of two distant groups groupsPassing Passing the stands the first time the favorite was still in front going well and this position he held until two fences from home when he was challenged by Gregalach to which he could not concede the weight I a difference of seventeen pounds j Before the race the winner Gregalach was held to be a good type of Grand Na tional horse His owner Mrs Gemmell had j paid 5000 guineas for him some time pre viously with the object of winning this race and she was naturally bewilderingly over i joyed at the result Easter Hero is a horse of beautiful conformation and his gallant performance filled everyone with enthusiasm Another that may bear remembering is Sandy Rock which ran prominently and jumped well until after Valentines Brook the second time around Gregalach the win ¬ ner is by My Prince by Marcovil by Marco with four crosses of Hermit and Sterling in the first five removes a good recipe for a jumper these days daysThere There was a general outcry before the Grand National was run that in future years the conditions of the race should be altered and we cannot do better than quote from the London Times the day following the race There was plenty of room at the start for the field of sixtysix runners It had been generally stated that the rush for the first fence would end in disaster but nothing of the sort happened and argue as they may the people who wish for an alteration in the conditions will find no supporters for their cause from those of us who watched with care this years race If they wish for some ¬ thing on which they can bet with greater safety they may find it elsewhere but then the Grand National was not invented for the professional backer As a spectacle and as a great sporting event the Grand National is one of the most wonderful of its kind in the world It is not a championship and it never was intended to be anything of the kind In this vast field of great record over such a course no jockey was seriously hurt hurtFollowing Following the race a statement was is ¬ sued by E A C Topham the clerk of the course that no change was contemplated in the conditions of the race for 1930
