Jockeys Play A Big Part: Roscoe Troxler Tells of Incidents Incidents in Which Noted Riders Figured.; Borels Great Ride on Exterminator--Sandes Feat of Horsemanship--Ted Rice Also Mentioned., Daily Racing Form, 1936-05-02

article


view raw text

JOCKEYS PLAY A BIG PART Roscoe Troxler Tells of Incidents in Which Noted Riders Figured. Borels Great Ride on Exterminator— Sandes Feat of Horsemanship — Ted Rice Also Mentioned. ■• LOUISVILLE, Ky., May 1.— "Funny thing," said Roscoe Troxler, who was astride Sir Huon when that son of Flasette carried the George J. Long colors to victory in the 1906 renewal of the Kentucky Derby, "I was trying to recall what Derby winners owed their victories to their jockeys." "When I was in my prime," continued Troxler, "there were small fields. We were instructed to let our charges run the first mile in 1:42 or thereabouts and then set them down. That final burst usually put us in the picture, or on top at the end. Trainers could nearly tell how fast the race would . 1 be run and the speed of which their charges were capable. We were called upon to be . good judges of pace but we were taught I that from the start and those riders who fell by the wayside were the ones who could not tell whether his charge was running a mile in forty or forty-two. We also could step a horse along a quarter of a mile at I the trainers instructions. | "Since 1 retired from riding the Derby I fields have been larger. The starting has been different and although there are grea* riders today few are good judges of pace. 1 believe Charley Borel put up one of the greatest rides I have seen in the last twenty j years. He appeared hopelessly beaten when j I he approached the stretch with Omar Khay-| I yam but Borel drove the horse through on i . 1 . I I | I j j I I i the inside of four horses and he got up to beat Ticket and Midway. Borel came back with his boot torn off. That, in my opinion, was one of the best rides a Derby winner ever received. "Of course, Thompson outrode himself when he won the 1921 Derby with Behave Yourself and strange I never heard much of him afterwards. "Sande was given little chance of winning with Flying Ebony and I believe that without Sande that horse would never have been the winner. Maybe you dont believe it but my brother would have won that race with King Nadi if he had known it would rain. "I saw one Derby in which riding was the major feature. That was the race won by Whiskery. Sande was astride Osmand and he made a miler go a mile and a quarter and then just got beat a head. I believe Chick Lang rode Jock and that horse might have been the winner if Lang had not made too much use of him during the opening half mile. When Jock tired Sande drove Osmand to the front but Whiskery was right with him and Sande just kept steering his mount out enough to take the most out of Whiskery. Osmand was unequal to the task however and he gave way right at the wire. "Poor old Ted Rice. He lost his life on the track buL he rode a great race on Paul Jones. The Parr gelding was not given much consideration but old Vinegar, that was what they called the late Uncle Billy Garth, had a pretty fair wager on the horse and Rice never missed a chance of getting a horse forward. He wound up beating Upset and Upset was considered some horse because he was the only horse that beat Man o War as a two-year-old. "Speaking of good rides Roscoe Goose standing over there did pretty well with Donerail. He did not let Foundation, Ten Point and the others worry him when he won with the son of McGee. Ten Point was a heavy commission horse and Foundation was the pride of the Blue Grass. Jack Weaver had his mare Go Well in there and she later went well in the Latonia Derby. Goose made the boys look a little sick when he got Donerail through in the stretch to be the winner at the biggest pay off of any Derby winner. "Many great riders have participated in Derby racing, but there also were many great riders who have not won the race. It took Mack Garner twenty years to win. Tod Sloan, Walter Miller, Monk Overton, Lucien Lyne, Jimmy McLaughlin, Dave Nicol, Clarence Turner, Jimmy Lee, Frankie Robinson, Eddie Taplin, Earl Pool, Frankie Keogn, Laverne Fator, Sonny Workman, Alfred Robertson and other noted riders are among those who have tried but failed to win the race. "I dont believe there is a jockey born who does not hope to win a Derby." Sir Huon, ridden by Troxler, was saddled by Pete Coyne who will send Brevity, the 1936 favorite, after the classic tomorrow. Coyne piepped Osmand and Peace Chance for their unsuccessful attempts and he again was disappointed last year when Chance Sun, the winter book choice went amiss shortly before the running of the race.


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1930s/drf1936050201/drf1936050201_14_1
Local Identifier: drf1936050201_14_1
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800