view raw text
REFLECTIONS NELSON BOSTON Mass June 9 Sir Gordon Richards is the man of the hour in the racing circles of the world On the even of the Queens Plate at Toronto a toast was drunk to the popular jockey who had that day been knighted by Queen Elizabeth n At BelmontSPark last Saturday the cheers were long and loud when Fred Capossela announced over the loud speakers that Rich ¬ ards had finally won a renewal of the Epsom Derby after 27 faildure in Englands famous race And here in Boston they are still discussing this little man who is approach ¬ ing 50 and is more of an idol with his peoplpe today than at any time in his long and colorful career Fred Archer and Steve Donoghue will never be forgotten by English racing fans but the present generation idolizes the stocky blackheaded master of the manysided art of riding winners Even when Hitlers hordes were riding berserk over Europe the world was watching the success of the boy who was coming fast under the coaching of the Steve Donoghue who came to the United States to ride Papyrus in the International match against Zev at Belmont Park Richards in turn has been coaching the sensational youngster Lester Piggott the angelfaced lad who sud ¬ denly flashed on the British turf horizon and is now a popular jockey in the British Isles IslesA A A A AThrough Through the years Richards has aided many new ¬ comers in the saddle ranks In that he is similar to our own Eddie Arcaro In fact the more we learn about these two great race riders the more things we find they have in common and that applies to both their professional careers and private lives Richards is much the older for he was born at Wrockwardine Wood Oaken Gates Shrop ¬ shire on May 5 1904 He was a son of Nathan Richards a miner Arcaro was born at Cincinnati Ohio on Febru Sir Gordon Richards Man of the Hour Jockey Holds All English Records Overcame Many Setbacks During Career Will Be Fifty Next Year May Retire Retireary ary 19 1915 a son of Italian parents In England Rich ¬ ards as demonstrated that a boy with ability can earn fame on their race tracks just as Arcaro has here To at ¬ tain that fame however the English lad had to overcome many setbacks including the dreaded tuberculosis which was brought on by a chill that turned into pneumonia and then developed into the killing malady That was in 1926 the year in which he rode for only two days before he was placed in a sanatorium near Kromer At that time he told his friends Ill never ride again He eventually returned to the saddle and suffered concussions spinal in juries was in a serious plane accident at Doncaster and suffered broken legs on two occasions That is the same boy who has now broken virtually every record on the British turf turfA A A A AThrough Through the years Richards and Arcaro have been fine family men Like all great athletes there have been times when the fickle throng suddenly turned and gave them jeers instead of cheers In the beginning Arcaro was visibly affected when booed here Richards accepts it with a laugh and on one occasion when some one in the throng yelled big head he turned around and quietly said Go out and try it some time Saying that he recalled Christy Matthewson the greatest pitcher of them all who when jeered would smile and say They pay their way and I get my salary from that so let them keep on Its all part of the days work Richards says he has ridden so many good horses that he hesitates to pick any one or any three as the best Nor will he criticize or extol his fellow riders for he says We are all in the same boat and I can be criticized just as quickly as the other fellow He makes one exception however and that was Steve Donoghue whom he literally wor ¬ shipped Whenever Steves name was mentioned he smiles and says Now there was a jockey and he places emphasis on there He is highly popular with his fellow riders for he is both a pal and a gentleman He is one of the best afterdinner speakers at turf affair in all England and he is called on many times annually Richerds first became Englands champion rider in 1925 when he rode 118 winners His record season how ¬ ever was in 1932 when before the end of June he rode 100 winners On October 5 of that year he rode every winner at Chepstow In November he beat Fred Archers longstanding record and at the end of the season he had ridden 970 races and won with 259 mounts In recog ¬ nition of that feat the king sent him an inscribed silver cigarette case and a pair of pigeons Like ojur own Hirsch Jacobs Richards is a pigeon fancier But his fellow jockeys commissioned an artist to do a painting of him the racing correspondents gave him a plaque and the mayor of Marlborough presented him with a silver salver Other gifts included the whip and spurs used by Fred Archer and the tail of a horse called Tommy Tittle mouse who was Archers last mount At the end of the season Gordon attended 19 dinners in his honor and he was called the greatest athlete ever developed on the English turf Two years later he was thrown in front of a field at Newbury and severely injured For a while it was thought his life was in danger but he finally re ¬ covered In 1939 he narrowly escaped death again when the Germans dropped bombs near his car while he was wasContinued Continued on Page FortyOne REFLECTIONS REFLECTIONSBy By NELSON DUNSTAN Continued from Page FortyFour FortyFouron on his way to a race meeting He volun ¬ teered for services that year with the RAF but was rejjected for physical reasons reasonsA A A A AAt At the opening of the 1941 season Rich ¬ ards was taking dead aim on the alltime winning record of Archer who had ridden 2749 horses into the winners circles during his career After piloting 22 winners in 1941 Richards broke a leg in a spill and was out of the saddle until 1943 On April 27 of that year he broke Archers record and for that feat the king gave Gordon a Munnings portrait of his horse Sun Chari ¬ ot who was often ridden by the champion jockey At that fime Gordon had broken so many records that he said I just re ¬ fuse to let records worry me any more He continued to be Englands champion jockey and his record is without counter ¬ part in any country Some years ago he said he hoped to pass the 5000 mark in victories Should he retire in 1954 he will come closer to that figure than any jockey at any time There is hardly a stake in England that he has not won on one or more occasions Until this year he had been second in the Derby three times and third twice Now that he has won the Derby he has just about accounted for every important race in England Needless to say turf followers throughout the world were pleased when the Queen knighted him for he has been a credit to all racing as well as his own profession
