Englands Three-Year-Olds Inferior, Daily Racing Form, 1914-12-27

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ENGLANDS THREE-YEAROLDS INFERIOR. Where our thoroughbreds are concerned as In most other affairs, for the matter or that things seem to run hi cycles. We have periods in which he standard is high; these are succeeded by others in which our horses are moderate, and though hitherto in the cycle of moderate periods they have been more or less redeemed by the presence of some great horses which secures the triple crown an I shines with greater lustre by reason of the mediocrity of bis opponents, it must at last be admitted that we have today reached a stage when mediocrity exists without a redeeming reature. Whether our two-year-olds are destined to raise us again next year to our own unassailable position remains to be seen, though ir all goes well with them there Is every reason to Iiok that they will. Tlie greatest race in all the world, which every nation strives to win, is the Epsom Derby, and for the first time in the history of that race it fell this year to a horse bred and reared and trained on foreign soil. So long ago as 1S05 the might v Frenchman, Gladiateur, defeated us. but be was trained at Newmarket by the late Tom Jennings. Again, in 1SS1, America overcame us with Iroquu.s, though he also was trained at Newinnrket, but bv-nn American trainer, the genial Jacob Plncus; anil now at last the inevitable has come in the victory of the French horse. Durbar. By far tlie liest o"f this trio was Gladiateur, which triumphed in a period of good horses, but Iroquois had the good fortune to arrive in one or tlie moderate periods, which saw Shotover and St. Blaise his Immediate successors, and he had nothing better to heat than Peregrine. Town Moor and the sprinter Scohel with the nil-conquering Fred Archer to assist him. Ho was just a good-class handicap horse, nothing more; and that is all that can lie- said or our three-year olds today, with the exception, perhaps, of three- or four which for various reasons were unable to show at their best. Alee Taylor, it is said, looks upon Kennvnioiv as a good one, but I venture to declare that ho public performance justifies that belief. That he beat Cor-eyrn on his merits In the Two Thousand Guineas I shall never believe, for I am quite sure that the son of Cicero was by no means at his best. Perhaps there may have been some weakness in his hind legs early in Ills career which led to excessive caution, for lie wore woollen bandages when at work eaVly in the sining, and be never had such a preparation as we used to see Persimmon and other big horses have. He looked the nearest to perfection when lm to easily won tlie Newmarket Stakes, and that he was the best three-year-old just as he was the best two-year-old I shall always believe. It is a pitv Corcyra was not in the Derby, and whether that race was simply a fiasco or not a French horse will hold the honors m the records for all tlm, and French jockeys on the backs of Black Jester and Keithy-more can say that they were hojielesslv Inferior. .Moderate as our three-year-olds are, they have proved themselves equal to heating their .elder handicap opponents at something approaching the weight-for-nge scale in many instances, though little credit belongs to those having all the best of the weights. It has been simply in fair criticism of the handicaps that we have been obliged repeatedly to point to the poor class of handicap horses or the present day. and it may be partly owing to this that the ranks of the hurdle racers will be so greatly augmented this winter. That being so, there is no reason to deplore the state of the tlat racer, for the winter sjiort has been badly in need of support for some time, and the big entries for races already closed show that the provincial stables will vie with Newmarket in makin" it a record season. "Warren Hill" In London Sporting 1 Lire.


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1910s/drf1914122701/drf1914122701_2_9
Local Identifier: drf1914122701_2_9
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800