The times., 1898-11-20
JOCKEY SLOAN.
His Riding as Compared With That
of English Boys.

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of English Boys.
Hrom the London Field)
The fact that yesterday week the
ket five races out of seven, and that his
number of wins stands at an unusually
large proportion to his total number of
mounts, have caused quite needless
amount of excitement in the racing world,
and have given rise to one or two very
absurd letters. There was time when
Engiishmen We're wont to think them
selves supreme at most exercises in
which horse is .cOncerned but that idea
is being very surely, and not particularly
slowly, knocked ON the head; for Ameri-
can horses have occasionally won some
of our best races, including the Derby
and now Sloan has come among us to
show our jockeys that he has style ap-
parently superior-superior in results at
any rate. If not in ease and grace; for the
Americans seat on horseback has been
irreverently described as the position of
a monkey on a stick-to their own. Still,
seeing the number of races which Sloan
has put to his credit, he can very we'll
ifford to be laughed at for a position
which is, after all, very little less becom-
ing than that assumed by certain num-
ber OF our native professors, and by the
late George Fordham in particular. We
have written before on the subject of race
riding, and we have begged some authori-
ty Ia professional IL possible) to explain,
If he can, much of the mystery which is
supposed to surround the Jockeys art
We read about such nonsense as the art
of waiting in 'front.' whereas it only re-
quires one of the horses to take charge
of the boy and make the running on his
own account TO put stop to all waiting
in front: while as for waiting behind II is
quite clear that horse must go as fast
as the leader, unless he is to lose ground
at every stride.
Therefore, not much is gained by so
much waiting, unless it be that in a
slowly run race the waiting Jockey is in
no hurry to make his rivals go any fast
er than they are travelling. But fire.
quently jockeys wait too long. as good
many owners and hackers have ere now
discovered to their cost; and this tagging
behind for the sake of MAKING Il brilliant
finish, as IL is called. has cost an owner
much money and many race. Sloan
has so far altered these tactics, after
bringing over with him the American
style, that he goes away at once, and
gives nobody n chance to wait In front
ol MN. OtHeFs can wait DeElnu IL tney
like, but certainly not in front; and, if
he does not make every post a winning
post. he at any rate obeys in the spirit
the directions given by the oxford coach
to a somewhat nervous stroke of his col
leg boat who asked his mentor how he
should row in the summer races. Go as
hard as you can at the start" was the
reply. "and little harder at the finish"
and that is practically VIVA: Sloan does.
He goes along from start to finish and
with results which appear to justify the
course he adopts.
A good deal fhas been said about the
disposition of weight on horseback; and
in this respect Sloan's seat is certainly
peculiar. He gets somewhat forward in
his saddle. as may be judged from the
fact that his hands are not so very far
off the rings OF the bit. He certainly
clngs with his knees; bur, whatever else
he does, he sits as still as the proverbial
mouse from the time the flag falls until
the winning post is reached In theory,
at any rate. an English jockey is sup
posed TO sit forward until ii comes to
finishing, and is supposed to keep his
hands down on the horses withers; and
this certainly involves a somewhat stoop-
ing and forward position. An exception
Is perhaps mace-if not in theory, GER
tainly in practice-in a five-furlonG
scramble, when the whips are sometimes
going almost from the start; while the
American jockey owes not a little of his
success to the fact that some of his op-
ponents are guilty of riding with slack
reins, and thereby allowing their horses
to change legs pretty nearly as often as
they like.