The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-12-20
Race rack and
Stable GOSSIP

The J tnerican jockeys won honors in
England this year by their phenomenal
ly brilliant riding and close finishes.
Tod Sloan might have been at the
head of the list had it not been that
he was forced to retire for couple
of months AS it was he showed up
well near the top wnen the curtain
dropped over the seasons play on the
turf. He was four removed from the
| top of the winning list, but in the mat
ter of percentages he is the top
notcher, having won los times out of
345 mounts. Only for a long suspension
! in the middle of the season for dis
| obedience at the post Sloan would prob
ably have left off with pride of place
| in the tabulated summary of the most
| successful riders. Starter Coventry's
| discipline forced the American to can
| Gel number of promising engage
ments at the Liverpool, Goodwood and
| other big meetings in July and August,
| but he made up so much leeway when
| he got going again that he crowded
| the four native stars closely.
| Sloan's principal achievements were
on Sibola in the One Thousand Guineas,
| Dominic II. in the New Market stakes,
Knight of the Thistle in the Jubilee
| stakes and Democrat in his remarkable
series of 2-year-old triumphs. His
worst run of luck was at Derby and
| Manchester where he rode 10 successive
losers, but this slump only emphasizes
the fact that his other work must
have been little short of phenomenal
| to land him in the high place he held
| when the curtain dropped
Sloan's most formidab BILE rival was
| Sam Loates, who, in racing parlance,
! put it on Tod in several of the hot
test finishes Of the campaign. Loates
| had the advantage of 731 mounts, more
| than twice Sloan's allotment, and of
these he brought home 16O the highest
total of wins reached. o. Madden
! wound up next to Loates, with 100 wins
! out of S07 mounts, and Mornington Can
| non came third in order, with Win
ming string of 100 out of 46S, a per-
centage only excelled by that of Sloan
and l.. Reff. Tom Loates, who split
| Madden and Cannon at the head of the
list in 1898, dropped down two pegs
this year, barely nosing Sloan out of
| fourth place with a winning total of
| 112 out of 693 attempts.
While Sloan did so we'll in maintain
| ing his prestige he did not monopolize
| all the honors credited to the Yankee
school Of riding. Lester Reiff gets the
fine percentage of IS wins out of 184
mounts, and his younger brother, John
ny, found his way to the front 81 times
out of 40 essays. The latter for
time threatened to supplant Sloan in
popular estimation. His youth and
diminutive size caused general amaze
| ment when he first appeared but this
sentiment quickly changed to admira-
ton as the tiny lad showed in race
after race that he knew the shortest
way to the winning post and possessed
all the nerve, strength and skill to get
there. Little Reff is the bantam
weight of Lord William Beresfords
powerful stable, and while Sloan was
| away during the summer the midget
filed the gap so effectively that his fu
| ture is assured.
The elder Reiff took much longer to
attain the creditable place he now oc
| cupies. He has been riding in England
with only moderate success since
Enoch Wishard otook him over a few
years ago During the past season.
however, the increased demand for
/ American riders brought him into
prominence and he filled his engage
ments so well, especially at the autumn
meetings, that he is now pointed out
by the critics as one of the most de-
sirable jockeys to be booked for the
| coming year.
While the three American riders al
ready named We're revoutionzing old
theories among the Saxons, ''Skeets''
Martin put in an appearance. He had
not been very successful with Gideon &
Daily here, his efforts on the crack q
year-old His Royal Highness being so
poor that his contract was Cancelled by
mutual agreement His English debut
was signalZed by brilliant victories,
but just as he was about being hailed
as the best of the imported" contin-
gent he struck an unlucky vein and
ceased to be contending factor in the
struggle for riding supremacy. His
percentage, however, compared favor
ably with that OF the most noted Brit
ish Jockeys, as he scored an average of
one win in every four mounts, when
brought him on a level with Morning
ton Cannon. D.