, 1923-10-11
By p. NJ. sARL

UNITED treSS StaII CotTeoponucnO
LONDON, Oct. IL Omitted Press)
Interest in the international race
between Papyrus. the English Derby
winner, and the horse selected as
the most representative American
three.year-old at Belmont Park, 90
tober 20. has been aroused to an I'M
usually high pitch since the British
Thoroughbred arrived in the United
States ard started training.
Up TO the time Papyrus sailed on
the Aquitania. British sportsmen
were rather skeptical about h race.
and now that It has been assured.
the turf fans are. for the first time
paying some attention to American
racing methods and general condi-
tions.
Up to this time. the English race
followers had looked lightly upon
the American turf and had rather
dlsregarded its activities as being
vastly inferior.
When Basin Jarvis. trainer of
Papyrus. tod American writer's that
he didn't know how fast his thor
oughbred could u and that he
never had him clicked. tho Ameri-
cans were surprised, according to
cable stories printed here.
In view of this and because Of
many other habits OF trainers and
race followers in England that must
be regarded as eccentric in the I'm
tied States. It might be interesting
to tell the American race fans a few
things about the British turf rs II
is regulated and regarded here.
Although claiming to be h
worlds greatest turf fan, the En-
glishman has been supremacy indt-
ferent to horse racing in other coun-
tries. A few big French races,
such as the French Derby. the
Grand Steeplechase De Paris, h
| Grand Auteil Hurdle and he Prix
do Conseil Municipal were followed
with interest chiefly because there
were usually some English competi-
tors, but apart from these. CONT
mental racing was ignored by press
and public
Perhaps two big races in Austria
liza. and the viceroy's Cup in India
completed the average British turf
mans knowledge of the worlds big
turf events. Such events as h
Kentucky Derby. the Futurity Stakes
or the Preakness Stakes hardly
ever earned mention in tho sporting
press and. in fact. Britishers gener'
ally relegated American racing TO
an inferior status.
The 'sglcrious uncertainty" OF the
British turf owes It's popularity TO
the ~variegated nature Of the race
tracks in this country. There are
scarcely two alike and they are laid
down over natural country without
the slightest attempt to alter or m
provo the landscape, hence tho "hu-
man element" of the horse enters
into every race on every turf. The
horse that is " nippy'' rounding
turns may shine at Chester with
its oval. soup-plate like track. nut
fail lamentably up the severe gra-
dent at Ascot, or on the gruelllng
Cesarewich course at Newmarket.
The solid plugger on dead gnlloping
tracks will be sprawling all over
tho place down the hill at EPSON
or Brighton. or hopelessly outpaced
on the sharp Manchester track.
To tell the British turf enthusiasts
that Papyrus won the Derby in 2
minutes So seconds conveys nothing
to him. He wants to know now
much he won by I'm lengths) nnd
whether the course was cry or wet
also what horses were behind him
and what Their enrlier performances
were. Record time in the Derby
attracts little more than passing in
terest and is very little criterion as
courses are frequently being altered
10 meet modern or local conditions.
For instance. Captain Cuttle's
Derby time last year 1884 3-5-cre-
ated n new record. but tho track
had been made some fifty or sixty
Yards shorter than when Spion Kop
broke the record in 1920 with 2:34
as, Spion Kop, in turn had some
Yards advantage over the previous
record holder Lemberg. in 1910,
whose time was 2:35 is. Herein
lies one OF the difficulties Of clock
ing In England. Very few tracks
have a flat measured mile. mileand-
half, etc. The Derby course. for
Instance. nominally one and a half
miles, is actually about sixty yards
more. The mile at Sandown
Park is actually n mile and sixty
Yards, and the "mile" at Alexandra
Park is 40 yards above standard.
Similarly with other tracks. The
historic st. Leger track at Doncast'
er is 1872 yards more than n mile and
three-quarters yet competitors are
always judged as II they had com
passed the bare IA furlongs. Tho
Royal Hunt Cup at Ascot is always