The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1937-04-02

and mounts them
Earl Sande only in the cool of
the morning when
few are present to heed or cheer
still is slim young man who must
be reckOned with around race
track. Examine the list of winners
at the recently closed Hialeah meet
ing if you doubt that.
Sande brought seven horses to the
meeting. That was woefully small
number as compared to roles of
the mighty stables invited to try
their luck at this race emporium.
But Sande saddled fourteen winners,
most of them triumphing with wide
stretches of open daylight to spare.
This is rare success for man who
took up a new job scarcely three
years ago. All the fingers of one
hand would not be needed to count
the veteran trainers, already wise
in the ways of their profession when
a slim Idaho kid was booting home
his first big-time winner in 1918,
who can boast of as much good
fortune.
How does this once greatest Of
jockeys like the work to which he
now has turned? We sat on faded
old brocade sofa in front of his barn
door and talked about it, while
thOrOughbreds craned their necks
out of nearby doors and his two
dogs, a police and a red setter,
clamOred to divide Earle's atten-
ton.
eyes, training was a lot different
from riding. You had to pay at
tention to a lot of new things. Things
you might have noted before but
never had regarded as really i'm
portant."
What things, for instance? Sande
looked at his visitor, grinned, then
fondled the settlers ears. "Well, just
things"
The visitor changed the subject.
What would Sande rather do? Pre-
pare horses for some other jockey
to win with or boot them home him
self? There was a moments hest
tatiOn, then earnest response.
"Why, ride them, of course. There
was nothing in life like that. One
of the hardest things to get over
was not even being able to straddle
some colt for morning gallOp ON
the track. But Of course a fellow
with so much weight couldn't do
that. 1t wouldn't be fair to the
horses"
Sande now weighs 125 as COM
pared to the lis or SO of his best
riding years. Was he training any
riders to follow in his own renOwn?
mo, not now. Most of the jocks
who rode for him were experienced
fellows. Still he would like to do it
some day. Real jockeys were born,
not made, even though experience
and training did smooth them out.
What he would like to do was 60
back home to Idaho some day, find
some little kid practically raised
in the saddle and see what could
be done with him."
Sceneshifter, winner several days
previously for the Maxwell Howard
stable for which Sande trains, was
whinnying from a nearby door.
Sande rose, patted the colt on the
nose several times, spoke to him
and then returned.
Were horses just like people? Did
you get to like some of them right
away and were some of them almost
impossible to understand?
"Surely, they were. There was
little Billy Kelly who ran for Com
mander Ross almost twenty years
ago. Billy was gentle chap, liked
to play and loved to be petted. Sir
Barton, a far bigger money winner
in the same barn and at the same
time, also was a great horse, but
he was inclined to be bully"
What was the greatest horse
Sande ever rode? The answer came
without hesitation.
"Man O. War, Of course. Big Red
liked to have his own way and was
kind Of temperamental, but nobody
FADE any mistake by calling him
truly great. The others? Well, 1t was
pretty hard to pick them In any
kind Of order. That Gallant Fox
could rum all day, Osmand was as
good IS anybody could WISH"