ENGLISH STATISTICS

WARTIME RECORD

BIG WINNERS OF SEASON

The fifth -vartime racing season in England was concluded at Windsor on November 4. The sport was again conducted on a regional basis, and as in 1943 six courses were used Newmarket, Scot, Windsor, Salisbury, Stockton, and Pontecraft. J. heAga Khan, with 23 races value jJ.iT' ls season's leading owner, and the stake winnings are a rdcord for wartime racing. His colt, Tehran, placed in the Two Thousand and Derby, proved himself to be the best of ' the three-year-olds when he won the St. Leger Stakes. Of the winning total Tehran contributed s £6202. Another who added substantially was Umiddad, whose principal success was in the Gold Cup. M. Peacock occupies his customary place at the top of the Northern trainers' list. Dante contributed largely to his total, as it did to that of the leading Northern owner, Sir Eric Ohlson. Nevett, leading jockey in the" North, had the 'distinction of winning the Derby on Ocean ' Swell, Coventry Stakes and Middle Park Stakes on Dante, and the Champion Stakes on Hycilla. - Miss Dorothy Paget was the most successful owner in the South. She won 23 races worth £6375, but it was only a very minor contribution that Orestes, champion two-year-old of last year, made to the total. Fred Darling, 23 races worth £8237, was the Souths leading trainer. Bloodstock has appreciated greatly in value during the past 12 months. At the September Yearling Sales at Newmarket, 306 lots realised 345,150 guineas, an average of 1138 guineas. This average is only slightly, below the all-time record of the Doncaster Yearling Sales in 1928. Contrary to recent custom the classic winners have not been retired to stud. Thus the Cup races in the new season promise to be the most interesting for many years, with Ocean Swell, Tehran, Borealis, Hycilla, Rockefella, and the older Persian Gulf in competition. Frank Butters, leading trainer, has been at the top many times. His best winner, apart from Tehran and Umiddad, was Sir Alfred Butt's two-year-old Paper Weight, who won his last five races. . Gordon Richards is champion jockey for the seventeenth time. He had his best wartime season. His previous winning totals were: 1940, 68; 1941, 22 (he was out of the saddle most of the season through injury); 1942, 67; and 1943, 65. He won the Gold Cup on Umiddad and <he St. Leger on Tehran. The H.H. Aga Khan was represented by 13 winners of. 23 races, the stakemoney amounting to £ 13,985. Next in order came Lord Rosebery with 10 winners of 13 races and £10,171 in money, Lord Derby with 7, 10, and £8469, and Miss Dorothy Paget with 20, 23, and £6375 respectively. In the breeders' lists, Lord Rosebery headed the table in this instance with nine winners of 11 races and £9549, Lord Derby attending him with eight winners of 12 races and £8844. Miss D. Paget was represented by 15 winners, and H.H. Aga Khan and Mr. J. V. Rank by 14 each, but the stakemoney was smaller. , Frank Butters saddled up 18 winners of 34 races, the stake-winnings amounting to £17,585, and he was followed by J. Jarvis with 14 winners of 17 races and £11,319, W. Earl with 9, 13, and £9041, M. Peacock, 15, 22, and £8517, and F. Darling with 11, 23, and £8237 respectively. Once again Gordon Richards was well clear of the field on the jockeys' championship with 88 firsts, 51 seconds, 45 thirds, and 149 unplacings. W. Nevett, who was second on the table, had 37 wins, 25 seconds, and 28 thirds. Then came M. Beary and E. Smith with 34 and 32 winners respectively. Although bred in 1925, Fairway headed the sires'- list for the season with 16 winners of 31 races and £15,111 in stake-money, whereas Hyperion was represented by 21 win•ners of 31 races and £14,888. Blue Peter was third with 11, 16. and £11,136, Nearco fourth with 14, 27, and £10,865, Fair Trial fifth,, with 14, 23, and £8416, and Bois Roussel sixth with 6, 8, and £8145 in stake-money.