SPORT IN BRITAIN.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 81, 5 April 1941, Page 7 (Supplement)

SPORT IN BRITAIN.

GRAND NATIONAL ABANDONED.

i (Fr..in Our London l ..m, -;.,,,,,!,•:,• , j IVbru.iij J? Ou there i? to !«■ n., i.ian.l National I '-'after all. The uubrok.-n -cju.-m,- .if K»4 Nationals was brought w< an i-nd ; when Mr. Morrison, the Home S-rrrtarj. announced in Parliament tb.- o'.ln-r d.i\ ; lliat he had a-ked tiio National Hum ; •Committee to lca\e tin- «ieat i.i.,- ..u: j jof their plan* for winding ii]. the] j M-asOll. It is not lor me !.i <!;-.. _~e I with the dwis'.niip. of i lie Cnu-iniii.'iii ' I over such relatively Miiall mattriv. t'.i.r-e 'days, but it wpius a j-j t v thai -u.-'.i a .drastic Hop. if it w«-re 'i «-'.ng .-.m-. .• mi j plated, was not t.ikon ea:-li:*i . foi it iI ;iUUIl(l tO hit OWIICIr. ;l!ld I 1.1 ill T~ ).;,!! \ badly. Training a h«-:v<- 1~..r the Gian"l I National is. a >c\i-o!i"? wmk. anil i; ii I is to be fit for The big rap- all «•• ~-r j considerations must I>e i-wept a~idc The j less important ra.-Cr: ii ronlot- diii-ins I the earlier jiart of the -e:i-<>n aie lilil.- ! more than a ]>ait of ::„ "National training"' and are relatively few in number. If owner? and trailer- had lieen t .1.1 a month or two hark that there would I be no Grand National they would have j set about the winter'* work in <juiie ;i ; different way. Quite a number of ihI older horses would lr.i\e been retirc-J I or put out of training— with a mii-p----quent Raving of feeding siniTs. Others would have been entered fo r and run j in other mop?. J» j« difficult u> under- i citatid in J.liy case why tlie people of ; Cheltenham itself were «r> antagonistic! to the proposal to hold the race there. ' It was their M.P.. Mr. Lipson. who j brought the question up in Parliament.; and no doubt hi~ aetion was prompted l>y the numerous letter* wliieli had ' appeared in the local newspaper* eon- ! demning the plan. In jieaeetime the j flourMiinjr sport of National Hunt raej ing used to bring a lot of money into (Cheltenham —and nobody grumbled. Now that those people who make the sport possible ha\e their own financial difficulties they find themselves coldshouldered. The Grand National was j first run in 1537 on a eour-e at Maphull. Tt wa« run there azain in IS3S. but the following year was transferred j to Aintree. where it was. run without j a break until the war year- of 191f. ' 1917 and 191 S. I The Next Best 'j Tt ean safely be concluded thai all 1 j the best horeee which were licing i J trained for the Grand National will run j I j instead in the Gold Cup. With horse*! >uoh as Roman Hackle. Kilntair. I>> Cygne, Savon, Symaethi*. A*terahsid. ; <;olden Luck and Bog^kar—ihe last j . named won the National la>t year —a* 1 likely runners it -liould be a fine race. ! well up to pre-war standards or even j ' j better. It is early to prophesy yet, • j but there i* no doubt that Roman ' Hackle should have a very good chance. ' i He is a really fine type of steeplechaser s jand had not been linrried over his pre- •! pa rat ion for the National. Some 1 people are of opinion that he is taking a lon<r time to find his form this season. c but he is in Owen Anthony's care, and 1 this trainer will be able to do a lot ' with his- charge during the next few 1 weeks if no outride influences such as 1 the weather liol.i up hie plans. Golden ' Luck will be an interesting eompeti-., 1 tor. ITe belongs to Mrs. David Dick. ' wife of the Epsom trainer, who is a lucky owner. Picked tip some time • ago for the proverbial "song." he has ■ gone from strength to strength and won 1 quite an imposing list of races at the few meetings o|»en to him this season. j The Gold Cup will be wall worth winning J J.it it* usual value of £600. The only • I difference from pre-war years will be ' that no replicas of the cups will be 1 awarded to winning owners. If they r wish to purchase one as a eouvenir they ' j may do so oiit of their prize-money. 'Octogenarian Trainer IA short time ago I was writing of the veteran trainer* and .jt<ckey« of i • Jockey Club and National Hunt racing 5 1 who were helping so greatly to keep things going in the absence of their t younger fellow-workers in the Services. . Racegoer* over a long period of years : will be sorry to hear that one of the i most popular of them, Mr. Bob Gore, » died at his home in Sussex during the i week-end. He wa* SI year* old. Gore j was essentially a National Hunt trainer - and was responsible for the preparation | I of two Grand National winner*, Jerry M and Covercoat. Both these horses belonged to one of his principal patrons, Sir -J. Afeheton-Smith. The most •I popular horse, however, that Bob Gore s ever trained was probably Orpington. ; Orpington was a lovely selling plater. • But he went year after • year, winning numerous Selling Plates, ' until he was more than 20 years old. ' And the public loved him for it. Lady •lames Douglas, who hae also died s recently, had attained the great age of • S7. Lady Douglae was a keen horsej -.voroan, but her love wa« the _ breeding of bloodstock — the racing of them was to 'her a secondary interest. ' Still, she won fame as an owner bybeing the first woman to own a Derby j ' winner—in fact a Triple Crown winner j e away back in tlie days of the last war. I II This horse wae the great Gainsborouch ! which won the Two Thousand ! 1 the Derby, the St. Loger. a* well as the j Gold Cup in I'.US. - Airgead Sios p : The present National Hunt s<a.-oii has been a black one in ai- much a* we I have lost several fine J

owing to accidents in training or on the racecourse. Last week it was Macaulav. Thw week it it- -poor Airjrrail Sios, whom his owner. Sir Franci* Tow]»-. loved en much that he would not allow it to race unless o.r.ild !»■ preM-nl at the meeting to lii- favourite ni;i. He broke down so badly while exercised at Ertom that ihe unlv liuniane thing to do was to haw liirn destroyed. Airgead Sio~ njf .! ftoofileohaser up to t!ir«-e mi'p*. b.r. though he ran in the 'irand Nalionil in IH-5S it wa« rather a foilurn Imjio f v w i.00;,1 t - IM-lio\c<l !i,. coiikl s-tay the criur.-c. it was. lie f--!l at l!i • end of tlie fir.-l niile ami a half, but «.i----in the lead at tlic time. Hi" wa~. !ki« over, a ino-t epocta<-ular juni|>ci'. and t he Aintreo oli>taclo, hold un tPrror.for him. He won two Iso<iifr Stcpplc-«-ha>es and one Cbainftivn there. I havo that Airgfail Simfell in the National of l!>:;s. but ]iijofkey, with whom lie wa* alr-.i a proa! favourite, would vigorou*lv dony tliii-. Hp used to w_v that" AirjTPad Si.«i De\i-r fell. Ho would stumble but always managed to get to hie feot asrain. However, he performed -uch unbelievable oontortion- in doing so that no r id<-: born could have kept in the saddle. His connections will sadl;- nii>s this lim.?

u .I-.',. iia« i.i-i-ii i '. \\\r z~rrn: <-liai .i.-ti .* in N.<;i..i..i; Hunt p.p..rl rimr > ..in:.- :•■ I iii— i-i.uiii't fr.>ni Ireland. Ih<b;l tlip'.a.-i- of -.■ i.ii:\ jrv.r, Irj.prr*. International Soccer I.'i;id<in SiH-.n f.ii - ii.i i ii vra'. "nvit "li w ,11-n ;i :e.il int«Tuati<njai n i.i: .-It «.i- ri;i;', ,1 U-tn.-in H >iland and llHuiuin. the j.lav.-i- iir n; intl-yjurvj :.. I'lin.-e Itcnibai'.l ..f the N'rtherland-. I ;r.r- w .ii- tin- iir-t iutcriuiliorral c\rv \<> '•<■ -'i.jgfil in ijii. i-..mil ry ltT-1 «-r«-n i\> ■' i oul iiifntal ic.-iiii*. and though liw ■ti'tiMl jilijy in.iv nut h;i\r liocn uji ;.■ H. it i-h inirrnat'joiial ~i.iii.lard. it. n».i ki- Ii :;i!i:c. I'br :i'Milt »3f a li< - i-a.li -i.l.- rt-..rin S three time*. It «.->.- tin- lil>! time lli.it a Ir.nn rc(nc-cni mi' 1|.!1.i-r, 1,. ( - play.,l i,, Kngland. The* «.rv iiivit.-t] u'm ~r three >. ;,r> "-■'•■ ■'•'"I ffIHMHI Oil till- Jl.Uinds' "tllHi 11m-» were M..i \ct siiflicicni \\ pkilled 1" l;ik ( > •:i I'.riii-ii if.ni'.. J; i> riot gfiieialiv r.-ali-cd liuv* |«.].ulai ti-.p ~Hine war- !-• ■ ■inning in tin- Nethciland.. in thr davi'lior i.i iho war. (»ur u.-rt- a- w<-l! known. b\ name a; any rate. io the iJutoi !":in t.i iheir'owrt ciu-h fnl rwcr>. ainl lJuich newr-pajicr reporlrir ni-re al«a\> >.<-: a over to ihe Wenibiv ( uj. final and other big CTcnt* mi <.m programme. Tlie Belgium •». Holland matili hai> al«a\> liwn ijie of tlie \e.ir in ilie >ri it iu gmtifyiiig that they were able to hold it ilii-. year. t\cn ii it «a« on foreign lurl. Dorothy Round There i- a report fiom Canada thai Mrs. Little (Miss Dorothy Hound I following in the foot t-tcp* of Alkc and Mi>> Hard wick and turning professional. Her idea, however. >eems to be to become a coach—>o far there is no indication that she will go in for playing exhibition matches. It seems a pity that, if die is going to pive up her amateur statu-. .-he does not "go ihc whole hog," for if she went to America her services would be eagerly MHight after by the promoter* of exhibition matches. A little new hlood ill the matcher at present taking place in the States would undoubtedly add to their The Hv>rc in the Marble v. Hard wick series at present stands at 10 to I in the American girl**. favour, so it is clear that the whole thing is becoming a little one-sided. It is difficult to say ju»?t what Mns. Little's form is just now, for she has rather dropped out of big tennis since her marriape. She has recently been playing in tournament* in Canada. howcv«r,*and woii two event* in the Kastern Canada championships. Canadian opposition i< not very formidable to an ex-Wimbledon champion, but she is, at any rate, keeping her eye in. and if ehe really pot down to it would *oon be able to'give a pood account of herself in top class tennis once again. Mrs. Little was one of the earliest "evacuees" from this country on the outbreak of war. She *aid then that she ivas taking her baby son awav for the duration. Boxing B. Bennison writes: .Jackie Pateix.n has had a second match with Paddv Ryan, thie time at Nottingham, and not only held the flyweight championship, but as a "Southpaw"' forced a com plete revision of earlier estimate* of his qualities. It is now agreed not onlv that at 8.0 he stands alone in thk country but that, given the opportunhv be would beat the world. The Manchester lad. game as they make them, could make nothing of him, and from the start Paterson was his master. In the sixth round Ryan was knocked clean out of the ring by a hook so viciou* that the wonder was he was not counted out before he could get back, and in th» eighth round the referee stopped the fight. It was given out that the Board of Control will make every effort to have the Scot matched against" America's best for the world's title. It may he that the board will try to induce Little Dado to come to this country for a fight with Paterson, but I doubt whether, apart from travelling difficulties, they will, in present circumstances, find a promoter willing to offer the substantial guarantee to which the queerly-named American champion would be entitled. Meanwhile, if plans hold good, we may eee Paterson against Jim Brady, who bo'lds the Empire bantam championship. The title will not be staked, but if Patereon beat* his fellow countryman be might be tempted to move up to the 8.6 class.