SPORTS AND PASTIMES

Evening Star, Issue 17196, 11 November 1919, Page 8

SPORTS AND PASTIMES

[By Ex-Champion, for Dunedin ' Star.'] 1 ' LONDO'N, September 11. The flat racing season of 1919 lias certainly been brimful of surprises, and not the least of these was the unexpected victory of Keysoe in the St. Leger. Lord Derby certainly could have had little hopes that his filly would prove successful, and the wagering suggested that the race was_ a good thing for Buchan, while Dominion also had no end of supporters. race was run at a very slow pa-ce, tactics which should have suited Buchan, Major Astor's colt not being credited with great stamina. Dominion looked prominent <at the half-journey, but when it came to real racing Keysoe shot ahead to score very easily ' indeed. It is only recently that the winner was "under a cloud" and was coughing, so that the stable connection had little hopes of a victory. Reference may be made to the high price just paid for the yearlings at the pom-aster sales. Among the animals coming under the hammer was a yearling colt by The Tetrarch—Lisma. The' bidding got to 8,000 guineas, at which figure the animal was knocked down to "Mr Watkin Williams. Though not a record, the sum is a big one, and getting near, the 10,000 guineas which is the hign-water mark for a yearling. Followers of the turf will remember that Tho Tetrarch had a phenomenal career, though only a short one. He looked like sweeping the boards of the classic races until he went wrong, and had to be retired to the stud. His success has been very wonderful, and his family are playing a big part in racing to-day. "Thus it is not surprising that there should be keen bidding for animals of his blood. SWIMMING. It is always a pleasure to note the great improvement which the fair sex are making in various sports. This has been particularly marked in swimming, a sport eminently suited for the fair sex. A very excellent performance has just been accomplished ;by Miss May Spence, of Garston, who, in a 150 v ds> back-stroke competition at l/iverpool, succeeded in covering the course in 2min 15sec. This lime beats the former record of 2min 16jsec, which she herself accomplished some time ago. England has many able girl swimmers, particularly at long distances, and it is a matter for satisfaction that this useful accomplishment finds such general favor. GOLF. We are just now in the midst of the Irish golf championship, which is being decided at Portraeh. Some very excellent players are taking part, with the military element very much to the fore. Great things were predicted for Captain Edward Carter, looked on as Ireland's star player. He went through the preliminary rounds in brilliant- fashion, and was generally regarded as the probable winner. In the fourth round, however, the Royal Portrush olayer ran up against a tough proposition" in the Rev. B. S. Ulyat, of/ Hunstanton. The latter is a naval chaplain, and evidently one of the right sort, possessing "the real fighting quality. Captain Carter was a bit unsteady at the start, and was two down when three holes had been played. He managed to square the match at the ninth, however,' and was again on terms with his rival at the 14th, thanks to a beautiful putt of 12yds. Captain Carter had a great chance of taking the lead at the 16th, He is a wonderful driver, and his tee shot put him 50yds in front of his opponent, and he was on the green with his second—a very fine iron shot. Had he got down his putt of sft it would have given him the lead, but, failing this, the hole was halved, leaving the rivals still all-square. At the end of the 18th they were still level, and then came a really exciting stfjggle as to who shouldi prevail. The naval man showed great tenacity and coolness, and settled matters on the 22nd green, thus beating Ireland's hope. Another player who is doing very well up to the time of writing is Lord Charles Hope. andi the writer would not be surprised should he and the conqueror of Captain ■ Carter be left in to contest the final. BOXING. As is, of course, quite natural, we have had lots of -controversy of a very interesting nature regarding the groat boxing match in which Beckett met M'Goorty. The Southampton man's reputation has certainly gone much higher as a consequence "of his splendid success over the American. True, there aie a few who say Beckett's victory was nothing sensational, and that he only beat a middleweight. The fact remains that M'Goorty, though a veteran in regard .to the length of time he has been boxing, is a remarkably clever exponent of ring-craft. Not only is he a brilliant boxer, Dut he also possesses fighting qualities of the highest degree. Some of the best authorities who closely watched the recent contest were inclined to think that there was very little difference between the -two men so far as points are concerned, when Beckettbrought matters to a summary end. That Beckett was able to hold his own so far as points were concerned against such a clever rival speaks very well lor the South, ampton man. Most authorities would have predicted an easy win for M'Goorty on points, assuming the contest- went the full distance. It therefore follows that if Beckett, in the opinion of judges, held -his own -with M'Goorty from the point of view of scientific boxing, then indeed l ho has made great progress. The contest will have done the winner a. great deal of good, quite apart from the increased confidence he must naturally gain, .and it stands to reason that he learned many things from his rival. There is nothing like practical experii ence for teaching a man, and what pleased Beckett's supporters was tin- manner he grasped and combated the different moves which M'Goorty unfolded,. In the past it has often been said with reproach that most British -boxers lack the' brains of their American rivaK This, be it noted, is clue to the fact that they aie reo;-ir>- •' from a different social status. Across tho Atlantic men -of brains and intellig-jj.ee enter _ into professional boxing, realising that it is a paying profession. In this country, however, it is a very unusual thing for a really good amateur to embrace professionalism. One recalls that Jimmy Corbett (one time world's champion) was a bank clerk before he became a_ professional boxer. Probably if some of our great amateurs, such as the brothers Hare (of middle-weight fame), John P. Hopley, and Captain Edgworth Johnson (amateur heavy-weight champion) had taken to professional boxing they might have made history. To hark back a moment to Beckett, "it is now pretty certain that he will be favorite when lie meets Carpentier, and the writer is hopeful and somewhat confident that the victory will go to the Southampton man. ATHLETICS. The Combined Services athletic championships showed the soldiers to advantage, and they beat the airmen after on excellent competition, while the sailormen quite failed to show prominently. Quite the surprise of the meeting was the sprinting of F. Mawbv, an old Army champion, who defeated Lindsay, of New Zealand, and A-pplegarth in the 100 yds. He was credited with beating evens—otherwise 9 9-10 th seconds for 100yds—and admitting that -the start was hardly a good one, this suggests that ho is a sound lOseo man for the century. Applcgarth was really left at the start, and only finished fourth. Mawby followed up his success by -winning the furlong in 22sec, and it is quite clear that we have plenty of speedy runners in the Army at the present time. It was pleasing to see the way Captain A. P. Mitchell, R.A.F., won the quarter-mile, and his time of suggests that he is approaching the brilliant speed he showed when running up to Captain Seedhouse in the English quartermile championship of 1914. W. A. Hill, the new English sprint champion, had no difficulty in winning the Essex 100 yds championship, and he again showed himself equal to covering the distance in lOsec. Ho also dead-heated with J. Nolan, of the Irish Guards, in the quarter-mile race in 52fsec, and then showed what a good sportsman he is by waiving Ids share, so that Nolan might receive the gold medal. Mention of Hill is a reminder that his namesake A. G. Hill may not after all make an attempt on the mUe-record before the •season ends.

This is unfortunate, as it is rather doubtful if an athlete of Hill's age can reproduce his form in a year from now. On the other hand, he is not of robust physique, and it may perhaps he all to the good should he have an entire rest from racing for the next nine months. That would leave him ample time to go into strict/training for the Olympic Games at Antwerp. The writer would like to make it clear that a rest from racing does not mean a complete retirement. It would, indeed, bo a mistake for any athlete of mature years to completely go out of training. Racing, however, and sufficient exercises to keep one in the best possible condition represent two very different propositions. Before finishing with athletics mention must be made of some very remarkable performances on the other" side of tho Atlantic. At the New York Metropolitan A.A.U. championships L. A. Watson cleared 6ft 6in in the running high jump, which, though a little iover lin lower than tho record, is nevertheless a very remarkable performance. Another great feat was accomplished by Frank Foss, of Chicago, in that city on a recent date, and he succeeded in improving the world's polevaulting record by getting over the 'bar at 13ft 3 9-16 in. One also notices from exchanges that J. Ray, of Chicago, ran a mile in 4miu 181-ec, an indication that this talented athlete is still in great form.