SPORTS AND PASTIMES

Evening Star, Issue 17225, 15 December 1919, Page 5

SPORTS AND PASTIMES

fßy for Dunedin 'Star.') LONDON, October 16. THE TURF. , Onc« again followers of racing have had toe,opportunity of-attending a Kempton ■t"s.rk fixture, and the first since. 1915 proved a big success. Being so .handy to Jjondon, a good gate may usuallv he counted on, and with genial weather prevailing the executive had every reason to feel pleased with the support. _The Imperial Produce Plate and the Duke of York Stakes were the big events, and the former served to show what a fine colt Major M'Calmont owns in Tetratema. Those who fancied the animal had to lay odds of 100 to 7 on, but they never had the slightest cause for doubt, as Carslake had! a very easy ride on the favorite to beat his two rivals. The winner is bv The Tetrarch, that unfortunate grey colt who had l to be turned but of training just as it appeared likely that he would take the highest honors. If, however, the son of Roi Herode had a short racing career, his success at the stud has been remarkable. Possibly we shall see his 6on carrying on the family reputation in the big eventa of 1920, and from present appearances he seems likely to make a great record.- Possibly the remarkable success of The Tetrarch at the stud may be partly attributed to his eariv retirement from racing. It is often debated whether a horse is as likely to do as well at the 6tud after three hard seasons' racing as if he had been nursed 1 . The whole point hangs on whether the animal is asked to do more than reasonable. Horses are like humans to some extent, and can easily be kept in training so long that they become stale. If, when in this state, they are forced to xaoe permanent harm may be brought about. One thing is very clear —viz., that two-year-olds should be nursed

and racehorses allowed l to mature before being subjected to very hard training and asked to take part in a trying race. This does not meaa that a reasonable amount of racing is out of place,'but rather that areat caro should be exercised with young horses-, and, above" all, that they are nob called ot\ to race seriously until properly fit. Thcte are many instances of moderate three-year-old's developing into real champion four-year-olds, and usually it is the result of allowing the animal to fully develop before being given, a lot of racing. _And now a word about the Duke of York .Stakes, in which Grand' Fleet beat nine rivals. Five years have elapsed since Nassau won in a field of seven, and the revival ■• this popular event makes racegod's vo;i'-m) that matters are getting back to norm! In, the latest Tace some good judges ' ::k Grand Fleet was a bit luckv to win :•; Sir Berkley, beaten threequarters i.f a length, swerved badly and lost ground. Possibly the greater strength, of Grand Fleet's pilot was largely responsible for the success of. Yord Glanely'e animal, which added still another triumph to the many secured) by the fortunate owner named. The Cardiff ship magnate is indeed on© of fortune's favorites, and he is sure to retain pride of place among wiuninsr owners of the season. Grand Fleet. by_ the wav, ran the mile and a-quarter in 2niin s§sec, which ranks as a ™nd performance under an impost of Bst lib. RUGBY.

Once more we have representative football to claim the attention of Soccer enthusiasts, Saturday's big event being the England v. Wales Victory match at Cardiff. Seeing that Wales had not beaten England at the dribbling code since 1882, the success of the home players was not out of turn. True, the visitors liad hard luck, but that b the "rub of the green." The match proved a big attraction, and seeing that the gate receipts were over £1,250 it speaks well for the way Soccer

is going In this heart of Welsh Rugby footbalt It- must have delighted Meredith to at v last captain a winning Welsh team against England, after 18 previous failures. As he scored the opening goal, he had still more reason to feel elated. As remarked before, England had hard luck, Ball spraining hia leg, -which forced him to retire at half-time. The loss of this excellent back was a big handicap, but the visitors declined the sporting offer of Meredith to provide a substitute. Though a goal down and»a man short, England strove hard for an equaliser, and with 15 minutes'remaining it was forthcoming. Wales responded well, however, and Wynn got a second goal for the home side, and so ended a, real sporting match. —lnterempire Rugby Football.—

There are few all-round sportsmen who are not in entire agreement that Rugby football is one of the greatest assets the Empire has so far as sports are concerned. On that account one and all regret exceedingly that the English Rugby Union and the Rugby authorities in Jvew Zealand are not seeing eye to eye at the present time. It is a case wherein the New Zealanders desire to move onwards, whereas tho Home authorities do not agree in all particulars. It will be a thousand pities should New Zealand sever, so to speak, relationships with the English Rugby Union. Home sportsmen fully recognise the great debt which English Rugby fotoball owes to New Zealand players. Rugby in England had sunk much below its old-time standard until the famous All Blacks paid ua a visit. That was responsible for, a tremendous revival in English Rugby football. The wondr/ ful combination of the New Zealand/.* and the manner the whole team passed the ball from hand to hand as though they were all membets of the three-quarters line was an eye-opener to English sportsmen. We were not slow to grasp the significance of this, and the standard of English play soon went up, and has remained

a,t a.high level since. Fully recognising this' debt, then, which we owe to the All Blacks, it is needless to say that the possibility of a split between the Home Union and the New Zealand authorities is viewed with apprehension The statement made some time ago by a prominent New Zealand Rugby official to the effect that his union would have to carry on without any relationships with the English Union unless the latter were in more full agreement was heard with much regret. This is a time when the sporting bodies throughout the Empire should endeavor to work in harmony. It may, perhaps, seem a small matter when sport governing bodies from different parts of the Empire parade their differences, but it is harmful.

The writer has always taken the stand that it was a great mistake to divide the Empire into sections for Olympic Games purposes. As readers of these notes are aware, it has been customary to do so, and we have had a Canadian team, a South African team, an Australasian team, and another team representing the British Isles. In all international competitions there is move at 'stake than merely successes in the competitions decided. The general conduct of the competitors, both on and off the sports field, their bearing when taking part in the parade of nations, and so on, attract attention and draw comment. Likewise it stands to reason that if you divide your forces into four they do not look as formidable as if united. On that account the writer feels strongly that in all international events, such as are the Olympic Games, we should represent a united front, and stand shoulder to shoulder, as we did in the Great War. To revert to the question of Rugby, it is to be trusted that the stalwarts of the game in New Zealand and England will seek by every means to arrive at some understanding, so as to avoid any breach. BOXING. The boxing game is going strong just now, and many important matches are down for decision in the near future. During the week-end we saw Fred Fulton easily vanquish P.O. Curran in a bout at Plymouth. The big American hardly seemed to put forth his best efforts, and he did not even trouble to sit down between the rounds. Gurran took a lot of punishment, and was frequently sent to the boards, the finish coming in the fourth round, when he was forced to retire. Fulton is a big and powerful boxer, and a match between he and Goddard would be worth seeing. The match between M'Goorty. of America, and Belzac, of France, at' Paris, was somewhat disappointing. M'Goortv was hardly in the best condition, and, though the heavier man, he had barely held his own during the first four rounds, whilst the Frenchman seemed to be on top during the next four rounds. There was an unfortunate end to the affair in the eighth round, M'Goorty being disqualified for hittinff low. The American has not helped his reputation over the affair, and no doubt he will be anxious to make amends. ATHLETICS. That excellent little walker, T. Payne, of Morpeth, 'has just accomplished' another fine performance by winning the Manchester to Blackpool walk. " He covered the miles in 8h 18min 7sec, winning by olmin from F. E. Roberts, of London. The winner is a living example of. the great benefits to be derived from athletics, and his success in the race under notice and the recent London to Brighton walk suggest that he is as good as before the war. Another form of athletics worthy of mention is an interclub running race decided at Stones A.C. sports, near London, on Saturday. The distance was at two miles, and over a dozen teams were concerned. It proved a triumph for the Birchfield Harriers, that old Birmingham dub winning the team honors and furnishing the first and second men home, in Sergeant J. H. Massey and Private G. E. Blewett, the 10-mile champion. The winner is a veteran, yet he finished the journey m 9min 453 see. It is evident that his military duties with the Canadian army has done him good, for he is running better than ever. Blewett is a new man, and though somewhat in-and-out in his form, he is an excellent runner when at ins best.

It is pleasant reading to learn .that a feature of a Pennsylvania railroad meeting at Philadelphia recently was tlio victory ?i \J' Wefers > 3« n - "He won the 100, ™° 220, and the 440 yards races and the 220 yds hurdle race. ,Nomo readers of these notes may recall that the young athlete's father is the American sprinter who created such a sensation in 1895 bydefeating Charlie Bradlev and A. R. Downer in the ICO and 220 yards races at the International meeting between the London and New York Athletic Clubs. At that time "Wefers had only ibeen running about six months, \- e t 'he ran the 100 yds in 9fsec and the 220 yds in 21|sec, Nine months later, at the "intercollegiate championship meeting, he ran 220vds on a straight track in 21isec, and *3oovds round a curved track m SOisec. the writer saw Wefers accomplish these performances, and he has also seen the world's greatest amateur sprinters since the mideighties, and he considers Wefers to be entitled to the palm as the. best all-round amateur sprinter the world has vet produced. His son evidently inherits some of the family speed, and his future career will he watched with interest.

IN GENERAL. j Abe .Mitchell accomplished another reraarka'ble performance at the week end, when ho went round the Bessicar Golf Club course in 71 strokes. This is two better than the previous record, which stood to the credit of Scai-th, the local j professional. I Still another swimming championship has been won by H. A. Annison, of Croydon, this being the 150 yds London honor. Annison won by_ two-fifths of a second from J. L. Haskins, a former holder, in lmin 39gsec. ' Members of the Crescent Cycling Club have had a wonderfully good'season, no fewer than 11 of the 12 Birmingham Centre championships having fallen to their share. Melbourne Inman, the champion billiard player, is. showing great form in his match against T. Reece. He is conceding 1,000 points start in 16,0C0 up, and when the halfway stage was reached he. had passed his rival -and established a lead' of 795 points. GOLF. , The big professional golf tournament at Walton Heath for £590 as prize produced memorable final, with A. Mitchell, of England, and G. Duncan, 'of Scotland', as the contestants. Duncan was the -winner of the last tournament held, which was in 1913, and many thought the Aberdeenshire man might repeat his success. Mitchell, however (who, it will be recalled, played as an amateur up to 191,2), was remarkably steady, and ultimately prevailed by ono hole. He invariably ont-drovo his rival, but Duncan's approach shot "frequently gave him an advantage over the Englishman. Near the end it looked as though Duncan, who had been making a grand fight of it, might assume the lead. He had managed to draw level at the sixteenth hole, and being only 10yds from the pin with the second shot at the seventeenth, he looked like going to the front. He missed a short putt, however, and took 5 to get down, the hole being halved. Mitchell profited by this, and, doing the eighteenth in 4 strokes to 5 by Duncan, won the premier prize, as stated. Mitchell has had a wonderful season, as he -won the ' Daily Mail' trophy, which practically took the place of the open championship, and then was runner-up to J. H. Taylor in another big tournament at St. Amies. BOXING. Gharles Ledoux, the (famous French boxer, is apparently getting into form, as he knocked out Bainbridgs, the English boxer, in the third round of a contest' decided at Paris a few days ago. The •winner will shortly oppose Jimmy Driscoll at (the National Sports Club, London, and in spits of the latter now being a veteran, he is sure to give the French crack a tremendous- contest. Driscoll's three years of Army life did him good, and, notwithstanding the nasal trouble from which he suffers, and which impedes his 'breathing, the writer is quite prepared to see the old-time GbAsaaioa k*ep Lis end up.

The English. Amateur Boxing Association are to be congratulated on the decision to cultivate the fistic art amon" school boys. lie plan is to promote scholastic ohampionships, tho country being divided into districts for that pupose. After the winners in these districts have been _ unearthed they will be given opportunities to meet the successful competitors in other districts in what will be the schoolboys' championships. This is a really good scheme, and something on the lines of that which the writer has suggested for track and' field athletics. Undoubtedly the way to foster competition in any branch of sport is to stimulate local rivalry. Village versus village, town versus town, county versus county, and district versus district is the way to progress from the t beginner's _ stage to the rank of a national champion. One of the coming matches which promises well will bring Johnny Basham, the welter-weight champion, and Billy Wells, of Bermondßey, into opposition. The latter, of course, is not the heavyweight crack, who, by the way, will make a reappearance by meeting Curphey in a bout to be decided in London. The welter-weight Wells has made some progress, and he will no doubt give Basham a hard fight, though the writer fancies the latter will retain his honors.

Another item of news about welterweights is that Kid Lewis contemplates coming to England with • the intention of engaging in a couple of matches. Lewis is a Hebrew boxer, and some hard things were said about his remaining in America when fighters were wanted in the battleline. It will be interesting to note how the public will receive those pugilists who ignored the appeals for fighting men to don khaki. SWIMMING. It looks as though H. A. Annison is our best short distance swimmer at the present time. He has already annexed the 100, the 220, and the 400 yards championships, and his friends believe he will soon show speed in advance of anything he has yet accomplished. The advonce of swimimng among girls has often been commented on by the writer, and the interest taken in the 100 yds ladies' Southern championship recently further illustrates the point. It resulted in Miss F. Sandcroft winning from Miss V. Johnson (the holder) in lmin 17sec, which is 2sec better than the previous record for the race. The swimming association are making particular efforts to encourage juvenile swimming, with some satsifactory results, and sooner or later we may unearth a real world-beater.