THE WORLD OF SPORT

Manawatu Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 3288, 6 March 1926, Page 15

THE WORLD OF SPORT

(From Our Own Correspondent) LONDON, Feb. 14. A “Class” Lincolnshire Entry. Though there are fewer entries for the Lincolnshire Handicap (writes Centaur, our racing correspondent) than last year, “class” appears to bo in the ascendancy, and it can be taken for granted that the Aga Khan’s Zionist, second in the Derby, and Mr Sol Joel’s Ooojah, third in the Guineas, will be found near the top of the scale. Zionist’s entry Is rather surprising, and it will be still more astonishing if they decide to run him. On his day, and with the conditions underfoot suitable—ho must have the ground soft —he is a rare good colt. He finished off last season—in the middle of it—as the winner of the Irish Derby, and I surmise that his trainer had a lot of trouble with one of his legs. Strictly on the book, Oojah has the beating of Zionist, for ho finished well in front in the Guineas in their placlngs behind Manna, but a bad swerve on the part of the Aga Khan’s horse was responsible for that. Besides, Manna’s victory -was so easily gained that it may be unwise to take too much notice of the finished placlngs. St. Becan, for Instance, second, and his subsequent form was no tribute to the others. Oojah's progress was interrupted by the death of his owner, Sir Edward Hulton, but the long rest he has had should be to his advantage. Mr Sol Joel bought him for 13,000 guineas at the dispersal sale, and this gives one a fair idea of what is thought of the horse by a shrewd judge. Mr Joel, incidentally, is responsible for the biggest Individual entry in the first of the important handicaps, and, while his fondness for this particular race Is well known —he won it in 1912 with Long Set and in 1921 with Soranus —one did not expect to find him with a stronger hand —numerically at any rate —than the whole of the French put together. Indeed, the onslaught from across the Channel is not likely to be so formidable as once ima gined, since such well-spoken-of horses as Dark Diamond 11., Masked Marvey (winner of our Cambridgeshire) and Faraway (wdnner of the French Guineas, which both Sir Gallahad and Tapin had won prior to their Lincoln triumphs) are missing from the Oarholme list. The number of horses purely trained in France—there are others, of course, French-bred, that have been In England for some time—is ' six, while Mr Joel la responsible himself for no fewer than eight, not to mention one in the name of his brother Jack in which, no doubt, he is Just as much Interested these days. Pasha of Many Tales. Besides Oojah there are Pons Asinorum (second in the Cambridgeshire), Evander (who ran second to Sir Gallahad), Green Fire, Pasha, Prompt, Pando, Th e Monk and Mr J. B. Joel’s Priory Park. Oojah, Pando and Priory Park are trained by C. Perk at Wantage, while the remainder are in the care of Earl at Newmarket. Through Pons Asinorum the stable should have an excellent line to the French form, which is best represented by Coram, who ran fourth in our Cambridgeshire, and It is obvious that the selected Is going to play a big part in the destination of the spoils a couple of months hence. Already Pasha Is being named as the most likely of the lot, since apparently he has been doing a lot of work, and has thickened out considerably. He was a much fancied horse for the Cambridgeshire of 1924, but hla chance was Immediately obliterated when he got kicked at the post. After that he really did nothing at all on a racecourse, and it can be taken for granted that h e will be the most leniently weighted of the Joel batch. Evander is now too old, and Priory Park, though a first-class sprinter, is hardly up to getting a mile under the weight he Is likely to carry. Green Fire Is a most unreliable horse, quite In contrast with The Monk, who was as game as any last season. Still, the latter had an unusually heavy programme to fulfil, and this may have levied toll on him. It Is too hazardous to • attempt at this juncture to guess the Joel representative, and I must give the news In regard to Pasha for what it may be worth. News of the French candidates I will give in a later article, when more is known about them. 1 should doubt very much whether they have a better one than Coram, though. Other entries that are worth noting Just now are Windward (trained by Sam Darling, who . was responsible for the finishing touches to Forsetl and Masked Marvel last autumn); Nothing Venture, i the only three-year-old in the race, | and the notorious Tom Pinch, as to whom not even a course of hurdling appears to have affected his wayward temperament. England’s Prospects Against Wales. * The strength of the English Rugby team, which has undergone so many changes since last year, is to be put to the test this week-end, when Wales are to be opposed at Cardiff. It. has not been a happy hunting ground for England. Six times have they played there, and only once 1 have they won. In wet weather the turf is extremely heavy, and this is greatly against the open methods which have been persistently exploited by English sides during the past twenty years or so. But though it is thought that Welsh football is a little better than in the past three or four seasons, the old standard has not yet been reached, and oven by Welshmen it is believed that the prospects are slightly in favour of the Englishmen. Though not entirely free from criticism —what team has ever pleased every one?—the Welsh fifteen has given satisfaction. 'But the authorities have created one {surprise. This is in choosing K. Jones for the position of stand-off half. At the same time they have ji°*olu. In on acute form the

other question of qualification for the national teams. A Nice Point. Jones Is a member of the Northampton Club, end was given a place in the second Engllsn trial. When he was dropped for the final game, Wales invited him to play, and, having come to the conclusion that he. was unlikely to be awarded an English cap, he has accepted. Jones’s qualification is undoubtedly thin. He was born at Shanghai, he has played all his football in England, his father was born in England, and his only connection with Wales is that his mother is a Welsh woman. It is rightly said that, even if England did not want Jones Wales were not justified in selecting him on this account, and it is understood that his case is to be brought before the International Board. He will, however, play against England this weekend. It is thought that Wales will be outpaced behind the scrummage, and that their main chance of success lies through the power of their forwards. This will be improved if the going is heavy. As many as five members of the scrummage are policemen, and two are colliers. It was in 1913 that England last won at Cardiff, and Wakefield and Voyce, the veteran forwards, are the only surviving members of that fifteen. The sole representative of Wales in 1913 who has now been picked is Dolahay, the scrum half-back. Opening of the Golf Season. There is always something peculiarly pleasing about the competition of the Oxford and Cambridge Golfing Society, which marks the opening of the season. It is held at Rye, an old-world fishing village on the Sussex coast, where a Puffing-Billy snorts its way along a single track to the links a couple of miles inland, and, though the play is serious enough, the tournament is set In an old-time atmosphere. The prize Is awarded by the President of the Society, Mr John L. Low, and it consists of an old wooden putter which was given to Mr Low many years ago by Hugh Klrkaldy, one of St. Andrew’s most famous men, and brother of Andrew Kirkaldy, the present professional to the Royal and Ancient. He used it when he won the Open Championship- The winner does not hold the putter in the usual way, nor does he receive any memento of his success,, but the ball which he uses in the final is fastens ed to the club with a silver, chain. Sir Ernest Holderneas has been remarkably successful in the event, but on this occasion he was absent, as he was on his honeymoon. But it was an excellent entry, and the play was given a fine send-off by a match between Cyril Tolley and Roger Wethered in the first round. Our Best Hope. As It happened, Tolley was completely out of form. Indeed, he won only one hole, and was beaten in the hollowest fashion. Having removed his great rival, Wethered went on to the final, in which ho was opposed to E. F. Storey,, an old Cambridge captain, and the beaten finalist of the Amateur Championship at St. Andrews three seasons ago. In the same year Storey went to America as a member of the British team, but since then he has gained few successes. But, against Wethered, he ’ evealed his best form, and when he was two up, with four holes to play, he seemed likely to win. Wethered squared at the seventeenth, and, though he hit an iron shed with his second shot to the home green, he played a wonderful pitch back, and, ho’ding the putt, finished the match even. The players then went , on hole by hole in the fast-falling light. When the sixth green was reached with the match still square, the balls could hardly he seen, and matches had to be struck to indicate the position of the hole. In the circumstances, it was impossible to arrive at a definite conclusion. The return of Wethered to serious golf, In view of the coming of the Americans, is most pleasing. It is understood that he Intends to play more than last year, and when in form ho is one of the most brilliant golfers in the world. Start of English Cup Competition. Interest in the great Cup competition of the Football Association continues to grow, judged from the number of people who watch the games. Last week-end, when .the third round, the equivalent of the old first, was decided, f -5,137 spectators were present at the thirtytwo ties, which was an increase 26,000 as compared with a year ago, and the gate money totalled £58,104. The biggest attendance was at the match between the two London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham, fifty thousand people witnessing the remarkable success of the Hotspur by five goals to nil. In half-a-dozen other instances the gates were over forty thousand. Under the new conditions of play, it was thought that the results might be more surprising than usual, but the games ran true . to form with very few exceptions. Sheffield Wednesday, who are such strong candidates for promotion from the Second League, were beaten by New Brighton, who are representatives of the third League, and Blackpool losi at home, to Swansea, when they were expected to win. But even those were rather mild surprises as compared with those of previous years. Some of th e senior clubs appeared to have severe tests, but they got through all right, Aston Villa, in their usual style, rose to . the occasion in visiting Hull, and scored three times to win comfortably. Huddersfield succeeded by a single goal against Chariston, and the Arsenal beat Wolverhampton Wanderers by the same margin. In the case of the Arsenal, however, they triumphed only at the second attempt in mid-week, in a replay after a goalless draw. Liverpool had a similar experience against Southampton, and Manchester City had to replay with the Corinthians. The latter in the first match had a great deal the better of the play, and, until a minute from the end. led by three goals to two. Then Howard Baker, the goalkeeper, was penalised for taking more than two Mens whilst holding

the ball, and Manchester City equalised from the free kick. Ordered Off. The failure of the amateurs, who played so well, was moat disappointing. On the Manchester ground four days later, they did not reproduce their form, and went down, without scoring, by four goals. The Corinthians had a fils incentive to succeed, for in the next round they had been drawn against Huddersfield, the champions during the past two seasons. Bo’ton Wanderers had a rare fright in meeting Accrington Slanlo.y. The latter decided that their ground was not large enough to accommodate all the people who would want to see the match, and so It was arranged that the sides should meet at Bolton. But, even with the id vantage of playing at home, the Wanderers won by only a goal to nil. The match was marred by a most unpleasant incident, Vizard, a We’sh international, who has been a member of the Bolton team for seventeen years, being sent off the field. Great matches are promised in the next round. As a year ago the luck of the draw has brough Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion together. Another big clash is between Sheffield United and Sunderland. whilst, if Everton survive their tie with Fulham, they will be paired with their neighbours, Liverpool. Boxing and Boxers. It has long been my belief (writes Eugene Corri) that Harry Corbett, of Bethnal Green, was bound to become a champion, but it will be confessed, I am sure, by his staunchest supporters, that he did not do himself complete justice against Johnny Britton, of Leeds, In the eliminating bout at the National Sporting Club last Monday. He won all right; vie tory came to him at the end of the eleventh round, when the Yorkshire lad was in no condition to continue, but Corbett was obviously not himself in any of the preceding rounds, lacking enterprise and apparently being afraid to take a single chance. The natural Corbett is bright, breezy, clever and a really stylisn boxer. Against Britton he was stilted and largely a “foreign” boxer. He carried himself after the fashion his opponent desired, and we had got very tired cf the sameness of it all when Corbett, knowing as he must have known, that he was be hind on points, suddenly threw ul-tra-caution overboard, stood up straight, and hooked Britton with his left hand just above the jaw, and under the car. It was a nasty, shortened blow; a blow that hurts, and it proved to be the undoing of the Leeds boxer. Britton did not go down there and then, but he wore a tell-tale look as he put his glove up as though in much pain. He was undoubtedly in a bad way. and it was only instinct that kent him going until the bell sounded the end of the round. No sooner- had he got to his corner than he col’apsed. His seconds worked furiously td bring him to, but Brlttdn was out completely, and so Corbett qualified to meet Johnny Curley for the featherweight belt at headquarters, on the second Monday In March. The merit of Britton’s display was his gameness. He was nothing like- so good as he was on previous occasions at Covent Garden. It is possible that, like Corbett. he was over anxious. At least T am sure that he is a better fighter than he showed himself to be lasi Monday. Second Cut at Beit. I had an idea tha.t the winner would be tried out against Johnny Cuthbert, of Sheffield, before Curley was called upon to defend the belt, but apparently this Yorkshire youth must wait a while longer before he is given an opportunity to attain championship rank. Which may be considered so much good fortune for Corbett, who has thus been given the rigfht to fight tor a bolt a second time. Maybe you recollect that he was put up against bantam Johnny Brown, and, because of a fight to do the weight, left himself hopelessly weak. In his affair with Britton, Corbett onlv just made 9 ston ei and it is as likely as not that h 0 will find it difficult to take the ring against Curley at the stipulated poundage. Already ho looks to be an outsize in .feathers. We have seen little of Curley since he toppled McKenzie off his throne, and on the few occasions he has been out. he has not shaped like a convincing or an unusually good champion. As a matter of fact, J'urlty has gmro back since lie became a title-holder, and the probability 1s that, if Corbett does not find the weight difficult fori him to do, he will beat Curley. That at least is likely to be the popular prediction. I would advise him, when he does try for the championship, to endeavour to be his everyday self. He will surely take to sliding backwards, if. as against Britton, he puts defence before at-1 tack. 1 You will agree that there is no 1 holding Ernie Rice. He was abroad again at the beginning of the week at the King, B’ackfriars, and if, as is held, an active fighting life is the least possible way to hold to fighting fitness, he should be better than ever he has been in his career when he comes to* tackle Harry Mason atthe Albert Hall. His latest victory | was against Lukemans, a stockily- j built Belgian, who not so very long' ago surprised Ernie Izard, when he was the holder of the Lonsdale light- | weight belt, by beating him. ,lTis Q has never won a contest so easily as that with Lukemans. He began to hammer him so soon as the bell sounded, and, if ever a boxer came near to being scared out of its wits, It was this particular Belgian, who I should say, was pleased to capitulate in the third round. I forgot how many times he had then i made acquaintance with the floor of tho ring'.