THE TRAGIC DERBY

Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle, Volume IX, Issue 427, 15 July 1913, Page 7

THE TRAGIC DERBY

MAD SUFFRAGETTE'S FATE. SENSATIONS "OF THE RACE. DISQUALIFIED FAVORITE. [Telegraphed from Fremantle to Melbourne 'Argus.'] ! LONDON, June. 6.— lt was a record Derby. The crowd was even greater than when King Edward won with Minora, "he other historic Derby crowds were 1840 and 1847— thi first when Queen Victoria brought her youthful husband, and the second when the first railway to Epsom was opened. The 1913 Derby eclipsed them all. The crowning sensations were the disqualification of the horse first past the post and the interference of a suffragette with the cunning horses. The course at Epsom covers three sides of a rectangle. *As the field rounded Tattenham corner and came into the straight a white-cloaked figure was seen to dash from the rails. It was the inevitable suffragette. A man tried to stop the mad creature, but she shook herself free,' shouting "I will." A moment later she was bowl-ad over like a ninepin, and one of the horses stumbled over her body, turning a complete somersault. The jockey, caught by the foot m the stirrup, was dragged along for some yards. When the colt kicked himself free, the jockey was seen to be weaning the King's colors, the familiar purple jacket with scarlet sleeves. The horse, Anmer, struggled, to his feet and stood stock still. Jones, his rider, lay like a log on the turf. The woman was a white patch on the trodden grass. For a few moments the crowd behind the railings made no movement. Men and women stared at the strange sight. Then they surged around the still figures. " They're dead." As a fact, neither the jockey nor the woman was dead. In a few minutes they were carried away on stretchers,, and the crowd - learnt of the other sensation. From Tattenham corner the ' Derby field had raced down the straight for the winning post. Aboyeur, a /rank outsider, had been m front of the ruck practically from the start. As the horses turned the corner he was followed by the favorite, Craganour, and Aldegond. A moment later Aldegond dropped back, and Reiff, on Cragantrar, commenced to overhaul the outsider. But Graganour was not alone. Shogun, with Frank Wootton m the saddle ; Louvois, winner of the Two Thousand Guineas; the French colt , Nimbus ; and Great Sport, the big son <»' Pallinule, were near by. Aboyeur, which had seemed to be beaten, made an astonishing recovery. Any of the six ' horses was a possible winner. Thon commenced the series of incidents ; which were to end so disastrously. No or.c l.n^ws, or can ever know, what happened. Frank Wootton seems to have , seen an opening, and brought Shogun up on the rails. The 'Australian jockey has a fondness for the inner position, and has often been blamed for wasting precious opportunities m manoeuvring for it." On this occasion he seemed justified. "I wouldn't have gone there," he said afterAvards, "only there wae room for a cart between, Aboyeur and the rails." Shogun's supporters yelled with delight. They ' were looking for the effort. The horse is not a quick starter,' but is a stayer, and ; has the tenacity of a bulldog. It looked as if the rack was all over. Shogun had ; only two troubled horses to ijeat m the 3 run home. "Suddenly," writes .a spectar < tor, " there was a commotion. Craganour ' bumped against Aboyeur, who swerved '- towards the rails and shut off Shogun. 1 Wootton screamed out to Aboyeur's jockey < 'What are you doing?' C I c&n',t help it,' ' Piper screamed back. 'It's the other i horse.' " A hundred yards further on •< Wootton tried once more and failed. Sho- < gun was done for. At the bell. Aboyeur 1 was still a neck m front of Craganour, and i Reiff called upon his mount for a final : effort. It was a s battle royal between "the '. pair, and the 100 to 1 chance won. " Robin Godfellow," writing m the ' Mail/ said : "They bumped and bumped. Craganour seemed to derive the greatest stimulus from these happenings. Within a few yards of the judge he did an extraordinary thing/appearing to be completely off the ground, making what I can only describe ; as a flying leap on Aboyeur. With a final . burst of speed Craganour caught Aboyeur on tlie post. No one outside the 'judge's box knew how the verdict had gone until the figure 5 appeared m the. frame. CraganouT had won by a short head, with Louvois third a neck behind Aboyeur. Whoever was to blame, the stewards of the meeting felt that some inquiry was necessary, ac the constituted guardians of the turf.' Lord Wolverton and Major Eustace Loder eat m judgment apparently assisted by the Earl of Rosebery. For one brief moment everybody believed that the trouble was ever. A loud voice called : "All Tight." It is the ancient verbal signal which announces to everyone within hearing and beyond that the jockey of the winner has passed the scales and all formalities have been complied with. The backers of Craganour lost their anxious expressions, but only for a while. The " first past the post" was on the point of being taken away when a sharp, authoritative shout of " Stop ; bring the horse back," proved that the ordeal had hot ended. The "all right" -was "all wrong." For half an hour a hundred thousand eyes were fixed upon the blue objection flag, whiph was fluttering near the number board. Then the fatal word " Sustained " appeared m the frame, and it was known that ths 100 to 1 'chance Aboyeur had won the Derby of 1913. Piper, Aboyeur's jockey, told the stewards that, his mount received th© first bump from Craganour a couple of furlongs from home, the restlt being that his harm shut off Shogun. Piper, however, put Aboyeur straight, and a little ahead of Craganour, when t{ie latter again cannoned him, just when opposite the number board, _ while, when "close homo Craganour was. right on top of my horse, from whom I was thus prevented from getting the last ounce." The official statement did not impute blame to Reiff. It merely stated that Cra-

ganour "bumped, and bored" tho second horse. More than cne sporting critic, including the representative of ' The Times/ has cast doubt upon the Tightness of the decision. The latter» suggests that the trouble is due to the - low ebb at which jockeyship is at the present time. He adds that not a little riding which gives rise to suspicion is merely due to sheer inability \to control the horse. The authorities at Epsom have also been sharply criticised for allowing a signal "all right" to be Taieed and /transmitted all over the course after

the stewards had intimated their objec- | tions to . Craganour. No one knows who was responsible £or the false signal "all right." Fairly large sums were distributed m the more distant rings before the mistake was di-coveTed. 0n& bookmaker paid out £300, very little of which came , back to him. Probably several 1 thousand pounds were paid away m. error upon the favorite. But, to return to Tattenham corner and tho outrage which brought disaster to Anmer and Herbert Jones, the King's jockey. From the Royal box King George and Queen- Mary saw the accident through their glasses, and at once sent Lord) Marcus

' Beresford to make inquiries. When the stretcher was wheeled into the enclosure the King left the box, and caught a glimpse of the white face of the jockey and the V-shaped gash on his left cheek. Later m the afternoon he was seen explaining the accident to some friends, indicating the injury by a movement over his own face. From his private dete_tive and Lord J Marcus Beresford the King learnt details of the accident. The clearest account was given by Mr ' St. John Ervine, the young dramatist, who 1 happened to be within a few yards of Miss • Davison, the suffragette. Mr St. John ' Ervine tells, that "Davison suddenly ducked under the railings as the horses came up. 1 The horses had turned the corner, and were 1 running swiftly towards the winning-post. There was a curious 6i!ence, like the hush ! that always falls on a crowd at the moment > of great tension. , Then I heaTd a- woman suying: 'What's she doing?' and I saw Davison run out on to the course. I think three, or four horses had gone by when shtt ran out, or, at any rata, -.s she did so the King's horse, Anmer, came towards her. Miss Davison went towards it. She put up her hands, whether to catch hold of the reins or protect herself I do not know. It was all over m a few seconds. The horse knocked the woman over with great force, then stumbled and fell, pitching the jockey violently to the ground." Another account says: — In Tattersall's Ring, while the protest was under consideration people wer© tetting on the result. No interference with the judge's verdict wis expected, though one large backer with a little fortune at stake on Craganour took £10,000 to £5,000 about Aboyeur for insurance purposes. It came out at last, and spread like wildfire — the ugly word disqualified. A lot of persons uttered uncomplimentary things about the .stewards, saying it was a case where they might have shut their eyes to things, considering it was the Derby. But, Derby or Selling Race, if there be improper riding, there should be punishment to fit the offence. It is a calamity that Craganour should have Keen stood down ; but the decision was* so absolutely just that nobody who has the welfare of the turf at heart, and can look impartially at things, will question it for a single moment, and this case should exercise a salutary influence on the riding m future. . Somebody described the finish as resembling polo matches — there was so much bumping, and horing, and interference with horses. In an oijicial communique the stewards say: — "They heard evidence, from the judge and several jockeys. They found that Craganour did not keep a straight j course, an 4 interfered with Shogun, Day Comet, and Aboyeur. Having bumped and bored the second horse, they disqualified Craganour." John Reiff, the jockey m question, has previously won the Der-by on Orby and Tagalie. He began his career m England, being known as " Knicker-bocker," on account of his size and schoolboy clothes. Eventually he went to Francs, and is still there. There never was a D«rhy which produced worse riding or more interference. Miss Davison is described as the hottest of all suffragette "hot bloods." She was 35 years of age and a Bachelor of Arts of the London University. She was a militant since 1905. She has three times bid herself m the House of Commons, and onoe m an airshaft. She was nine times m prison and three times gained her freedom by "hunger striking." She set fire to pillar-boxes'. Once she barricaded herself m a prison cell, and the warders had. to play a fire hose upon her before they could get at her. On another occasion, while m prison, she attempted to commit suicide by throwing herself downstairs as a protest against forcible feeding. Another of her sensational performances was to strike a Baptist minister, whom she mistook for Mr Lloyd George. [We have since been informed by cable that Miss Davison died as the result of her injuries.]