FAMOUS JOCKEYS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17192, 8 November 1923, Page 2

FAMOUS JOCKEYS.

♦ i CAREER OF FRED S. FOX. [ Specially w ritten for the *•' Star ” by . an English Correeponcient. < There aiv lew jockeys to-day capable of riding a stronger finish than Fred Fox, It his mount lias the slightest chance of catching the : judge’s eye first, it will not be the fault of box if he tails to do so. Yet ? with all his power and ability in thei saddle lie often toils to get home in some of his gruelling finishes, but that , cannot be laid to anv weakness or bad i j judgment on the part of the jockey, J rather to the fact that his horse was I j '•just not quite good enough.” Riding with hands and feet ho gets every ; ounce out of his mount, but while it naturally cannot f>e expected that a : jockey should win e very (lose finish it j would appear sometimes that Fox is not exactly one of fortune’s favourites, i Au instance of what must ho admitted as a sheer bit of bad luck. At i the last Newbury meeting in the first race on the opening dav lie just failed to bring Vain Percy home at the nice odds of 14 to 1. The following day. his mount Low! Penzance just . failed by the same distance to beat Long (Yuri■*. Earlier in the week at [ Birmingham on the disappointing . Sinnalirs lie heat a. big and useful [ field with the exception of Scullion, ; aid .again tin* verdict was a nock. The i climax came on the Saturday at Gatwick when steering Mrs Nugent’s De- : sire lie -w us again beaten a nock by his nearest efforts towards a winning brack'd during the week. Just Iho . slightest element of luck and he would have had a winner or two and lie wns. .iustl\ onittled to them. But luck . decs not often come Fox’s way. IT he

gets a winner home, be sure he has ridden well for i L . Yet. in other ways Fox can perhaps claim to have had bis reward. This year alter riding Jihuidhaonach into third place* for the Liverpool Spring Cup, lie steered Major Gooch’s, animal with the unpronounceable name first past the ]H>st for the much coverted c ueen's Prize at Hempton Park, and subsequently won the Manchester Cup on the coit. On this latter accasion Bhuidhaonach was thought to possess little chance of winning, and in the estimation of the layers in Tattersail’s was regarded in the light of a rank outsider, so iliat lie started with “ The Others ” at 33 to 1. The layers insisted, and so also did the racing public, that Lord Derby’s Silurian and Sir Edward Hulton’s Soubriquet were ** the goods,” and they betted accordingly. Fox and his mount seemed to he without a friend in the world, and for all. the interest shown in them might not have been taking part in the race. In racing the unexpected often happens, and it occurred on this occasion. When Silurian came into the straight the only one he had been unable to shake off was the despised Bliuidhaoonach. and then when a 100 yards from home Fox shot, to the front, his mount was so full of winning that Gardner on Silurian at once recognised that he was beaten, and well beaten too. for Fox won in a. canter by six lengths: much, of course, to the .joy of the bookmakers, most of whom had a clean book, and equally to the dismay of the professionals and the punters who had gone on Silurian as a really good thing. li is held by some that it was not a truly won race.

Sufficient, however, is the fact that many good horses finished behind. Perhaps a true explanation would be that many a “friendship” existed between Fox and his mount, for they were well acquainted, Fox having ridden the colt three times to victory last year. Diamond Jubilee would not do afiy thing for anyone but young Herbert Jones : similarlv Bhuidaonach always gives his best for Fox. The most impressive of Fox’s other efforts this year were when riding Roman Bachelor when he finished second by a length in the Lincolnshire Handicap in trying to concede the w inner. "White Bud. 37 lbs. and later when lie won the Lingfield Park Stakes, riding the Bachelor home an easy winLast year Fox roclc a lot for the stable controlled by Basil Jarvis, and one little tart that lie is proud of is that he rode this year’s ’Derby winner. Papyrus, in each of his first five outings, of which Mr Irish’s colt won lour, finishing third on the. other occasion to Town Guard and Legality,' both of whom were with the . " also rams.” at Epsom a month agoOne of his great disappointments last year was Charlebelle. This filly who won the Oaks three years ago, after winning the North Surrey Handicap at Sandown last August, became a prime favourite for the Cesarewitch. Fox had the mount on both occasions, but oh ! the irony of it. A stable companion, Light Dragoon, put- into the race to make the running for the favourite did his duty with right good will, so well in fact that he won the race at the “Jeddah-like” odds of 100-1. Cliarlebolle and the fancied ones were well down the field. However, the*© little dark clouds have their silver linings, and on the whole Fox did not have a. bad season. If© won the Liverpool Spring Cup on Grandcourt, twice won for Basil Jarvis on Discobolus, got several long-priced winners home such as Ballyrag 100-7. Brotherhood 10-1, Tew don 10-1. Charles Surface 8-1. ’Warrington 100-S. and also at 8-1. Tip ’Free 10-1. while he also won the Bath Summer Handicap on Charles C herry, and the Bath Autumn Handicap on Broken Faith. Fox has had a long and '■ honourable career in the saddle. He has ridden with consistent success for the last dozen years, finishing last year victor on 47 occasions. His best year since the war was 1919 when he finished fifth in the list of w inning jockeys with 56 .

winning mounts. His only classic win was on Atmer in 1910. on whom he won the One Thousand Guineas for Mr jJ. A. <le. Rothschild. This year he is first jockey to the famous West Ilsley stable presided over by Major R. Gooch, whilst lie also takes occasional mounts for R. Gore and other good stables so that he has many winners in prospect. A clean and forceful rider with plenty of judgment and ability. Fox can always hold his own in the host of company.