THE ENGLISH RACECOURSES.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XI, Issue 510, 27 September 1900, Page 13

THE ENGLISH RACECOURSES.

o Mr Georges Voorhees, who, while over in England last year, wrote many interesting letters to the Thoroughbred Record, published m Lexington, Kentucky, writes as follows to that paper from his home in Illinois under date of July 30 this year. While this paper (Breeder and Sportsman) may have, been a little sceptical as to the performance of Koroeko as reported last year, as the peculiarities of the course were then unknown to us, we have now no doubt that Mr Voorhees was correct in his timing. His letter to the Thoroughbred Record is as follows : — “In one of my letters from London to The Record last year I mentioned that I had timed Korosko, three years, 1031bs, over the last mile of the Epsom course in 1.33 25, and I saw afterwards that one of your exchanges (Breeder and Sportsman) seemed to be a little sceptical as to

the performance. Shortly afterward Harrow, three years, and, I think, with 1261b5, ran the mile at Lingfield in 1.32 4-5. I do not know what weight Caiman carried the other day when he ran the mile at Lingfield in 1.33 2-5, but I am sure that he made the distance a little faster than reported, because I have never seen a race timed by Benson’s man that he did not time from the drop of the starter’s flag when the horses are always a little back of the post, and in one instance he made the time nine seconds slower than the actual time, as in the case of , Newhaven II in the City and Suburban he gave the time as 2.18 4-5, while I timed the race in 2.09 4-5. I was within ten feet of the finish, and could clearly see the horses pass the starting post. On this year’s Derby day, Mr Al Hall, of Sacra- smento, Cal., and myself timed Gigho over the last mile at Epsom in L 34 and Bridge'three-quarters in 1.06 J, and Virginia Earle five-eights in 56 2-5, and at Brighton this year Clarehaven, three years, 1061bs, won the Brighton Cup, one and a-quarter miles, and did the distance, according to Benson’s ohronagraph, in 2.05 1-5. Then Piety in 1898 won the Alexandra Plate, three miles, with 1321b5, in 5.26, while Faugh-a-Ballagh, with 1271b5, ran . three miles in 5.26 nearly twenty years before Norfolk made his “ world’s record ’’ in 5.27 with only 1001bs up. So in looking over the records "L. made by horses in the different countries, it - would seem that our turf correspondents should be more careful about claiming the world’s records as they do every day for our horses. I do. not consider Caiman’s mile, 1.33:2-5, As wonderful; I am sure that Cyllene, Flying Fox, or Knight of the Thistle last year could have covered the Ling- ■ field mile in 1.33 Or better with 1261bs up. There j are several horses in England on the turf this year that can beat Caiman at a mile. I am also positive on one thing, and that is, that all courses in England, except the miles at Lingfield, Brighton and at Epsom are from to to four seconds slower than our scraped tracks with their i thrown up turns.”