246 RACING. 



Cannon, second son of Tom Cannon of Danebury, who, profit- 

 ing by the teaching and example of his father, speedily made 

 his way to the front rank of his profession — to the leading place, 

 indeed, in the front rank, lor having begun to ride in 1887, 

 the fifth season of his career found him at the head of the list 

 of winning jockeys, and in the year following, 1892, his name 

 again came first with 182 successful mounts, his nearest rival 

 following with 154. The lad was only eighteen years of age 

 v\-hen he first topped the list, a remarkable instance of an old 

 head on young shoulders. Patience when patience is neces- 

 sary, extraordinary judgment and alertness, great strength and 

 invincible resolution are the characteristics of this admirable 

 young horseman. Mornington Cannon should be a ' born 

 jockey,' if such a thing ever existed, for his mother, a daughter 

 of John Day, was a niece of Alfred Day, who is eulogised on a 

 former page ; but it will be very much safer to attribute his 

 success to the fact that morning after morning, for years before 

 he rode in public, he took his place at exercise with his father's 

 long string of horses in training. Of three brothers named 

 Loates, Thomas, the youngest, who at the age of six-and- 

 twenty can ride 7 st. 4 lb. without discomfort, has shown all the 

 best qualities demanded in a jockey. He had the luck to ride 

 Donovan in the Derby, a circumstance that will make his name 

 memorable, though the victory is not to be instanced as an 

 example of skill, for none was needed to get Donovan home ; 

 but specimens of T. Loates' exceptional ability are of constant 

 occurrence, and his name must not be excluded from the select 

 few mentioned in these pages. John Watts, formerly a pupil 

 of Tom Cannon, is now deservedly rated with the leading 

 horsemen of the day, and a light weight W. Bradford is 

 showing a singular aptitude which meets with frequent 

 reward. 



It cannot, unfortunately, be denied that the times through 

 which we are now passing possess the peculiarity, and in 

 one respect the disadvantage, of surrounding the crack 



