TRAINERS AND JOCKEYS 255 



towards creating many bad-tempered ones. It must also 

 have been very harmful to their legs. 



Whilst considering the present front rank of English 

 jockeys to be as good as any that preceded it, at the same 

 time it cannot be denied that, up to a season or two ago, 

 there was a general tendency on the part of even the most 

 accomplished horsemen to dawdle over their races, and not 

 to run them through. Whether a majority of the jockeys 

 were almost invariably tied down with waiting orders, or 

 whether they one and all rode in their own style, is beside 

 the question. The fact remains that in a great number of 

 races beyond six furlongs in distance there was a disinclina- 

 tion to come through. In really long races the pace 

 especially if the field was small was often ridiculously bad, 

 and a horse who had been trained to go two miles was in 

 the actual race hack-cantered for a mile and a half and then 

 let go for the last half-mile. In races run in that fashion 

 stamina was not duly served, and I have often heard owners 

 complain, when their horses were beaten, that there had been 

 no pace until the turn for home was reached. It seemed 

 indeed as if nine out of ten of the foremost jockeys preferred 

 to wait until close home, and then ride a " gallery " finish, 

 and what we might have got to had not Sloan and his 

 American following put in an appearance cannot be con- 

 jectured. 



That Sloan has taught the English jockeys something is 

 quite evident, because of the altered style of jockeyship since 

 his arrival in this country. The little American is a con- 

 summate judge of pace, and if he gets off well he seldom 

 allows himself to get shut in at a critical moment. This 

 being shut in, by the way, is the greatest evil which can come 

 of the waiting system. When ten horses start on a course 

 with a bend in it, and all the jockeys are hanging back 

 waiting on each other, there is almost invariably a closing up 

 when the final rush comes, and very often the horse which 

 could win on its merits is shut in until too late. This is 

 seen every week, and though it may arise in any circum- 

 stances, it is generally attributable to the victim having been 

 waited with instead of being sent through. 



