TOD SLOAN 



John Dawson was a trainer who was very nice to me 

 both before and after I won the Manchester November 

 Handicap for Lord Ellesmere on Proclamation. I have 

 a souvenir Dawson gave me after I had w^on — some 

 cuff buttons. It was rather curious how I got that 

 mount. " Skeets " Martin, who was to have ridden, 

 was dying to get back to London and I was due to ride 

 the favourite who, however, went wrong at almost the 

 last moment. The day before the race was run 

 " Skeets," hearing that I was free, said to me, "You're 

 a lucky swine. I wish I could get out of my 

 mount too : he's a big outsider ; the going'll be 

 fearful." 



" I'll ride him," I said, " if you get the trainer's 

 permission." John Dawson was willing enough ; he 

 seemed surprised that I would take it on. " Skeets " 

 was in great glee that he could go off that night to 

 London. There were twenty-two in the field and all 

 those who remember that afternoon will know that 

 the course was w^orse than usual. We went round in 

 a procession with Proclamation lying about eighth. 

 I was being clouted with mud until my two eyes were 

 nearly bunged up and I had to keep spitting it out of 

 my mouth, getting more and more like a nigger in 

 appearance all the time. I am sure I was a hundred 

 and twenty-five yards from the leader at one time but 

 I hung round the rails, although I was nearly put out 

 by a heavier clod than usual from the horse in front 

 of me. It isn't so much that the mud cakes are 

 " catapulted " at one, but one is going at a great speed 

 and actually running into what is coming at one at 

 a great pace too ! I held on anyhow, and managed to 

 bring up this three-year-old outsider — ^lie was carrying 

 7-7 — to win nicely. A lot of my friends got 33 to 

 1, so it was a pretty good wind-up to a season. He 



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