SAM AND TOM LOATES 



won the Grand Prix on Kizil Kourgan. lie won four 

 altogether. 



If I were asked who was the best all-round rider of 

 the past dozen years I should undoubtedly answer 

 George Stern. He is a hustler, and he never minds 

 what sort of course it is — great or small, right-handed 

 or left-handed, whether it is round or straight : all 

 come the same to him. He is so fearless too and takes 

 chances, and he seldom if ever loses his head. One 

 knows that he can get out of tight places, and it would 

 take any of the others all their time to outgeneral him, 

 for he has forgotten more than many of them will ever 

 know. His great rivals now in this year of 1915 are 

 Frank O'Neill and Johnny Reiff and sometimes I should 

 be inclined to put them all three on the same mark 

 with regard to ability. 



The ex-amateur Randall I always thought was a 

 good rider. I watched him very carefully on occa- 

 sions. William Halsey too, who was not slow in 

 adopting the forward seat, was a man of great ability, 

 and a great horseman through his experience on 

 jumpers. 



It was an asset to me not having to " waste " like 

 many of them. Lester Reiff had to keep himself in 

 condition and had a good deal of trouble to ride 

 reasonable weights ; that was where Johnny Reiff got 

 a good many chances. 



I used to be called to task for not appreciating in the 

 way the public did the ability of the late Tom Loates, 

 but I could never see him in the same street as his 

 brother Sam. 



There was frequently a little bit of bother owing to 

 my rivalry with Tom Loates. I remember once at 

 Epsom one of his chief employers came to me to the 

 jockeys' room and barred my way into it while he said : 



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