Part 66

However, it cannot be said that Hirst displayed in his earliest days any full promise of the success in store for him. Indeed, towards the end of the season of 1892 he was left out of the Yorkshire first eleven, and in August of that year, upon the occasion when Messrs. H. T. Hewett and L. C. H. Palairet scored 364 for the first wicket for Somerset against Yorkshire, George Hirst was walking round the Taunton ground, a twelfth man, watching with impotent indignation the unsuccessful efforts of his colleagues. Zeal and earnestness, coupled with a Herculean frame and great natural advantages, were sure to bring Hirst to the front, and for many years now his name has been a household word throughout the cricket world. Originally a fast left-handed bowler with a long pounding run he was always able to take full advantage of a rough wicket, and in the early nineties the Yorkshire team had to be experts upon rough wickets, so bad were some of the grounds upon which they were condemned to play. But with a general improvement of cricket pitches, even in Yorkshire, bowlers found it more and more difficult to bump their way to glory, and Hirst was one of the first of the new school of swerving bowlers who have developed a deliberate curl in the air, which in the case of Hirst has been phenomenal, especially with a new ball. The traditional setting of the field for a fast left-hand bowler formerly placed nine men on the off-side, including several “slips,” and one man to look after the “on-side,” a sort of casual mid-on, usually the oldest man in the field. So to the elderly mind it appears strange enough to see Hirst bowling away as hard as he can pelt, with only two or three men on the off-side, with no slip, but with a crowd of eager earnest men swarming on the leg-side. It is a quaint disposition of the field, but one rendered essential when the ball delivered left-arm round the wicket curves in until at the finish it is sometimes almost a wide to leg.

If George Hirst had never bowled a ball in his life he would probably never have been heard of in first-class cricket, but his abilities as a batsman are now so great that if he were never to bowl a ball again, he would probably still be selected to play for England. His batting is full of power, and he is just about the finest exponent of “the hook-stroke” that we have. Indeed, his talent for despatching anything like a short ball to the square-leg boundary has sometimes led to his downfall, for on his day almost every description of ball appears short to the appreciative bat of Hirst, who has been known to meet his fate with his right foot planted close to the off-stump and his sturdy frame-before-wicket gallantly but remotely hooking at a shooting half volley. We are half inclined to believe that George Hirst is one of those cricketers who prays for rain, for he is probably the most effective batsman of the day upon a slow wicket, when he appears to be able to pull any ball anywhere he pleases. Moreover, a good fast wicket means a longer working day for him, as his record of last season so clearly shows. At Leicester he batted for seven hours for a score of 341, the highest ever played for Yorkshire, of which no less than 218 runs were made by boundary hits. When Hirst went to the wicket Yorkshire had lost three men for 22 runs, and when after seven hours’ batting he was last man out for a score of 341, all his partners had only made 132 runs between them. Later in the season he followed this up by 232 not out against Surrey, a performance he supplemented by taking five Surrey wickets for 43 runs. Hirst’s record for last season’s work was 2,266 runs with a batting average of 53, and 110 wickets at an average cost of 19·94 runs. And this great season’s work came after an injury to his leg in May, which was only remedied by the skill of Sir Alfred Fripp, and a considerable modification of his run up to the bowling crease.

Considering his heavy build and the very hard work he does in the cricket field, it is remarkable that Hirst has not been more often “crocked.” It is now ten years since he first attained the distinction of the double feat of scoring over 1,000 runs and taking more than 100 wickets, and ever since then he has been quite the busiest cricketer of the day. He is also one of the most popular, as the phenomenal success of his benefit match, a year or two ago, clearly demonstrated; and from the skill and agility he displayed at Lord’s early in May he appears to have before him a future which may equal in brilliancy his past. And we can wish him nothing better than that.

[The photograph from which our portrait is engraved, is by E. Hawkins and Co., Brighton.]

QUID.

“Our Van.”

RACING.

If Newmarket looms largely in this month’s budget it is not necessarily because of any phenomenal success attained, for if any conclusion could be formed upon the proceedings of the Craven and First Spring Meetings it would be to the effect that things are by no means too flourishing. We may take it that, _nolens volens_, the old conservative idea that the public are not wanted at Newmarket, which I have heard expressed by several of the old school of owners and habitués (also by officials) has had to undergo some modification in recent years. No doubt, amongst the Newmarket old-timers there are still some who would be prepared to put their hands in their pockets and pay for the exclusiveness of their hearts which is denied them. But that kind of person, nowadays, forms but a small and still decreasing class; the majority are bred to get as much as they can for as little as possible. Amongst such bargains the entry to the Jockey Club enclosure holds a not unimportant position, for, in return for a payment of £12, commutable into a payment of £5 down and ten shillings for each day’s attendance, one is entitled to twenty-nine days’ racing. What a bargain this is we realise when we consider that the visitor to Tattersall’s who attended on each day’s racing for a season, as members do, would be mulcted in the sum of £29, not counting an extra ten shillings for the paddock on certain days, which those in the Jockey Club do not pay. I am quite prepared to hear that some would gladly pay double the £12 demanded if they could once more have the place to themselves; but the process of popularisation, if that be the correct expression, has already been long in progress. Whatever may once have been the case, and however the public, judging from the only available data, may have been induced to think the contrary, the Jockey Club, regarded as a purveyor of racing, is by no means indifferent to its patronage. Indications, mere straws blown by the prevailing wind though they be, are not lacking of a desire to ameliorate the public lot, and it has even been realised at last that visitors to Tattersall’s are civilised enough to appreciate the provision of something else to sit upon than the hard and dirty beams of which the stand is constructed. Half a dozen garden chairs have created a departure from Newmarket traditions that might well make some of the old stagers wonder whether they dreamt; and it is not necessary to dwell upon the fact that the seats fulfil another purpose than that of affording seating accommodation by interfering with the operation of “runners” who dash about the rings in a manner discomposing to others anxious to take things more quietly. There are those who insist that the convenience of the public was far from being the sole consideration in pulling down the Old Cambridgeshire stand. There were even a few leather cushions on Tattersall’s stand for the use of the public.

When the time comes to race on the July course, strong evidence of the desire of the Jockey Club to attract the public will be found in the shape of an entirely new stand, so large that the best wish I can offer it is that the Club may live to see it filled. What the attraction is to be that is to accomplish this is, however, not clear. I do not suppose that the Jockey Club have a surprise in store in the shape of reduced ring charges. So long as meetings, presenting very indifferent programmes, are able to demand £1 per day, Newmarket cannot very well lower its prices; not that I ever heard of any intention in this direction, or that I should think it wise. If it were desirable to have our race meetings all of a pattern it could only be on the lines of a general levelling up.

But, within limits, it is convenient and proper that there should be different grades of race meetings, and Newmarket, I affirm, will be best served by always aiming at the highest. The “ifs” that contribute to schemes for the resuscitation of Newmarket as a popular racing resort, are numerous.

“If” the railway company would only reduce the fares, is one, for instance. With Newmarket 69½ miles from London by rail, cheap fares do not seem compatible, and I doubt whether a slight reduction in price would make any difference. What we want and expect at Newmarket is good racing; but although horses in plenty are trained on it, some people say—the racing for the heath—more than is good often falls far below the desired standard.

When we reassembled at the Craven Meeting, the attendance in the town was very small. Delightful, of course, for those who were there, and one could desire nothing better, from the point of view of personal comfort, but, as evidence of the popularity of racing at headquarters, depressing enough. The customary cards were gone through, and on the first day M. Ephrussi, stealing a march by more than three months on his racing compatriots, who may not run two-year-olds in their own country before the first of August, won the Fitzwilliam Stakes with a very nice bay filly by War Dance, out of Illusion, named Ile (not Isle as one wanted to write it at first) de France, who beat the hare-like Satirical filly by three-quarters of a length, with something to spare, besides. Melayr failed by a neck to carry home 9 st. in the Crawford Handicap; Challenger, carrying 9st. 5lb., failing by the same distance in the Babraham Handicap, on the second day. Gingal, whose running was watched with a view to the Two Thousand Guineas, won the Wood Ditton Stakes easily enough, but had nothing to beat. The appearance of Cicero on the third day in the Forty-Sixth Biennial made up for much. He was giving 10 lb. to his only opponent, Shilfa, and not more than 5 to 1 on had to be laid. Cicero, looking the picture of health and spirits, romped home.

Five-and-twenty years ago anything in the shape of fault-finding with Epsom would have been regarded as rank sacrilege against Turf traditions. We took things as we found them there because we knew of nothing better, but racing comforts have so increased that we now find people either wondering why they ever go to Epsom, or congratulating themselves that the meeting is over.

Visitors to Epsom divide themselves into two great parties, those that enter the stand and those that stay outside. To the frequent racegoer not much satisfaction is derivable from either course, but no doubt those who rarely visit a racecourse may derive amusement from the novelty of the scene on the hill, provided one does not take too much note of the conglomeration of hopeless ne’er-do-weels and do-no-works that assemble on the occasion, although, to their credit be it said, they are merely passively and not actively objectionable. The contrast between the thousands that spread themselves over the hill or range themselves several deep along the rails, from Tattenham Corner to winning post, and the attendance one meets with on Doncaster Town Moor is great, for in the north the vast concourse is composed mainly of factory hands and other genuine workers enjoying a holiday with money that has been honourably earned, whereas at Epsom we find gathered together the scum of the metropolis, attired mostly in rags, enjoying one phase of the existence of the drone. This is the crowd which the police officials would have us believe they cannot control to the extent of keeping them off the course during the intervals between races. Any one who has been caught on the course at the moment when the police have had orders to clear it have had ample experience of the thoroughness with which the constables do their duty. One might as well be a midnight brawler as a belated strayer upon the fairway. The question one naturally asks is, Why have the police the power to clear the course at one moment and not at another? It may be as well to premise that the divine right of the public to do as they please on Epsom Downs does not exist, although the wisdom of the expediency with which the Lord of the Manor, and those paying him rent, hide away their rights, need not be doubted. If the Lord of the Manor had no rights to sell, it is not likely that an astute body like the directorate of the Epsom Grand Stand Company would pay him £20,000, as they did not long since, for another lease of ninety-nine years. What the police authorities are so squeamish about I cannot imagine. It would surely be much to their advantage if they prevented people from congregating upon the course in the first instance, instead of having to clear them off six or seven times in an afternoon. It is not the police one thinks of in this connection, but of the course, which starts a meeting as second to none in England, but by the second day is trodden into a brown adamantine substance, an army of boys having to be employed to clear up the paper, orange-peel, and other rubbish that is distributed between each race. Another evil that arises from the alternate action and inaction of the police is the unpunctuality that is so much a feature at Epsom. People, knowing no better, naturally blame the Clerk of the Scales, or the jockeys, or both, when the horses are late in coming out, but in the majority of cases the police are to blame, for the police refuse to allow the horses to emerge from the paddock until, in their opinion, the course is clear. The prevention of accident is a good cause, but if people were not allowed upon the course there would be nothing to clear. It is not as though, in being kept off the course, the rabble were being deprived of anything. As a matter of fact, what there is to be seen, such as the return of the horses to weigh in, could be very much better seen on a clear course than on one covered by thousands of people, through whom the horses find it difficult to pass.

As a spectacle much would be gained; and there is no reason whatever why the racing should not be kept up to time.

The course was in almost perfect condition when racing began for the Spring Meeting, thanks to the care that is expended upon the turf during the entire twelve months. Harmony Hall should have won the Great Metropolitan Stakes, but he made such a display of his inveterate dislike to begin as to lose many lengths at the start, and, pluckily as he ran the race, he just failed to make up the ground, Whinbloom, purchased out of a Selling Plate, beating him by a neck. In the City and Suburban Dean Swift at last put an end to a series of defeats with an almost easy victory. Rightly or wrongly, he has been credited with the faint heart which just fails when the supreme effort is required, but on this occasion he was not pushed at all, coming right away in the straight. Certainly he had never looked so well as now. In the sprinting department Melayr won the Tadworth Handicap under st. 12 lb.

Perhaps the most interesting event at Sandown was the Stud Produce Stakes, still worth a considerable sum in spite of the rule as to added money; the winner netting £1,763 on this occasion. It was won by Auber, a bay or brown colt by Islington out of Umbrosa, which cost Sir Edgar Vincent only 165 gs. at Doncaster in September. He may or may not have beaten anything of merit, but what struck me was the way he won. After showing a bold front he appeared beaten to the world, but a hundred and fifty yards or so from the finish Maher brought him with such a rush that he won by a length. The sensational finish may have been due to Maher, who did something very similar at Newbury when he brought up Bridge of Canny in the nick of time to catch the Gressoney colt in the Kingsclere Stakes. This kind of finish was common enough a few years since, but it has apparently gone out of fashion, jockeys having learned to win their races all the way from the fall of the flag. The Cobham Two-year-old Maiden Plate introduced a youngster that will be heard of again in Slieve Gallion, a black colt by Gallinule out of Reclusion, whose appearance made a very great impression. Crossed soon after the start, he made hay of the opposition when once set going. Slieve Gallion is one of Captain Greer’s breeding, and is, of course, trained by Sam Darling.

Although more people went to the First Spring Meeting at Newmarket than to the Craven, the attendance was really much below par, that on the Two Thousand Guineas day being the smallest I can remember. That the three-year-olds are very ordinary had been agreed for some time. Black Arrow was the paddock king amongst the dozen for the Two Thousand. For him he behaved not so badly at the gate, although unruly enough to disturb more than one of his opponents, and it seems clear that he and his kidney should be made to stand behind the others at the start. He got away well and ran generously for six furlongs, when he was beaten. Moral: Black Arrow cannot stay. The charges of cowardice against him are resented by his jockey and others who know, and henceforth he must be regarded merely as a sprinter. Black Arrow beaten, we saw such as Gorgos, Ramrod, Beppo and the Dame Agneta colt by Diamond Jubilee, fighting out the issue, Gorgos, despite a bad swerve, getting the best of it. With a man on his back The White Knight ran very differently in the Three-year-old Handicap from what he did in the City and Suburban, winning quite easily. Pretty Polly’s appearance in the March Stakes on the third day was a very welcome interlude in a poor day’s racing. Had she not won she would have been more or less disgraced; as it was she cantered home in her own well-known style, and as she left the weighing-in enclosure the people streamed home.

It was strange that Flair’s running last year had not created a greater impression, for on last year’s form it was difficult to see what could possibly beat her. Only slight odds had to be laid on, and after the Bushes there was only one in it, Flair coming away at will. Melayr did another good thing in winning the Bretby Handicap under 9 st. 7 lb. The Ely Plate, the evening before, resulted in a catastrophe, it being too readily taken for granted that Xeny had lost his form and so could be no match at even weights for Imperial II.: 6 to 1 was laid on Imperial II., who, however, was always second best, Xeny beating him by a length.

Chester has been so phenomenally successful since it became an enclosed meeting that a little adversity could be put up with, and it came this year in the shape of a wet first day. The second, or Cup day, made amends, however, and with a crowd about midway between 40,000 and 50,000 a few thousands decrease of the previous record could be endured. No fault could be found with the result of the race which was quite in accordance with anticipations, Feather Bed having shown double winning form at Newbury, which made his chance second to none. Favoured by nothing, he won in handsome style. The jockey of Torpoint, the second, had got off a matter of 4 lb. overnight, and one has yet to be convinced that this policy is a good one. There is no meeting in the Calendar more redolent of life than Chester or one which gives visitors greater pleasure. An innovation was the appearance on the inner portion of the Roodee of motor omnibuses bringing visitors from distant places, _vice_ the horse vehicle.

Not since the Cambridgeshire has His Majesty been on an English racecourse until he made a welcome reappearance on the first day of the Kempton Park Jubilee meeting, this being the popular sub-title of the more formal Spring Meeting. We did not see much, for there was little interest in knowing that the moderate, though good-looking Ramrod was from 5 lb. to 7 lb. better than Gingal who, not beaten before the start, as he was in the Two Thousand, now had a fair chance of showing what he is not. The Jubilee itself was a triumph for the “horses for courses theory,” for Donnetta followed the footsteps of Avington and Sirenia in adding this race to the Duke of York Stakes. It had already been acknowledged that Donnetta is one of the truest-running animals ever trained. Her limitations were shown in the City and Suburban, but at Kempton she and Ambition ran that race over again to a pound, so far as they were concerned, Ambition being beaten a couple of lengths at the same weights. There were fewer shilling people than usual, but the attendance in the members’ enclosure was very large.

POLO.

The polo season commenced in anything but cheerful weather, but in spite of climatic conditions a number of good games were witnessed during the first week. Better weather and more summerlike surroundings were enjoyed during the second week, when several important events were decided. At Hurlingham, on May 5th, the Royal Horse Guards beat Hurlingham by 4 goals to 3. The Guards’ team consisted of Lord Ingestre, Lord Herbert, Captain Fitzgerald, and Captain H. Brassey; their opponents being Captain Lockett, Mr. F. C. G. Menzies, Major Egerton Green, and Mr. E. B. Sheppard. The same evening a Roehampton team consisting of Mr. Nigel Baring, the Hon. Ivor Guest, M.P., Mr. A. R. Leys, and Mr. A. de Las Casas drew with Hurlingham, represented by Captain Rose, Mr. F. Belville, Captain S. Gosling, and Mr. H. Scott Robson, the score being 5 goals all. Other notable games played at Hurlingham during the first fortnight of the month were Aldershot _v._ Hurlingham and Eaton Hall _v._ Hurlingham, both of which were won by Hurlingham; the Cavalry Club _v._ Hurlingham won by the Cavalry; and the match between the Beavers and Hurlingham, which resulted after an exciting game in a draw of 7 all.

At Ranelagh, the handicap tournament concluded with the game between C team, made up of the Earl of Harrington, Mr. R. Fleming, Mr. A. R. Dugdale and Mr. N. Furlong, and B, comprising Mr. E. Barbour, Lord Longford, Mr. J. C. Las Casas, and Mr. T. B. Drybrough. A good game resulted in B team finally winning by 5 goals to 2. Matches were played by the Club against the Wanderers (Mr. F. Barbour, Lieut.-Colonel W. S. Sparkes, Mr. G. A. Lockett, and Major A. M. Pirie), ending in a draw; the Parthians (Mr. R. J. L. Ogilvy, Mr. E. B. Horlick, Mr. B. P. Schreiber, and Captain M. Lannowe), won by the Parthians by 4 goals to 1; the Magpies, won by Ranelagh by 7 goals to 5; Aldershot, won by Ranelagh by 8 goals to 2; and the 2nd Life Guards (subalterns), won by Ranelagh by 6 goals to 3. In the match between Moreton Morrell and a Ranelagh side, the teams consisted of Mr. C. P. Nickalls, Mr. E. B. Sheppard, Mr. W. S. Buckmaster, and Lord Wodehouse for the former, and Mr. A. Las Casas, Mr. F. A. Gill, the Hon. F. Guest, and Mr. H. Scott Robson for the latter. A fast game ended in the Moreton Morrell team being victors by 10 goals to 4.