Townsville Daily Bulletin (Qld. : 1907 - 1954), Wednesday 9 December 1925, page 10


WORLD OF SPORT.

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

(Delayed In Transmission.) LONDON, October £2. THfe TUM1. , . '. SURPRISE PACKETS.

Quite apart from the Cesarewitch result (writea Centuar, our racing ooirapondant), there were several surprising happenings at the First Oo

tober Newmarket meeting.- If the detect of Saucy Su» was mildly stagKcrlnc. Uie downfall ol Lord Woolevington's Coronach, who had previously singled himself out as the beat two-year-old of the season, In the Middle Park Plate, which li regarded u the Juvenile Derby, was like a cnuh of Jiome thunderbolt. One ought, of course, to He inured to surprises of all sizes and sorts, but the day -will never come when we cannot accept such a defeat, say, as that ot Coronach, and remain unmoved. Otherwise, racing would not be racing. It would bo something dull and colorlesB. The defeat ot Coronach was far more gravely Important than what occurred to Saucy Sue. This filly, u we now know, bad conquered In easy flelda against very moderate ones ot her own sex. Her reputation bad been cheaply earned, though she will go down in turf history as the winner of a couple ot clastic race*. At Doncaster— where her tlrst defeat was Vrought about— she bad been beaten by the distance of a mile and threequarters rather than by Juldl. On the latest occasion -she was pitted against some colts ot class ot her own age. It may have been thought that she would pull through easily enough over a mile and a. quarter, but though her downfall involves her in much loss of caste, and calls for. some modification of the eulogies -showered on her while she was .supreme, we have to admit that her ecllpae Is as nothing' In a comparative sense to the tragedy oC Coronach. The weather and the eolng did all they could for the colt. - Rainfall In i London missed Newmarket,- and the 1 turf therefore remained in exoellent {condition. Lord Astor's Swift end j Sure was an intended, runner, but : eleventh hour coughing caused nil ' withdrawal. Apparently there was no limit to the overpowering candidature ot the unbeaten Coronach. Two owners, however, there were who would not be daunted. - They were Lord Qlanely and Elr Abe Ballsy. They ran Tenacity and Lex respectively. What is more, Sir Abe had the temerity to back his horse. He, at '? leant, had cause for hilarity when It ? was all over. The favorite looked I splendid, end was Generally admired las a most Imposing example ot the big colt of high merit and pronounced character. There was a rumor that he had had a slight cough, but I -un sure no sort ot excuse could be edjvanced for Coronach on the score of jlnck of right condition. He had all [ the appearance ot being a perfectly trained horse, nnd nD suspicion of the I shock In otore was suggested as he cantered to the post. Lex Is a very attractive creature, too. but he lacks the scope and Immense liberty of the other one.

A Debacli. Moreover .Coronach bad already accounted for him In unmistakable fashion In the race for the Champagne Slakes at Doncaser, where, as now, they met nt level weights. It was a pity that. In a Held of three, there should have occurred, a falae start. True, they did not go tar, but Coronach, In particular, resented the nhr,rp restraint of pulllnu up. The Incident possibly unset him more than it did the other two. When they were allowed to no, Lex Jumped off smartly, but Beary, hlfl jockey, deliberately jmllod him In behind -lem Mcnnwhlle, Coronach sot a firm gallop, with Archibald hairing 'to snata^tnin a strong hold or him. Half way down Bushes Hill, Beary showed his hand . He brought up Lflx. with a steady run which .carried him up to the others. There was then very UtUt between the three, and you expected the favorite to shoot out the Instant his Jockey asked him to do so. All the while Lex was continuing that strong run. The first Inkling of trouble occurred when Archibald began to ride with his hands. He had ceased to have occasion to ride Coronach 'on the bit,' and though there was some response It was not the real thing. And so at once it became a moat serious -3ueL Lex had got In that Invaluable first run thanks to the tactics employed. Sir Abe's colt may not have given the other much room, but they were never 'In danger of touching. Whips came out, and 1 suppose for the first time Coronach i felt one. He appeared to race on ' gamely enough, and there was no question of shirking the pressure. Tet he was a neck behind as the winning post was reached. By a brilliant piece of Jockeyship Beary had undoubtedly contributed to the upset of the odds of 7 to I which were laid ] on the favorite. 1 The form ot the tvro-year-plds Is so 1 raised up now that Coronach is not | likely to become the short priced Wlnncrlod seemed a practical -certainty. Just consider this, and see if you can make head or tall out of It. Coronach beat Apple Sammy ,iuid Lex a good couple ot lengths In the 'Champagne' nbove referred to. Motl Mahal, the Aca IChnn's filly, beat Lex at Goodwood. Apple Sammy defeated Motl Mahal several lengths In a big event at Kompton. Lex beats Coronach in the Middle Park Plate. We must leave It at that for the moment. There Is an opportunity for Coronach, Lex, and Apple Sammy to inert again before the season ends, and then a solution to the problem may be forthcoming. There was no excuse for Saucy Rue. No one recognised this quicker than Prank Bullock, who was easing her I before the winning post was reJichcd. I Lord Derby's Conquistador made a very favorable Impression by winning from Warden of the Marches by two lengths, the filly being four lengths farther In the rear. Conquistador, It i may be recalled, was ttled a 'cer-tainty' for this year's Darby, but fall- I cd completely to show his form. At' the moment, he Is being canvassed as one with an outstanding chance for the Cambridgeshire with 7st 121bs. You will know, by the time you read this, whether he has Justified himself this time. FOOTBALL. Bough Hugger, The agitation against rough play In Rugby grows apace. Nowhere is there any attempt to hide the truth, and it Is very significant that the players themselves are keenest ot nil that the black sheep should be driven out ot the game. Attention has been the more firmly directed to th« matter by a most unfortunate incident In the match between Northampton and St. Bart'B. .Hospital last Tmk-end, when A. F. Blaklston, the England forward, aid this yet? the Northampton captain, waa sent off the field for alleged misconduct. Big and powerful, Blaklston has always been a notably virile player. The refers* In charge of the match Sat mad* a report to th« authorities and an lnQulry la to b* held. In writing on this subject last week, I told of a famous player who declared that. It the othtr ild» fought, he encouraged his men to fight back. Bat It Is well known, by those actively engaged in the gun*, that than art men In some packs who an always ready and aoger tor a fight They are [known as the 'storm' forwards, and lit is their business to Create an impression In the first few minutes by 'shock' tactlos. In a nutshell their policy ia one of Intimidation. Oood t» bound, to corns a* a, ruult ot the agitation. Referees will be encouraged to talc* strong action to put down rough play. More Important still, club captains will realise that th» lunt ou be playtd in the proper . spirit only by men who em subject to moral dlsolplin.. Thar* Is f«r too I mush talking today. It letoj to

'talking tack' and ?worse. Only one1 man on a sld* should be allowed to speak — and he unquestionably In the captain. Tildes of the Bowler. Towards the end ot tho cricket season a sensational story was told concerning a well known amateur bowler. It wits snld thnt, by Ingenious means, he wbh able to rnlse the seam ot the hall, and ro gain an advantage.. Tho abject of raining the seam is, of course, to make the ball swing, mid It 1b 'not cricket.' But I am assured by county players thnt the practice Is by no mean* new. This, however, Is no reuon vrtiy ft sWrtu he tolerated. It was expected that Home Inquiry would be rande, but It la apparently a matter which ban been forgotten, or not thought worth while bothering about During tho lout M. C. C. tour a somewhnt similar story came from Australia — that a bowler thoro was hi the habit ot earning powdered resin In his trouser pocket. This would be a valuable trick to enable a man to grip the ball firmly. But almost as long as tho game has been played, tbe use of resin has been alleged, without, however, a single case having been proved. The Australian bowler may come to England next summer, and one Is then prepared to discover that the story owes Its origin to Imagination. By the way, several attempts have been made to persuade MacDonald, the Australian fast bowler, who is now a member ot the Lancashire country side, to play In Bugby League football. He was a prominent footballer at home, end I believe that he may fill In the blank Winter months, and Incidentally add substantially to his income, by turning out for one of the chief teams. ' Another Item of sporting news is that Mr F. E. Lacey, the secretary of the M. C. C, contemplates retirement. He has been In charge at LordB for over thirty years. LAWN TENNIS. Visit ot Mile. Suzanne Lcnglen. Mile. Susanne Lenglen, France's peerless lady lawn tennis champion, is to pay us a visit next week to take part In a tournament at Cramer, a seaside holiday resort on the East Coast. It will be the first time she has played In s. competition outside the championships in this country, though she has on several occasions appeared on behalf of charity. Nowhere Is she more popular than In England, where she really founded her reputation, when she came over and defeated Mrs Lambert Chambers. In the meantime, she has came to be regarded as a player without an equal, and the fact that she wins her games with so much ease has not robbed her ot any ot her attractiveness. Since she appeared on the courts, and jumped to historic fame with meteoric suddenness, there hns been only one smear on her wonderful record. This occurred during her clslt to America, when she retired In the middle of a dramatic match with Mrs Mnllory at a moment when she was threatened with defeat. In their rather brutal frank way, the American* said that Suzanne was weak of heart The truth was that at the time she was In a highly nervou astate and unfit to play. There have been few occasions when she lion been called upon to do anything heroic at Wimbledon, but the way she beat Miss Ryan two years ago, when she ought to have been In bed, showed that she did not lack courage. The tournament at Cromer will, of course, be on hard courts, and on tiieBe Mile. Lenglen Is thoroughly at home. Championship for South African Medico. For the second year in succession P. D. B. Spence, the South African, hns won the London covered courts cham-plonshlp. A student at Guy's Hospital, Spence Is a rjroat all round athlete. On the courts he ploys with refreshing aggressiveness coins for the winning shots ns though the only way to win -was to attach. He has no use for defensive measures. From la-sro tennis Vie imsses \o Rugby lootball nn dgolf. and excels In both games. Indeed, he Is one of the best full backs in London, and, had he had a qualification, there Is little doubt

that he would have piano for England. Ouy'« thlf season have a fin* Rugger fifteen, anoT ft Is largely made up of Colonial players who are studyIng at the hospital. At golf George Oadd. the well known professional, has told me: 'It Mr Bpenoe would give up his lawn tennis, he would be a great success oh Ihs links. He has a wonderful aptitude for the same. But you cannot play both at the same tune. SOCCER. Approaching a Socoer Record. For two years the Huddsrsfleld team have been the champions «f professional soccer. To-day they have the tatt lecorfl In the L.t*gu», »«v4, though some of the members of the side are nearlng tbe veteran stage, they are ns good as ever, which Is equivalent to saying that they are (he best team In tbe country. ' Huddersfleld too, are approaching a notable record. In the first season otter the war, Burnley played thirty consecutive' League matches without suffering defeat. Huddersfield now require to get safely through their next three matches to' equal this performance. The lsst time they were beaten was by Burnley on January IT last, so that their record extends over part ot two seasons, and thus lacks some of the distinction ot that set up by the Lancashire club. There is great keenness on the part of their rivals to be the first to lower the champions colors, and the Huddersfleld men tell you that all their games are played with the Intensity of a cup tie. Last week-end, the neighboring Leeds United were thought to have a chance of checking the champions, but at the finish they were soundly outplayed. Indeed, Huddersfleld scored three goals In the first half, and put on a fourth after tbe interval. Canadian Tour. Next summer the Football Association are to send a. representative team to Canada. Tbe men will leave in May, and return in July. It la expected that the party will embrace both amateurs and professionals, and that, at the team ' will not be away ob long as the on* that visited Australia last summer, the difficulty of selection will not be so great Canadian football is not In a very advanced state. Two years ago the Corinthians, the famous amateur club, sent over ft team, and, though it was a weak one, most pf the matches were won. There Is one drawback about these close -season tours. Whan tbe men return, they' are stale. This has been the effect In the case ot several players who visited Australia. One of them, unfortunately. It Is feared w.ll never be able to play again. He suffered a very severe Injury to his knee, and It is said that the limb will never be sound again. The player In question Is Whlttaker, the Arsenal back. BOXING AND BOXERS. Johnny Brown Is one ot the rarities ot the ring (writes Eugene Corrl). He Is a natural bantam— the weight does not trouble him. He Is also a worthy champion. ' And yet he has been Just a trifle lucky In his belt contests. First he was fortunate to meet Bugler Lake when the little Plymouth fellow was obviously worried by admonitions from the chair. Next Harry Corbett had to make a terrific fight to do the stipulated poundage, and took the ring pretty well burnt out. And at the beginning ot the week Mick Hill, of Tooting, went to scales over weight, not much It Is true, but sufficient to make him anxious, lind maybe the task of getting It off impaired his boxing and fighting qualities. None of tbls mis - tbe concern of ,Bro\vn. Of course not. But It nevertheless operated In his' favor, end there were hot a few at the ringside of the N. S. C. who were at the opinion thnt. If HU1 had not found it hard to do 8st Gibs, he might have stayed the course and won. JVenry Johnny. Hill, considering his limited experience, and after he had ?westherea the first two or three rounds, was surprisingly good— In point of subtlety better than Brown— -and there was a moment when It seemed likely that he

would upset popular prediction, which waa that It was more than a tolerably good thing for the title holder. But Browne's tiredness, I suspect, was assumed. He took on the appearance of being weary In order to lure bis young op« ponent Into a trap. At all events, In the eleventh round, tbe champion was as freBh and as strong as he was at the beginning. And It was all over In -the next session. Hill, then very laded and much punished, being counted out. Brown fought intelligently and well In that he swore by his ability to punch. And believe me, he fcuts con-. Blderable welSht In Mb blows. Ho has a knockout in either hand. I ' would not, however, say that he Is a wonderful bantam. He is our best bantam unquestionably, and he takes himself very Berlously, which Is the ( proper way. ? Brown is nothing of a philanderer. The contest was a model one, and as j good as anything wo have seen at i headquarters for many a long day. And now we are all wondering where the next opponent for Brown, who as you know, has made the Lonsdale belt his own property. Is to come from. If Hill can, without hurting himself, remain In the bantam class, I should favor nnother match between them before tha end ot the seasonBut I am afraid that the Tooting lad, who is unusually tall for a bantam, will have to go Into a heavier class. It will he a pity it Brown, for thB want of an opponent bos to lie 1 fallow for any length of time. Rather : than that, he might, with much profit ' to him, make/another trip to America. I Hill should not despair because he . lost last Monday. After all In point ' of experience, he Is but a baby. And, ' showing as he did that he has many* natural gifts for the same, he should V moke good. I formed a most favor- 1 able Impression of the lad. He did as J much as Brown to make the f irBt 1 championship of the season an un- I qualified euocese. If outstanding belt . contests come up to the standard of that last Monday, a rare fillip will be eiven to boxing. Next Monday at Covent Garden we are to see Alt. Barber, he former Brighton amateur, who waa ot our last Olympic team, and Kid Socks, who not a very long time ago astonished Elky Clark, our champion fly weight— and Also himself at the Albert Hall. Barber and Socks, if I remember rightly, have met before. On the night at The Dome, Brighton, when Bombardier Wills and Soldier Jones had their unsatisfactory contest. Then,' after t rare set to, Barber, If my memory serves nt well, was the winner. Barber has done more than reasonably well since he turned professional, while Socks Is as clever as they moke them. This should be a rattling bout. On the same evening, the Frenchman, Fred. Bretonnel, and Johnny Sullivan, who, for a time was quartered In the Carpentler stable, are due at the Ring, Blackfrlars, no that no one In quest of sport will be hard up for a choice. I have seen little ot the Frenchman since he was quite a bay. But, without having realised all expectations, there is no doubt about his quality being high. I should say that Sullivan will find In him one of the strongest fighters, bar Tommy Mllllgan, he has yet met. It Is trying the young Londoner rather high to put him against Bretonnel, though for his part Sullivan would not side step a world beater, were he Invited to meet I hope Sullivan will not disappoint us. Ho won't If he thinks more ot his left bnnd. nnd Is not for ever tryIng to Rive an imitation of Carnentler's right. I sometimes wonder, whether Sullivan really benefited by J sparring with Carpentler. But | whether or no, he Is one of our moBt ) promising youngsters, nnd, If he grows I up as he seems likely to do. he may come to be champion in the heavier clusHes. I see in him a erulserweight of the future of high degree. There has been much talk In town about the probability of Descamps bringing Paollni over for a second match with Phil. Scott. If It be true that a purse of C 1,200 libs been offered for such a match, I shall be very much surprised if Descamps is not very soon on the premises. For such a sum for ftuch a fight is most generous. Meantime, if I were Scott, I should think only of my coming ensngement with Frank Goddaro. |