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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 27, 1907)
THE SUNDAY OREGON! AN, PORTLAND, OCTOBER 27, 1907. lem) mm A MiMVJ MA r M AY MM One Kentuckian Who Has a Record of Seven Hundred Winnings i ',vr i:'..-...-''-"'wssi!5s-. t if 4 - J In Of -tG-A GX OA6E-CABS, AT THE XEAR OF AASH TUWR'S TRAINING- SSTABLSHMENT AT MAISQNS-LAFFfTTE. HS3 VJS TURNER. AMERICAN f - " - " x- 'f 1. ..s, lf TOCACY COSTUC1E. AFTR WVNV6- A RAC AOZf MICHEL EPHRUSSt, THE PARIS &ANXER, WITH WHQAt H5 IS TALKING BT DEXTER MARSHALL. THE head and front of the "American Influence in racing" on this side of the water this year 1s to be found In the little suburban town of Malsons Laffitte, not more than half an hour's ride from Paris, on the Railroad of the West. For it Is there that four or five of the seven or eight Americans who have become most prominent, training French racehorses for a living and aa a career, make their headquarters. H. Eugene Leigh, from Kentucky, busi est trainer and most conspicuous expo nent of American methods in France, cornea first on the list by reason of his achievements. "Wallace Davis, from New York, whose establishment also is at Maiaons-Laffltte, has been training horses for the French tracks a little longer than Leigh and stands very high, yet Leigh outclasses him in number of horses trained as well as all the other trainers, from the States. Nash Turner and Henry Shields, both of whom came to France aa Jockeys, are highly success ful trainers. Turner in a fine establish ment of his own, although not on such an extensive scale as Leigh's, and Shields for one of the Lazard brothers, big French bankers. Archie Mclntyre is training for Ed GilUs, the English owner. William Bryan has a training stable of his own, Dhuleep Singh, the Hindu Prince, being one of his patrons. Johnny Campbell trains for Gus Pfizer, the American owner. All these American trainers are at Malsons-LaXitte. Adelbert Reiff, brother of Johnny Relff, who went over from France to England to win the British Derby with Orby for Richard Croker. trains at Chantilly, and so does Eddy Ross. ' Most of the Ameri can trainers now in France went there to ride horses, not to train them, and some of them, like Turner and Shields, still ride occasionally. But these five. Turner, Deb Reiff, Archie Mclntyre, Ross and Shields, have practically lived out of their riding days and now are in the trainers' class permanently. It -is quite within bounds to say that all the American trainers in France are making money; possibly some of them are not making as much, net, per annum, and Vanderbilt is paying William Duke, his salaried American trainer, but some are making a good deal more, no .doubt. And there is no reason why their earn ings and profits shouldn't increase with the years, since the racing authorises in France, and the French race-going pub lic as well, are convinced, firmly and permanently, that there Is no way to keep French racing at Its best, except' to have the horses trained according to American methods and, whenever pos sible, by American trainers. As a' matter of course, in such circum stances, there are plenty of French men who claim that their methods are now as "American" as those of the Americans themselves. Doubtless these Frenchmen try to master the American way. and will train all horses Intrusted to them In faithful imitation of the methods they have seen applied by Leigh and others during the last few years. Some say, however, that the Frenchmen can't acquire the American method by studying It or Imitating it, since its most entia! principle is the treatment of each horse according to Its own Indi viduality, and, except in the large, so to speak, not according to rule, but Leigh says the French trainers are coming on wonderfully well and that some of them are doing great work. Those who disagree with him argue that the trainer, like the jockey. Is born, not made, and that while the English Jockey born to the business nine times in ten may grasp the essence of American i if ff X TRAINER. V methods, neither the French trainer nor the French jockey, born and bred, is able to do so; that, in fact, they might just about as reasonably try to learn to fly. Maleons-Faffltte has about 50 training establishments within its borders, there being many English as well as American and French trainers. The town is domi nated by racing and racing men entirely, and its population Includes an unusually large proportion of Britons and Ameri cans. Not only is the English tongue spoken as freely afl the French and perhaps more so at the training quarters, but it is to be heard all over the town, in the cafes and wine shops, and on the streets, particularly from the cab drivers; some times pretty badly mangled, of course, but still English. It is a "mixed H", Anglican English, however, and not at all American; tor, below the Jockey's grade, American employes' In French racing are about as scarce as In any other business which Americans go into In France. English and Anglo-American employes are in the majority at all the training quarters, however, the Anglo-French gen erally being of pure English blood, though often half-caste, as the children of Eng lish Jockeys, or stable boys, born of French wives, are termed at Malsona Laffltte. Their English lacks the aspirate altogether, and is one of the most curious things in language to be found anywhere In the world. Leigh's Seven Hundred Victories. Eugene Leigh, the best-known trainer in France for more horses and more winners at that have been prepared by him for the track than by any other one trainer, either American, English or Frehch has a big series of stables at his liaisons - Laffitte headquarters, with stall capacity for 101 horses in training and 30 more at his overflow stables nearby. He has no track upon his grounds, as Vanderbilt has, and there are no art ties in his stables, as there are at Ed mond Blanc's luxurious headqoarters at St. Cloud, but there is plenty, of room on his place for ordinary exercising, while the track upon which to give the horses the necessary gallops is nearby, and the stables are fitted with every known con trivance, sanitary and otherwise, for the health and comfort of the horses. Some of these filled the French with unbounded astonishment when first put in, but today they look with approval upon them all. not excepting even the clever American machines which will groom a horse as wall and as thoroughly in a minute, when skillfully handled, as a good stable boy can In an hour's hard work. All this tends to increase Leigh's popu larity as a trainer, although, of course, It Is the fact that so many of the horses he has had charge of cut good figures upon the track that keeps his training stables full. His victories, won in four years, numbered TOO in July. At one time this year his two stables contained 120 horses in training. Between 70 and 80 of them have been winners in the season of 1907. In many ways French racing is con ducted upon much different lines than that. in the States. All the tracks are run by what is practically a syndicate. In connection with the'Soclety for Im proving the Horse, under1 the auspices of the Jockey Club, of which Baron Roths child. Edmond Blanc and other prominent French horseowners are members. The Government gets 7 per cent of the profits yielded by the betting. 4 per cent being devoted to the maintenace of a dozen I m 'iiiiiii i . -rz- i him I i v b.j. i; -ill Tt Www UK m mm or twenty stud tarms for the Improve ment of all grades of French horses "hacks," draft horses, hunters and car riage horses, as well as race horses and 3 per cent to charity. The racetracks are scattered all over France, but. naturally, there are more of them In the vicinity of Paris than anywhere else. The horses are transported between places at some distance apart by rail, as in America, but between training quarters and nearby tracks and from track to track in the vicinity of Paris by horse vans. The horse vans form practically a cab serivce .for the equln aristocracy or France, and the big. handsome horse car riages, each of which costs about 11C00 and Is drawn by a heavy pair of fine looking .horses, add to the vehicular variety of the streets in Paris and the roads In Its vicinity. Curiously enough, although a few of these vans are oper ated by Frenchmen, Leigh owns more of them than all the other van owners put together, his van business being about as big as his training business. He has forty vans at Malsons-Laf Btta and at St. Dents twenty more: in the busy months of the year he .has about ninety vans in commission. The man in charge of his van service here Is a wonderful British specimen named Perln. In the course of hla serv ices In France his English has taken on many strange Gallic turns that would make him a joy to any one with a liking for the study of old human specimens and spare time enough to Indulge his in clination. At the height of the training season. Including his own racers, horses to be trained . and van horses, Leigh's stables contain nearly 200 horses and em ploy about 150 men and boys. Leigh left the United States, where he had been training his own horses and those of others for some years, and went to England in 1900. There he trained a string of horses for Frank L. Gardner, now a well-known member of the per manent American colony in Paris. After a year in England, Leigh went to France, establishing himself first at Chantilly, near its famous racetrack, but later re moving his stables to their present quar ters. It was quite natural that French own ers should look somewhat askance upon his methods at first. It was natural that they should suspect him of "doping" some of the supposed unpromising horses which won under his training. It was quite natural that big owners should hold off for a little while before giving their horses over to his care. At all events, their attitude was anything but receptive at the beginning, and Leigh had few horses, save Gardner's, to train for some time. But somehow the horses placed In bis care soon began to make good, and grad ually, on owner after another brought our Years nit H1 horses to him. Gardner got out of rap ing some time ago. but, as I have Indi cated, Leigh's stables are now crowded to their capacity. Year by year he has added more stalls, and workmen are busy this Fall making still further additions, j His patrons this year include H. Rlgard, J the Duchess of Feltre, Dr. Chapard. Marino Clado, B. Chan. Bracasy and others among French owners. Miles the Englishman, and Martm. who is a Span iard in spite of his English name. The LelKh trained horses have not yet won many of the great "flat" races, how ever, although he trains for "flat" racing as well as hurdle racing and steeple chases: but they have won a very large proportion of the two latter classes, as well as many of tne minor "fiat" races. Thus Chl-Lo-Sa. owned by Dr. Chapard and trained at the" Leigh establishment won the grand hurdle race of Paris this year, the prize for which Is 50,000 francs. This horse had been suffering so badly from cracked heels in the Spring that few thought him fit for racing, yet after Leigh's treatment and training he was able to come in first in one of the most important of French racing events. . Leigh has a few horses of his own, and some of them have shown pretty good form. He will continue to race moderate ly in the future as he has raced in the past, but he has no intention of estab lishing a big stable and going in. to cap ture the great priies of the French turf with his own horses, at least not in the near future. Leigh's Career in America. Eugene Leigh is 47. His boyhood was passed In Illinois and he got into .racing right-early in life. "I was a jockey when only a little lad," he said at Malsons-Laffltte to the writer. "That is, I rode horses on racetracks by the time I was knee high to a grass hopper, but I. had to serve a stiff appren ticeship around the stables before I was able to ride a race. I followed the horses from one small track to another county fair tracks, some of them In Illinois and Michigan. 'Bushwhacking' we called it then; and I 'bushwhacked' as far west as Nebraska and as far south as Texts. Those were the good old days of 'quarter horses,' After a while I got a breeding farm In Kentucky, near Lexington La Belie, I called it and did quite a business. Then I sold both farm and horsed, all but some yearlings which I. kept in New Jersey.' "One day I thougrht I'd come over to this side of the water for a six weeks vacation and to see the sights. I have never been back. That is my story." Letgh got his name well before the entire French people not merely the racing public, but all classes soon af ter his arrival in France by the hu- manitarian movement which he started, ill "UVUVP7- EXERCISING THE HORSES AT EU&ENE LEI&H'J r?AVV6--QUARTERS AT MAISONS -LAFFITTE C C WMBt hi 9t Ijon although he hadn't the slightest idea of putting-himself to the front by the course he pursued. But early in his stay he noticed that the Jockeys on the French trucks wore very long ! spurs, which they used too freely, us ' well as the whip. Tnere had been re j form in the use of the whip and spur : in America before this, and. as Leisrh had observed the horses ran just as well when not too severely spurred y.nd whipped, while, beyond a doubt, th comfort of the animals was in creased greatly by the reform. So In one way and another he set about to introduce gentler treatment of the French race norses, and today, although spurs are still used, they are well filed, and. do not cut and tear the horses as of old, while the whip Is wielded with much greater modera tion than formerly. Three years ago hla work was recognized by a gold medal which he wears on his watch guard and is about the only piece of yellow metal that he ver displays. The medal bears this Inscription. ': PRIX DU' CONSUL A MR. LEIGH : : (Eugene), : : 1904. : : Societe Protectrlce Anlmaux a Paris. : Eugene Leigh is a typical American horseman, with ruddy cheeks, a stocky but active figure and hair and mustache that are getting gray. His home is not far from his training- stables at Malsons-Laffltte, but he visits Paris nearly every day not. by train nor in a horse-drawn rig, but in a motor car, of course. He likes France and the part he is playing In its racing- life, but he's a ood American for all that. He speaks French well enough to make himself understood clearly, but with a decided Illinois accent, and all his "help" speak English, while his head quarters In Paris are at a hotel where English is as easy as French to most of the employes. In one particular he differs radically from nearly everybody ne meets here he never drinks any thing alcoholic, not even red wine. He has helped a good many of the American Jockeys to make places for themselves in France. At one time and another he has employed several ' of those who are now very well known on the French tracks. Wallace Davis trains the race horses owned by Eugene Fischoff, one of the best known American owners on the French turf. . and whose important table is at Malsons-Laintte. Fischoff is a big- factor in obstacle racing in France, and last year his stick-Jumping nags led all French horses of their class. Davis trained Flying; Star, who won the French Oaks in 1904. and 1 H(?EA. Z.EI&H, A AID CHI -LOS A , TRAINED FOR HIM. WINNER OF THE GRANO HiRDLE HACE OF PARIS ' tile, who won the first race at gch hamps this year. iVhlle they have not won as many races as those trained by Leigh, the Dayltr trained horses have captured more important events and this puts DaIs easily sec ond among all tho American trainers here. Nash- Turner has been so successful as a trainer In France that his busi ness has outgrown his original stables and he has been obliged to build eth ers. It will be remembered that he won a goodly number of important races for the late William C. Whitney before going to France, and today he would be one of the best riders on either side of the water were it not for Ills weight, which has been increasing1 for some limes, in spite of his efforts to keep it down. Even at that, ho rode and won several good races last year and has not been an entirely unknown quantity as a Jockey this year. One of his most Important winnings this year .was the Prix MacKenzle Grieves at Malsons-Laffltte, on Merino a Inconnu, trained by Davis. Turner's main stables are beautiful ly situated a mile or moVe from the Malsons-Laffltte station and are reached by a charming drive over tho best of tree-shaded French roads. Both Pavls' and Turner's training quarters are handsomer than Leigh's, but that is because the latter has occupied his present place only a year and hasn't had tune to make everything splck and span as yet. Turner's most im portant patrons are the Viscount Fon tarce, H. Letlllier. R. Balll and T. P. Thorn, the American. Thorn, who Is a man of substantial means, has been a figure on the French turf for eight or ten years. One of his horses Is called "Thoughtful Liar," a name which makes the Frenchmen shake their heads: a "crazy Americanism." which they can neither appreciate nor understand. Thorn likos a fast motor car almost as well as he likes a good horse, -and is known by his fellow ex patriates from the great Republic of the West as an all-round sport. He lives in Paris, hut his automobile takes him to Malsons-Laffltte almost daily when he Is not at one or other of the big French meetings. Henry Shield's work for Lazard, the big banker, whose stables, which , contain about 20 horses, are at Malsons-Laffltte, has given him a reputation worth having. He has been away from America, where he was a jockey with a good record, about four years. He rode in Russia a year and then, coming to France, was Leigh's Jockey for two years more. Then the misfortune which sooner or later be falls all jockeys befell him he became too heavy and he had to enter the lists as a trainer. Malsons-Laffltte is the home also of Johnny Campbell, who was well known in the States 30 years ago in harness racing. In the days when Maud 8. was cutting down the tron.ns record every year he was a popular driver, and at one time was In partnership with Wolcott . and Mayor Nolan, of Albany, men whose names used to be familiar to all who kept posted as to speedy owners and their horses- Later .Campbell left the harness racing field anj became a Jockey-owner, riding his own horses. He left the States four years ago and established himself In France as a trainer of racehorses. At first he trained for certain prominent horse-winning members of the French nobility, but now he is employed by Augustus Pfizer, a New Englander orig inally, who has a stable of 20 or 2S horses and enjoys French life so well that he is not likely soon to return to America. The Reitf Boyg In Europe. The success -of Adelbert Rein as trainer at Chantilly for Michael Ephrussi. the Greek banker In Paris, has been as marked in Its way as that of his brother John. "Deb Reift was a Jockey in the States so long ago that he Is mostly thought of as a trainer only nowadays, but in his time he had quite a name as a rider of fast races. He began to do good work for Richard Croker after Enoch Wls hard left him and returned to America. .r HEAD- trained the horses of a rich Russian who is well known on the racetracks here. Ha did So well with the Russian's horses that he was offered more money to go to naiy and take charge of Sir Roland's big stable of horses. They scored go many winnings that Ephrussi called Adelbert back to- France. The quality of his train ing is eviaencea Dy in, irequcncy wnn which the names of his horses are seen upon the winner's lists. Johnny Reiff has not vet found his way into the train er's ranks and doesn't expect to in the near future. There were four boys in the Relff fam ily, three of whom have been prominent la the racing world. Lester, the oldest, who never has figured in French racing, was ono of the pioneers in the introduction of the American style of riding on the other side of the water. It was Lester Reift who won the Derby for Whitney on Vol odyov'ski in 1901. The same year he lost the St. Leger stakes by a head and claimed a foul.' which was not allowed. He -had-then been in England with his brother Johnny three years, landing on the other side in 1S98. In '99 and 1,900 Les ter led all the English jockeys in win nings and earnings, the latter being more than H0.O00 a year. Sloane was then sec ond, whjle Johnny, only 15, was third. Lester Reift made a great reputation in the States at Monmouth, where ho once rode Queenie Trowbridge, against whom the bettirfe odds were W0 to 1, to victory, her backers winning lioo.ooo. One year he had 143 winnings in 353 mounts. Tha Relff boy are natives of Flndlay. Ohio, and were taken to Europe by John Mc Cafferty and Ii.noch' Wlshard, who trained for Croker so many years. Lester was warned oft the Newmarket Heath in 1901 and is now in the real estate business In California. Johnny was only 16 or 16 when Lester got Into trouble, but even then his fame was growing. He went to France soon after Lester returned to America, and, al though once ruled off the tracks there, was reinstated after awhile, having rid den In America meantime, where French Jockey Club rulings do not count He is hardly likely to get Into trouble again, since he seem: how to have learned th ropes thoroughly. His marriage to th daughter of Robert Denman, the Engllsn trainer for Bdmond Blano at St. Cloud, aroused no end of Interest both in and out of racing circles. It was celebrated in true French style, notwithstanding the fact that neither bride nor bridegroom 1 of Gallia blood. There was some talk that after n! marriage Johnny Relff would ride only the horses trained by his father-in-law. but there was nothing In that. He will probably retire permanently from the French turf. If he is as lucky in Germany.- where he has been engaged to rids next year, as he has been in France. Ths talk there la that his salary is to be. 2o.OOO. which is twice and a half what he waa paid in France this year by Maurice Caillaut. his employer. Last year he got J15.000. but this year was cut down one-third. Nevertheless, his total earnings this year, say those who ought to know will not be far from 340,000. Ho received 13000 for winning the English Derby, and has had many mounts from other owners than Caillaut. Johnny It saving- his money against a rainy spell, and will be rich some day. Eddy Ross has his own public training stable at Chantilly and is doing very well. His establishment is well known and his customers Include several of the most prominent French patrons of the tracks. (Copyright. 1907. by Dexter Marshall.) Survival. A ship abandoned on the bar, K rock bound coast before her. With roar and din the storm sweeps In. Aud surglnc aeaa break o'er her. Before the curtain of the rain A thistledown comes whirling And In tha air boba here and there ' Above tha waters swirling. It ellncs an Instant to a shroud. Then with the gale sweeps past it; Seas cannot drown the thistledown. The lightning cannot blast tu And epeedlng onward toward tha rtore It sailed the breakers ever And made Ha way to land where lay ' A peaceful field of clover. Meanwhile the vessel, piece by piece. The waters settled under. The ship of steel from truck to keal By aeas Was rent asunder. The thistledown on fertile eoll' Its tiny seed left lying. And the yearly yield of the thistle field - Tells why the clover's dying. The flounder la said to deposit 7,000,000. 00O eaaa in the course of a year. I