Lord William Beresford, V.C., Some Memories of a Famous Sportsman, Soldier and WitMenzies, Stuart, Mrs.
History
Lord William Beresford, V.C., Some Memories of a Famous Sportsman, Soldier and Wit
Menzies, Stuart, Mrs.
Beresford, William Leslie de la Poer, Lord, 1847-1900
Sloan was for several years much in evidence, so it may be worth
while to pause a moment and introduce him to those of my readers
who have either forgotten or never known anything about him. His
real name was James Forman Sloan, when a very small boy he had been
adopted by people named Blauser, who thinking they were being witty,
called him “Toad,” because he was so tiny, this by degrees condensed
itself into Tod, and Tod Sloan it remained to the end of the chapter.
In America Sloan had been riding for Mr. W. C. Whitney, who released
him to ride for Lord William, saying he should very likely be in
England himself before long. As a matter of fact he arrived at much
the same time as the jockey, and met Lord William for the first time
at Newmarket, where Sloan introduced him to his lordship, the outcome
of this introduction being they became partners. At this time Jakes
Pincus was training Lord William’s horses, later Huggins, who came
over with Mr. Lorillard, reigned in his stead. Pincus was another
American; he had not been long in this country, yet he was the man
who trained the only American horse that ever won the Derby, if my
memory is to be trusted. Iroquois was the horse. The man was a bit of
a jockey himself, I have been told.
Mr. Cuthbert was secretary to Lord William’s stable at that time,
later I believe he went to Newmarket in the employ of Mr. George
Lambton.
Sloan was one of those fortunate jockeys who can eat what they like
without putting on weight, very different from some other jockeys
of that date. Fred Archer, for instance, who had to breakfast off
hot castor oil and a slice of thin toast with a view to keeping his
weight down, he dared not dine with friends, as owing to dieting so
rigidly he felt he was a wet blanket at a feast. Poor fellow, in
his endeavours to ride 8 st. 7 lbs., he became a wreck very early
in life, the wonder was he lived as long as he did. It will be
remembered at the age of thirty he felt he had had enough and took
his own life. Though much liked and perhaps the most popular of
jockeys he was severe with his mounts.
Sloan was fond of animals and gentle with them, Mornington Cannon
also, and they seem to have achieved equal success. Archer’s seat was
the opposite of Sloan’s, for he sat well back, while Sloan it was
introduced that peculiar monkey up a stick seat which became more
or less the fashion amongst the American jockeys. Archer was very,
very canny with his money, which at times used to annoy people, Sloan
on the other hand was too generous and let other people help him to
spend his earnings almost too freely. Cannon liked riding waiting
races, while Sloan liked to get away and come right through. There
was one occasion certainly when Cannon waited a little too long with
Flying Fox, not giving himself time to get home, but he was a good
judge of pace.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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