|
The 1923 Belmont Stakes, run at Belmont Park, Long Island, New York, on 20
October, was the great race of its day: a mile and three furlong 'match race'
(literally a two-horse race) between that year's Kentucky Derby winner, Zev,
ridden by Earle Sande, and the Irish-bred Papyrus, ridden by Englishman Steve
Donoghue (1884-1945) and fresh from winning the Epsom Derby.
Some 50,000 spectators reportedly watched trackside, and the newsreels were
naturally keen to get in on the action. The rights were won by Pathé, but their
rivals, notably Fox and Hearst, weren't prepared to accept defeat gracefully. In
the event the rival companies used smoke screens and large mirrors (to reflect
sunlight into the lenses of rival cameramen) in their battle for supremacy.
Topical Budget's footage was supplied by the American newsreel company
Kinograms.
In the end, the race was won comfortably by Zev, some five lengths clear of
his opponent, who struggled in the heavy mud, at the post. Topical, never shy
about declaring its own partisanship, closes the item with the title "Though
beaten, 'Our Steve' still smiles!"
Mark Duguid
|
Complete film (1:22)
