When the athletes line up in The Mall on Sunday, 12th August, to compete in the Olympic marathon, it is fitting to recall the piece of ancient history which caused the great race to be founded. At school, I was erroneously taught that the athletics marathon was founded to commemorate the feat by Athenian herald , Pheidippides, who ran the 26 miles to Sparta to announce the arrival of the Persians at Marathon in 490 BC. In actual fact, Pheidippides ran 150 miles in two days to warn the Spartans- then ran another 25 miles to Athens from the battlefield at Marathon to announce victory over the Persians. He then collapsed and died. Whether the story is true or not is another question, but doubtless a character called Pheidippides almost certainly existed. Either way, the inaugural running of the modern-day Olympic marathon, in 1896, symbolised the romantic dream of the man whose inspiration brought it into being- Frenchman, Michel Breal. In that race, only 17 competitors took part- 12 Greeks; 2 Frenchmen; and single runners from Hungary, Australia, and USA. It is perhaps fitting that the winner of that first marathon was Greek, Spiridon Louis, who completed the course in just under three hours. Another Greek, Spiridon Belokas, finished in the bronze medal position, but was disqualified for âriding in a carriageâ for part of the race! Thereafter the event has been a regular feature of the Olympic Games, and for many it will always remain the ultimate symbol of the Olympic âideal.â Competitors in the first Olympic marathon in 1896 (Is the runner on the right 'overdressed?- I believe him to be the winner, Spiridon Louis!) please log in to view this image For two millennia after that fateful day in 490 BC, the name of Pheidippides passed into folklore. Yet 55 years ago, in 1957, the name was revived when a two year old colt of that name, owned by Timeformâs founder Phil Bull, won the Gimcrack Stakes at York from Pinched and the Queenâs horse, Pall Mall. After Pheidippides ran unplaced behind Pall Mall in the following yearâs 2000 Guineas, he was sent to stud- but proved infertile. Returning to the racecourse with Vic Smyth, he ran third in the 1960 Royal Hunt Cup, after which he was sold and transferred to Michael Popeâs stables in Berkshire. He raced for another 9 seasons- always an entire- and registered his 15th and final victory in a Selling Handicap at Doncaster, in 1969, ridden by the 7lb claiming apprentice, Pat Eddery. In so many ways, he epitomised the ideal of his ancient Greek namesake, and his enthusiasm, genuineness, and longevity for racing matched the attributes of the Olympic movement. In his memoirs, Michael Pope described him thus: â The horse proved to be a perfect gentleman, a pleasure to train and not in the least randy, despite having a bevy of beauties at his beck and call. He had only one fault: he took a fearsome hold and once in top gear it was âgoodnight nurseâ for the unfortunate passenger.â So when this yearâs leading marathon runners race for the line to stamp their name into history, they should spare a thought for the ancient Athenian who made it all possible. We racegoers can spare a thought for the ageing racehorse who proved that competition and sport really are about âtaking part.â please log in to view this image
As a West London lad I like the fact that the distance of the modern marathon is 26.2miles. You are right at the first Athens games it was 25 miles but in 1908 the distance from Windsor to White City with a finish in front of the Royal Box constituted a distance of 26.2miles. It was not the universally accepted distance until amazingly the French in 1924 returned to the 26.2miles and that's what it is has been since then. In fact I think all marathons since 1921 have been 26.2 miles. I remember Pheidippides, as he was about the only Court Martial colt in training when I first became interested. As the Astors bred Court martial (and as a stallion sold him to Jim Joel) I was interested in him. He and his tough son Counsel got horses that went in the heaviest of going. If it rained it seemed easy then to look through the pedigrees and decide who would go in it.
It looks as though Pheidippides might have been a figure of myth. As Tam pointed out, there was no mention made of him running to Athens to relate the news on the battle of marathon, but he did mention that before the battle, Pheidippides was sent to Sparta from Marathon, roughly a hundred and fifty miles away, to ask for help. It took him two days, he then made a quick return to the battlefield. The first mention of the run to Athens didn't come until six or seven hundred years later, when the satirist Lucian introduced the story. According to archaeologist Jim D. Muhly, Lucian offers nothing more than a entertainment. He was taking the piss, so to speak.
Cyc: If Ron remembers him then I sure bloody well do! Tamerlo: Very interesting thread; I do remember Phil Bull's little horse well. He was, if my memory serves me correct, barely much more than a pony, but an absolute bundle of muscle and energy. Dug into my old books and have just found a description of him (when Pheidippides was a 2-y-o) by Phil Bull in Timeform's 'Racehorses of 1957': "Though he is not a big one, Pheidippides is a very strongly-made well-muscled colt, and an exceptionally good-looking one - quite a model of conformation. As he showed at York, he is a game and tenacious battler, and is well-suited by an easy surface, but it might be unwise to regard his failure at Ascot as evidence that he cannot act on hard ground".
Cyc We need a certain John Enoch Powell on this one. But I do believe Pheidippides or sometimes Philippides is mentioned in Herodotus as running from Athens to Sparta. He's usually reckoned the primary source. No mention is made of Marathon and that may be the embellishment.
Jongleur, good morning. Do you have your own copy of "Timeform's Racehorses of 1957?" My father bought the publication once or twice in the fifties- but couldn't afford to buy it every year. I rememember buying one in the eighties. It arrived in the post just before I set off with a friend to go to Uttoxeter races and, having looked at the ratings for a steeplechase, I put £10 on a Brisbourne trained horse called Royal Norman which won at 14/1! I was delighted that the book had paid for itself. I met Phil Bull briefly once on Haydock's Vernon's Sprint day. I went to shake hands with him, but then realised we were stood next to each other in the urinal- and thought better of it!
As a kid I was enthralled by the efforts of Abebe Bikila (60-64) who became the first man to win two Olympic marathons. He was some athlete. When his compatriot Mamo Wolde won the next marathon in 68, I was over the moon. Those were golden days. When Bikila won those races, my father was truly impressed by the performances, but as far as he was concerned, none could be ranked before the great Emil Zatopek. He was something else. London 48. Silver 5000m. Helsinki 52 Gold 5000. Helsinki 52 Gold 10000m Helsinki 52 Gold Marathon. He must have been something else. In the year 2000 he was posthumously awarded the Pierre de Coubertin medal for sportsmanship.
Jongleur Interested in your cricket story on another thread. I played at Malden a few times for my club. When I first went there (not as a player) all the talk there was of the Huttons. They always said Richard was good but his brother was better but didn't want to play cricket. We played most of our games in West and North London but had the odd trip into Surrey. My one regret was never to have played at Mitcham on the common. Loved the ground and just wanted once to cross that busy road to bat. Not far from Malden Wanderers, did you ever play there?
Tamerlo: Yes, I do have a copy of the 1957 Timeform Annual. Bit motheaten, but still readable. Old Phil made horseracing so interesting and understandable for so many of us in those days. It is a shame you only met him in the pissoir, and were unable to properly shake hands with him! Anyway, I would imagine Phil was checking form with one hand, while the other one was attending to business? I only have sporadic copies of the Annual, a I was working abroad for long periods, but when home on leave used to always buy the Timeform programmes when going to a meeting (fully armed with Raceform too, of course). They were good days, in many ways. Nowadays, do young racegoers take their mini-PCs with them? Guess they may well do? Most probably they work it all out beforehand? Bustino: No, no, I was a truly lousy cricketer - just a bit of umpiring, that's all. Younger brother pretty good all-rounder, however, and turned-out regularly for Malden Wanderers in the late '50s I guess it would be. Maybe you played against him, that would be amazing.
No unfortunately I was a bit behind that, I'd have been in short trousers then. Nice club though and I did play against Russell Endean there once, but he was getting on a bit. Like you I have some Timeforms from the late 80s. I do have the 50th annual (Greatest Racehorses published in 1997) which is a great read. 1957 would have been the year Counsel won at York. John Hanmer described Mercer's ride as the finest piece of riding he ever saw. I'd love to know what Timeform made of it.
John Hanmer described Mercer's ride as the finest piece of riding he ever saw. They reckon Errol Flynn wasn't too bad in the saddle.
You've got to be of a certain age to say (get) that Cyc But shouldn't your comment be on the Lay of the Day thread?
Good morning, Bustino- I hope you are keeping well. I didn't realise you liked Joe Mercer! I thought recently of doing an article about Manny Mercer but realised that I know very little about him and so couldn't do him justice. My father said he was a tremendous jockey, and that his tragic death deeply upset his father-in-law, Harry Wragg, who left Ascot with "tears streaming down his face." Like you, he greatly admired Joe Mercer, but I never asked him whether he thought Manny was the better rider. Have you any thoughts on it?
When I was a kid, the gossip was that Errol had a twenty two inch pistol. I'm glad he never fired it my way!
Morning Tamerlo: Yes interesting one. I don't think there can have been much in it. Manny rode for the other Colling, the stable later became John Oxley's I think. So Manny would have ridden the Hollingsworth horses. He also rode for a lot of French trainers. He seems to have been held in tremendous regard and like his brother was considered a natural horseman. I actually remember the day he died even though I wasn't interested in racing. It was announced on Grandstand on a dull September Saturday. You didn't expect that to happen on a horse going down to the start at Ascot.Some say if he had lived he'd have been a champion jockey.: very difficult to know. He may have had the same problems as his brother in riding for an owner/breeder stable and having jockeys like Breasley and Piggott at the top of their game. There's this:- http://www.thefreelibrary.com/'He w... I'd put him in the same class...-a0208760067
We always saw him as a real "smoothie" with that permanent upturned smirk on his face. In truth, not my type of actor- I prefer the good "baddies" like Cagney, etc. When he was fencing, I always wanted the baddie to stick his sword right up Errol's jacksie. But there again, I've always loved the baddies in films.
