TO CHICAGO – ON A MEDICAL MISSION On September 3 1906, a wealthy young dentist from Brisbane boarded the passenger ship Aorangi. He disembarked in Vancouver, then entered the United States and made his way to Chicago by train. His name was Victor Richard Ratten. Soon after he
Read more →THE SLOPER, THE DOCTOR, AND THE ATTEMPTED ‘BIG FIX’ AT MOWBRAY. By 1911, three years on from a near win at Flemington’s Grand National Steeplechase, the Tasmanian jumper Ally Sloper was somewhat past his best. He was now owned by the Sheffield GP, and Justice of the
Read more →FROM A STUMP JUMPER TO THE STEEPLECHASE Ally Sloper was a big boned chestnut gelding with three white fetlocks. He had been named after a British cartoon character; a likeable but lazy schemer who sloped down alleys to avoid the debt collector. Although his name and his
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