Chicago, where an Australian ‘surgeon’ trained in a bank.

Chicago, where an Australian 'surgeon' trained in a bank.

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

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ALLY SLOPER AND THE MOWBRAY RACING SCANDAL

ALLY SLOPER AND THE MOWBRAY RACING SCANDAL

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

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The Sloper and the Steeplechase

The  Sloper and the Steeplechase

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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