
In 1901 he came
to England, installed as the Prince of Wales’ senior jockey and as you can
imagine, he was surrounded by money, people and fame.
However, the British
Jockey Club resented Sloan who had an extroverted personality, and they
persuaded the prince not to renew his contract. He became resented by both
sides of the Atlantic, and although he had enough money to convert a small bistro
in Paris (now Harry’s New York Bar), financial hardships forced him back to
America where he lived the remainder of his life alone, dying of cirrhosis in
1933. But, Sloan’s life has never been forgotten. George M. Cohan’s endearing
song ‘The Yankee Doddle Boy’ is based on the life of Sloan in England. His
popularity ensured he entered Cockney rhyming slang – to be ‘all on your tod’
means to be ‘alone like Tod Sloan’. Interestingly, Sloan’s 1915 autobiography
is titled ‘Tod Sloan by Himself’.
[courtesy of 'It's a Wonderful Word' by Albert Jack]
[courtesy of 'It's a Wonderful Word' by Albert Jack]
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