Henman's superior serves, volleys and groundstrokes underlined the gap of 118 places in the world rankings.Henman now plays either Doug Flach, the American who eliminated Andre Agassi in the first round at Wimbledon, or Italy's Gianluca Pozzi.Siding with the establishment is not usually Agassi's style, but the Las Vegan made an exception by offering sympathy to the beleaguered United States Tennis Association. Krajicek suffered a nosebleed after cutting himself with his towel at 1-4 in the second set, but by then he was fighting a lost cause.While Edberg was punishing Krajicek on the Stadium Court, Britain's Tim Henman was also advancing to the second round with a 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 win against Roberto Jabali, a 26-year-old Brazilian who came into the draw as a replacement for the injured Mats Wilander.The British No 1's determination to build on his quarter-final appearance at Wimbledon was evident from the start, and he was a class above Jabali throughout. The Dutchman is in the company of two Australians, John Newcombe and Pat Cash, along with Edberg himself. The 30-year-old Swede made an impressive start to the 54th consecutive and concluding Grand Slam championship of his career by eliminating the Dutchman, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. Edberg not only outplayed Krajicek but also profited from his opponent's unforced errors. Stefan Edberg enrolled Richard Krajicek into an exclusive club yesterday, membership restricted to Wimbledon champions who fail to pass first base at the United States Open. The last discernable upward shift came, he believes, with the impact of Arab involvement in British racing in the early 1980s. The disparities between the medians of two-, three- and four-year-olds also remain steady, with the two-year-olds appearing higher, only to converge with their elders in the heat of competition. This year's Classic generation has fared no worse than its immediate predecessors in terms of Pattern and Listed prizes captured in open contest with its elders - except at the highest level, where the three-year-olds have not so much converged as been submerged.Mark Of Esteem's victory in the Group Two Celebration Mile last weekend went some way to restoring a measure of self-respect for the Classic form, in one of the few inter-generational Pattern races this year in which the three-year-olds turned out in relative strength.In giving a 6lb penalty and a three-and-a-half-length beating to the dependable Bishop Of Cahel (114), Mark Of Esteem confirmed his Independent rating of 126, while the third, Alhaarth, sank back to the low ebb of his form, on 113.But it is symbolic that the best three-year-old performance of the season in Britain came in defeat, Shaamit's third to Pentire in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, a race whose form is working out extremely well.Ratings for the leading three-year-olds of 1996 to have raced in Britain:133 Shaamit, 126 Lady Carla, Mark Of Esteem, 125 Bijou D'Inde, 123 Ashkalani, Grape Tree Road, 122 Dushyantor, 121 Mons, Pivotal, 120 Atraf, Glory Of Dancer, Sorbie Tower, 119 Royal Court, 118 Bosra Sham, Farasan, 117 Lucayan Prince, 116 Even Top, Rambling Bear, 115 Pricket..

"Last time when we asked for a 23/4% reduction the Government gave us 1%," he said. "That was a welcome step but more is needed to offset the impact of the National Lottery on betting Four hundred betting shops were closed last year.". Generations of horses vary little in standard from one another according to Geoffrey Gibbs, the British Horseracing Board's senior handicapper. Gibbs, who has responsibility for assessing juvenile form, shrugs off criticism from some trainers and private handicappers that he has rated this year's junior crop too highly by pointing to median average ratings which have "hardly altered for generations". John Greenway, the Conservative MP whose Ryedale constituency includes the training centre of Malton, said yesterday that a reduction in tax was vital.

I rent the yard and don't owe a penny to anybody and at least I can go out with my head held high."McCormack accepts that most of his 22-horse team are "no good" and recognises that he simply cannot make things pay. Greenway, the chairman of Parliament's All-Party Racing and Bloodstock Industries Committee, will use the platform of Malton's open day on Sunday to whip up support. "I would love to be going to Doncaster Yearling Sales with 20 orders but I do not have one."We held a bit of an open morning 10 days ago and not a single person turned up In a way I was pleased, because it made the decision easy I can't go on losing money. The difficulties that trainers face in keeping their businesses afloat was brought into focus yesterday with the announcement that Matt McCormack is to give up his licence because he has been operating at a loss for the past three seasons. The 56-year-old, who has been training for 17 years, saddled his last runner, Isla Glen, at Chepstow on Monday. "I am going out with a smile but this is a sad day all the same," he said.

Yet though his talent is appreciated in the unforgiving cauldrons of Happy Valley and Sha Tin, in his own country it may be that only a title will earn similar regard The fault there, of course, is not his, but ours.. My first target was 60 winners in a season and I've far surpassed that."Some might detect in the latter comment an absence of a champion's ruthless sense of purpose, but there can be no shortage of the will to succeed in a jockey who has ridden winners in almost two dozen different countries.Instead, there is a memory of how far he has travelled and how difficult the passage has sometimes been. However, it is not Generous or Insan - "any time you're beaten a short-head it guts you, but it seemed to happen all the time with him" - who provides Quinn's worst recollection, but an occasion when he was brought down and his mount was killed.Regardless of whether he becomes the new champion in November, Quinn will return shortly afterwards to Hong Kong, where only the best receive a second invitation. "It's just that all of my yards have been in form from the start of the season, and when you ride more winners you ride with more confidence."Obviously this is going to be my best chance of the championship and I'll be all out for it, but I've already achieved more than I set out to as an apprentice Back then you just want a ride, and then a winner. Munro may have claimed the Fahd Salman silks between 1991 and 1993, but Cole pointedly kept faith with Quinn for the remainder of his string, and though no retaining fee changes hands, the association remains as strong as ever."We get on very well in a professional manner," the jockey says, "he has a way he likes his horses to be ridden and that suits me because I ride in that way." Indeed, the Quinn style - tidy, thoughtful, determined - is the same both on and off the track, and his exceptional progress through the 1996 season is not the result of a different approach."Going to Hong Kong during the winter may have sharpened me up mentally, because they race very tight over there, but I certainly haven't changed my style," he said. Last weekend it was the Grand Prix de Deauville on Strategic Choice, who will run next in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Quinn, though, may prefer to ride Riyadian at Longchamp. Already as short as 8-1 for the Arc, the colt will be tried first in the Prix Foy over course and distance on 15 September.Both horses are trained by Paul Cole, who has been the most significant figure in Quinn's professional life ever since the rider turned up on his doorstep as an apprentice 16 years ago.