view raw text
PHII DWYEBS HORSES. Perhaps the most formidable string at the iheadquarters of the Brooklyn Jockey Club is that owned by its President, P. J. Dwyer. It consists of fourteen candidates for fntnre honors that are snugly ensconced in stable No. 3, under the watchful eye of trainer Frank Mc-Cabe. All have wintered splendidly and look like paying their way in good company. The lot includes the four-year-olds Handpress and Handball, the three-year-olds Half Time, Miller .and Marblehead, and the following youngsters, now two-year-olds, whose names have not yet appeared : Mentone, b. c, by Star Euby Madrid; With--ers, ch. c, by Hanover Dilemma; Tasmania, ch. f, by Hanover Device; Borough, b. c, by JBramble Semper Cara; Hempstead, blk. c, by Hanover Aurania; Rochester, b. c, by Potomac Lavinia Belle ; Saguenay, b. c, by Poto. mac Marguerite; Makaland, b. c, by Hanover Astrakhan, and Anprior, by Laureate iSaranac. The stable also owns Aylmer, a bay colt by Eon Cerise, that is wintering in Westchester, in the care of John Hynes. Mentone is a half brother to Marblehead, that showed such promise last season. Marblehead and Handball are engaged in the Brooklyn Handicap, and both -will be prepared for that event. Especial pains will be taken with Miller, that developed almost as much speed as Jean Beraud at times last year. Hia frame then was almost too much -for his underpinning, and on several occasions he failed to run up to his private form. During recess he has been punch fired and otherwise treated for trouble in his ankles, and he has filled out into a grand looking and apparently sound three-year-old. Further around the aemi-circle of training quarters are the strings of John Campbell, W. Barrick, M. F. Dwyer, J. IE. McDonald, F. J. OReilly and Jack Elliott. The last named is handling a likely trio for .Richard Croker, two Dobbins colts and Little Saint, all imported. Few regular followers of the sport, who are 3iot actually interested in a stable realize what an interesting study is afforded by the winter or "off-season" life of the racing thoroughbred. The majority only know him with his colors up, and while they can guess closely by his coat and muscular development whether he is fit or not. they rarely stop to think how this desirable acme of perfection has been, attained. In the preliminary work what applies to one standard stable practically applios to all, and trainer McCabe, in a chat with a reporter of The Sun yesterday, summed up the winter work as follows: "There is no hard and fast rale as to feeding, and we let the horses eat pretty freely of oats and good timothy hay, with a soft mash thrown in two or three times a week. Some horses -will get away with fifteen quarts of oats a day, while others, especially when it comes 10 actual racing, will show their best on a much shorter allowance. Kingston in his palmy days got along comfortable on six quarts. Hanover averaged about nine, and Miss Woodford wad always through with the menu after eight or ten. While the snow and frost curtailed our operations recently, we managed to keep the string moving on the covered path around the stable. When weather permitted we took them out in the open, the average daily work consisting of a walk or easy jog of about nine miles. "After a few weeks more of this recuperative work the horses will be ripening for the more j serious business in view. Then the distance of the daily trips will be gradually shortened and the pace proportionately increased. We will j probably take to the track about March 1, especially with horses to be fitted out for early engagements, such as the spring meeting at Washington. At present it is simply a question of keeping the different horses in good health and a trifle above themselves in flesh, while free from actual fat or thickness in the pipes. Then when we start to hustle them along in earnest we have the consolation of knowing that nothing has been left undone to equip them for the campaign. Of course, one or more may go wrong when the pinch comes, but that must be put down under the general head of glorious uncertainty." New York Sun.
