Imps Owner, Daily Racing Form, 1899-07-16

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IMPS OWNER. r Imp and Uncle Dan Harness are fast friends and when he approaches the stall she evinces her pleaBnre with a friendly neigh and then proceeds to rub her nose against her owner as an additional greeting. Uncle Dan is confident that had he been at Sheopshead Bay when Imp displayed her marvelous neatness he could have removed the bridle and Bhe would have followed him up and down the stretch like a . dog. As the mare will come any time at hie J call and will follow him about on the farm, it is likely that she would at the course. The day after the Suburban there wore scores of callers at High Bank who came to press their congratulations. Among others were Lawrence T. Neal, accompanied by Mrs. Battle, a Chicago relative. Thinking that Harness found most of his pleasure in the sum of money represented in the stake, Mrs. Battle proceeded to congratulate him on that score. "I dont care a damn about the money," was his brusque reply. "Just to show those Kentucky follows that a racehorse will grow in Ohio is all I care about." Harness was born near Moorefield, W. Va., in 1823, and went to the Scioto Valley at an early age. In 1867 he engaged in the breeding and running of thoroughbreds. He had pieviously been an active supporter of the old Chillicotho Racing Association, until a certain race that had the taint of crookedness about it came to his notica. With the courage of his convictions he denounced this race and ref ased to lend hit. support to the association. "I love the game," was his declaration, "but it must be played fairly." That- has always been the principle he has followed in racing.- In 1867 he formed a partnership with Joseph McConnell, likewise a turfman of the old school. They purchased at private sale four thoroughbreds Vauxhall, General Duke, Bayonet and Luxemburg from A.J. Alexander, the noted Kentucky breeder. General Duke was shipped to the east and won two stake3 at Saratoga, and later in the summer won a hard-fought finish in a stake race at Cincinnati. Having been successful beyond their expectations. Vauxhall, General Duke, Luxemburg and Bayon6t were ehipped to New York in the spring of 1868, and there were entered in a number of good raceB. General Duke won the Belmont Stakes, an event which might ba compared to the Suburban of today. Receiving tempting offers for their stable, Harness and McConnell disposed of all but Vauxhall, then the ! most promising of the lot. Previous to winning the Saratoga Cup the next year, Vauxhall became the solo property of McConnell, and Har-ness contented himself with an occasional visit to the racecourse to satisfy hisloveof thcsport, until 1871, when he bought Mydia and Mollio Foster, the granddam of Imp. With Mydia he won the Jersey Derby at Long Branch, then sold the horse. Mollie Foster waB retained and bred, her foal being Fondling, the dam of Imp. Another favorite of Uncle Dans is a yearling colt by Palestine Fondling, which is very promising, and hopes are entertained that the colt will prove a breadwinner. Since Imps victory in the Suburban, Harness has been deluged with correspondence, including requests for his photographs and that of the mare, propositions to back her against any other Suburban candidates and offers to purchase. These last have grown to ba a source of great annoyance to the old man. Ho is determined that he will entertain no such offers, and each missive containing a proposition to sell only increases his determination in this regard. "I dont want money," he exclaimB when the r matter of purchase is broached. "I am an old : man and there is no pocket in a shroud. Imp is all I want." New York Sun.


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1890s/drf1899071601/drf1899071601_1_2
Local Identifier: drf1899071601_1_2
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800