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HAXDPRESS A STAKE WLMMU. Hawthorne made a grand showing in respect to attendance yesterday, between 12.000 and 15,000 half-holiday pleasure seekers crowding their way inside of the pretty course. Never in the history of Hawthorne has the track entertained a more prosperous looking crowd, and to view the grandstand from the infield was a sight good for appreciative eyes. There must have been ." .000 well dressed and well behaved women seated in the stand, and the different combinations of colors from their dresses and hats was a pleasing spectacle. The Turf Congress Handicap, with ,000 added, for three-year-olds and upward at a mile and a sixteenth, was the racing feature and it furnished a grand contest. The first four horses at the finish, Handpress,Sam Fullen, The Monk and The Lady were all close together and each was driving to the limit. Handpress, from t lie Schorr stable won the event but more credit is due to the masterly riding of Hums than there is to the ability of Handpress, although he showed great gameness and speed. Burns is far superior to any other jockey now I riding here and his handling of Handpress was ■ grand piece of horsemanship. In fact, so poorly were the second, third and fourth horses ridden, that it is possible that Burns could have won on either of them. As it was with Hand-press driving and staggering and apparently all out. he got within reach of the leaders at the head of the stretch and from there home Burns fairly lifted the Schorr horse. In the last fifty yards Handpress drew up alongside of Sam Fullen and both horses, strained to the utmost, staggered toward the wire on almosteven terms. Sam Fullen had about a half head the better of the argument up to within twenty or thirty feet of the winning line, but in the last stride or two the horses got to biting each other, and as Sam Fullen had to turn his head back a trifle to snap at Handpress, he got the worst of a close decision, and Handpress number was hung out. Besides riding and winning with Handpress. Burns had another mount on Silverdale. and he won with this colt with ease. It was a five furlong dash, and Silverdale had Garry Hermann to beat. Burns got him off in front, and the colt was never again headed. There seems to be more close finishes at Hawthorne than anywhere else, and besides the hair-line victory of Handpress there was a close decision for the judges to make in separating " Hermoso and Bangle in the second race. This | pair flashed under the wire on about even terms, but in an instant up went number seven, Hermosos number, and not a murmur was heard. Bangle was the l etting choice, but he seemed to sulk a trifle in the stretch and was none too vigorously ridden. The steeplechase was a soft thing for Chenier, who was worsted a trifle at the start, but was ridden to perfection and won away off by himself. Prince Blazes, long overdue and at a favorites price, finally dropped into a place where all conditions, in the way of track and distance, suited him, and with Bradford up the Prince just "rolled home." Tom Barrett thought his colt Barrack would win the last race and did not hesitate to tell all that asked or ran across him so. The consequence was that Barrack was made favorite and he won rather handily from Miss Shanley. On Friday G. B. Morris, with about a dozen runners, will arrive at Hawthorne.
