view raw text
AT HAWTHOKNE AGAIN. After a two weeks let-up racing was resumed at Hawthorne yesterday and as an opening attraction was presented tbe Olympia Stakes. Those who journeyed to the handsome Cicero course expecting to find the track a mass of sticky mud were agreeably surprised to see dust flying when the horsee were warming up for the first race. The crowd in attendance was a large one, but somewhat smaller than was expected, but bookmakers, despite the rumor that they were going to bolt if the price for "drawing in" was not reduced, were on hand in full force, twenty-eight regular knights of the chalk taking their places for three days. Besides these twenty-eight regular odds layers there were two field books and a combination. There was but one cloBe finish, and in fact hardly anything sensational from a spectacular standpoint took place. The only feature that caused comment after the day was over was the scarcity of winning favorites, but one of the talent"s selections survived and that was P. Dunnes Silurian. The field in the stake race, which was at one mile, was quite evenly balanced and consequently a liberal price was offered against any one of the eight starters. Eva Rice was tbe choice at the close of the betting at 24 to 1, while all the way from 4 to 1 up to 10 to 1 could be had against any of the others and each was heavily backed. The race being at one mile of necessity led to the horses being started from directly in front of the stand and when starter Holtmau made his appearance "on his perch," he was given a royal reception. His work has won for him maty friends among the race-going people and he i6 perhaps more popular with the crowds than is Mr. Dwyer. but the race-going public is a hard one to pea-e and if Mr. Holtman should happen to make a few bad starts he would probably drop out of favoritism quicker than he jumped in. The start in the Olympia Stakes was a beauty the field of eight going away closely bunched. On the first turn, however, there was a terrific jam everyone but The Unknown and The Lady being badly interfered with. In the mixup Eva Rice and Florizar. the first and second choices respectively, were almost thrown over the fence. After this the race waB always between The Unknown and The Lady, with tbe exception of an instant down the backstretch when Eva Eice bobbed up in second place. The early effort this mare made told on her 6harply. however, and her bid was soon smothered by the leaders. At the head of the stretch Tbe Unknown loomed up three lengths in front and it seemed then that he was going to win away off by himself with the greater* of ease. but about the eighth post Master Tally took a notion to draw bis whip, the result being the colt werved badly, and had he not been far enough in front of the others he certainly would have committed a foul. As it was the youth made pounds the best horse win in a staggering way. where had he vat still he could have won in an impressive manner. Form reversals will happen, but with Prince Blazes it is becoming a disease to be inconsistent. This horse was beaten by a city block the last time he started at Harlem, in the mud, but yesterday he acted like a horEe that bad been stimulated and. furthermore, ran such an improved race over his last one that one would hardly belice that it was the same Prince 3 Blazes. He was always in a good positioa near the front and at no part of the journey did Tany horse have a certainty of out-sprinting him. Macy and Hub Prather both 1 btraightened away for home in front of the 9 Prince but he displayed his usual amount of gameness that he possesses when "meant" and aftc r a terrific drive gained a nose victory over Hub Prather. Macy was a 3 to 5 shot for the race and seemed almost a certainty but he fell by the wayside and finished a distant third. In Silurian P. Dunne has a smashing good two-year-old, and this youngster, poorly ridden by Winkfield, saved the talent from a complete shut-out. He was backed to 11 to 10 in the third race, and after suffering all kinds of bad racing luck, eventually won with great ease. Bengal, from Jake Markleins stable, won the opening four and a half furlong scramble for two-year-olds without an effort, and Lennep. ridden with rare judgment by Kuhn, made a fast lot of sprinters look like "thirty cents" in the second. The third was the Silurian race, the fourth was the stake, but the fifth went to Frangible, who was heavily backed by a select few at the iberal price of 44 to 1. Jockey Marty Bergen was set down for one week by starter Holtman for disobedience of orders at the post. Tully was also debarred from taking outside mounts for one week on the ground of incompetency. Winkfield was fined 5 for a bad ride on The Elk.
