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McCHESNEY MEETS DEFEAT. McChesney was beaten at "Washington Park . yesterday, but that was not the only sensation that the racing produced. Allan-a-Dale , reduced Brigadiers record for a mile from 1:37| to 1:37|, and Rag Tag, a selling plater, ran seven .and a half furlongs in l:32i, thus talcing a shade off the best previous record of 1:32J, made by Dunois. The meeting has already been prolific of great racing and record . breaking performances and promises to , continue producing sensations so long as the , track remains in its present condition. , There are a great many good horses quartered . in and around the city and horses of every - class have undoubtedly been specially prepared . to run for the attractive purses and stakes offered by the club. Of course, every person interested in racing . wishes to know exactly how and why • McChesney was beaten. Many reasons have : been advanced but no entirely satisfactory explanation has been given. In all probability it was the weight he packed that caused his defeat. He carried 134 pounds, and finished second, a length "behind Pat Dunnes good five-year-old gelding, John McGurk, which had only 105 to manage. According to the scale, he conceded .the winner twenty-eight pounds. It certainly was not pace that beat him, for the first mile of the race was run in 1:41, fully a second slower than was expected. The last half occupied 50g, the fifth quarter being traveled in 24| and the last in 26. McChesney began the final quarter with a slight lead and was a clear length ahead when straightened out. Nearing the last furlong he was going easily while his conqueror was under pressure. In the last sixteenth he faltered. That his steadying load caused him to tire and relinquish the lead is the opinion of a majority of observers of the contest. Nevertheless, there may have been other and more potent elements of defeat. Hildreth is a careful and easy as well as successful trainer. He prepared the big son of Macduff for yesterdays handicap, by working him a mile in 1:421. A number of other trainers declared before the race that, in their judgment, the horses work was neither long enough nor strong enough for a Great Western Handicap, and advised their friends to back John McGurk or Little Scout. Another and greater factor in the result may have been a slight cold from which the horse was undoubtedly suffering. He had blood on his nostrils when he returned to the scales and, according to Dominick, who held the reins that guided him, he coughed at least three times while going around the club house turn. And then Dominicks riding did not please many of the horses backers. The fact that he began to work up after going three-quarters of a mile and that he made three moves, one on the backstretch, one on the upper turn and another entering j the homestretch caused much unfavorable ] and somewhat caustic comment. , However, after every possible cause of his failure to win Is considered, the fact re- ] mains that his performance at the weight ; and distance was* the best ever seen in the 1 United States. And, what is more pleasing, i he was looking well and betraying no evi- j •dence of haying had his strength overtaxed when his stall door was closed last night. From a*good start the field of seven went Away racing. At the end of a furlong Ad-kins had taken John McGurk in hand and located him as rear guard. Finishing the first quarter two ranks of three were formed. Lucien Appleby, Flocarline and Flying Tor ] . , . , , , . - . . • j ] , ] ; 1 i j pedo in front and Gold Bell, McChesney and Little Scout an open length behind. Thus they ran down the- stretch the first time. There was no noteworthy change un-, til they were rounding the club house turn, where Flying Torpedo retired to fifth posi-. tion, with Little Scout and John McGurk behind him. As they rounded into the back-, stretch Lucien Appleby showed the way, Flocarline was lapped on him, Gold Bell close third and McChesney a prominent fourth. Directly afterward Gold Bell and McChesney passed Flocarline and drew up to Lucien Appleby. The latter finished the mile with his neck and shoulders in front of Gold Bell, the latter being slightly in ad-[ vance of McChesney. As they began the upper turn Henry sent his mount along once more and did not steady him until a neck in the lead. About the same time Adkins made his first move with John McGurk Sheehan sent Little Scout up when nearing the mile and a quarter mark. Straightening out Chesney sprang into a clear lead. John McGurk, coming fast, took second position and QftTe Scout became lapped on Pat Dunnes representative. Then the race became re-■ duced to a contest between those three, with the leader running easily and the other two under pressure. Little Scout was the first of the trio to yield, which he did a furlong away. John McGurk kept going. A hundred yards from the end McChesney began to come back to him and thereafter he had a comparatively easy task to win. Allan-a-Dale led throughout the first race, which was a duel between him and Savable. The race was actually decided on the back-stretch, where Savable forced the pace and the quarter was run in 23f. At the half-mile ground Allan-a-Dale shook off the three-year-old, but the latter came again on the turn and was less than a length away when the three-quarters were completed in l:12g, the half from the first quarter post being run" in 47§. Allan-a-Dale drew clear again when straightening for home and was not afterward extended. Had Crowhurst sent him along he could have done at least two-fifths of a second better. Savables performance was a grand one. He went back to the stable the freshest horse of the field. John A. Drakes Handsome Florry won the second event, a selling dash of five furlongs, for two-year-olds. She was never headed. Nannie Hodge and Cognomen contested the places and finished as named. Irene Lindsey and LEtrenne were almost equal choices for the fourth race, three-quarters of a mile. Uranium was the pacemaker. The choices hooked up on the Upper turn and Irene Lindsey outspeeded her imported rival and decided the race before entering the stretch. Rag Tags victory in the fifth race was by a head, Orfeo being second a like margin before Mary Glenn. The winner made a strong finish and just got up. Stuyve was plunged upon to win the sixth race. . He was nearly knocked down by Father Wentker shortly after the start and ithen gradually worked his way through the field. Entering the homestretch he slipped into the lead and won very easily. T. J. Gallagher. 1 t - z - a i r t 1 , i I f .. , 4 - - - , | 3 i 1 : [ 1 , . i • i ; ] i
