How Sport Sought to Get Even, Daily Racing Form, 1906-07-25

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HOW SPORT SOUGHT TO GET EVEN. One of the best three-year-olds that ever ran was a horse called Sport. He was a handsome big chestnut, who did not come to his form until late in his two-year-old career. Then he got good, and he swept everything before him. At Bennlngs he did not lose a race and he went into winter quarters considered as good a two-year-old as had developed in the year 1S92. Sport had a good disposition as a two-year-old, and it was surprising, therefore, that when he came to the races as a three-year-old his temper had been soured. He retained all his speed, but never did :i horse have such a pugnacious disposition. This grew op. him until, as a four-year-old, he was the meanest racehorse on the track. He would start in a race, if he got off, run for a quarter of a mile, and then deliberately prop himself and stop, turning around and going the reverse way. He ran only one high-class race that year, finishing third to Ramapo and Banquet in the Suburban. All sorts of tricks were tried to cure him, but Sport never amounted to anything as a racehorse afterward, and was finally killed by his owner in a fit of rage at one of his tantrums. Sports change of disposition was probably due to one of his attendants. One day, while the boy was rubbing Sport, the horse playfully poked his nose into the face of the boy. This he repeated several times, until at last the rubber became angry, and with a vicious swing struck Sport on the nose. In doing so he broke his finger. From that time on Sport was a bad-tempered nag. One day when being taken on the track for a trial he spied the rubber standing on the lawn some distance away. Sport immediately made for him, but the boy saw him coming and knew It was time to disappear.


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1900s/drf1906072501/drf1906072501_1_11
Local Identifier: drf1906072501_1_11
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800