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G T o of t o of 1 1 it r rj a a 1 a c J j I t , J , J i ! ; - i s ; ! i i ; t 3 - r 1 7 - . r 3 i. y :; . - e GEORGE C. BENNETT PROUD OF HIS HORSES, f. Tells of the "Kidding" of Tom Stevens and Tom McDowell When He Began Breeding. I Goorge C. Bennett, the Memphis turfman, owner Dishabille and Ethon, is pardonably elated over the excellent performances of those two products his own breeding establishment. He also boasts that he "has something on" some breeders who hail from the Blue Grass region, particularly Tom Stevens and Tom McDowell. This Is how he told to the Morning Telegraph at Saratoga Saturday: "Why, those fellows made all kinds of fun of me and my farm when I began breeding. That old Tom Stevens said I was trying to raise horses on T sandbar to win stakes and pnrses fjomKentucky- b bred horses. And that doggone Tom McDowell told f people that every time a spear of grass made its f appearance on my farm I made a nigger hurry and P chain it down so that a little high water from the Mississippi wouldnt wash it away. "Neither has anything on me just now. I think have a shade on them. While Tom Stevens la f racing his blue grass horses away out In the bushes s at Seattle and other points In the Puget Sound 1 country, my sandbar nags are performing in swell t company and winning swell races. As for Tom f McDowell, lie is here with a stable, but has no t horses that he dare start against that little four- r year-old Dishabille nor a two-year-old that he will r stack up against my colt Ethon. Of course he knows t that my mare won the Merchants Handicap and f carried - 120 ponnds, but for fear he will try to i forget it I would like to refresh his memory by t calling attention to the fact that on the fourth of t July at Sneepshead Bay Ethon won the Spring t Stakes and Dishabille the Long Island Handicap; t and folks tell me they finished like horses that had 1 something to eat while growing. i "But the fun poked at me by Stevens and Mc- -Dowell was not all that happened ,to me when I .1 became a breeder. My trainer actually quit me t when I said I would buy no more yearlings, but a depend on the produce of my own mares. That was 1 the reason why Henry McDaniel, as nice a fellow i as anybody would want to know, a good judge of a 1 racehorse and a first-class man in charge of a stable, left my employ. He was not pleased with my i youngsters as yearlings, and actually disliked them as two-year-olds. Dishabille was so little and ran i so poorly In her trials that Henry declared her out 1 of all her engagements. s "Mickey Shannon developed Dishabille. I sent i him to St. Louis with nine horses to race and to 1 sell if possible, and she was one of the lot. He took a fancy to her directly after he got charge of her and didnt start her until the middle of July, i She hadnt been racing long before she was recognized as a good filly. Mickey was authorized to i sell her, but he wouldnt do it. I let. him have his own way and am glad I did. Whenever she starts Mickey will have a bet on her. He thinks she is the greatest mare in the world. "My farm is located in Shelby County, Tennessee, twelve miles from Memphis. It contains 1,120 acres and last year I had enough pasture for 500 horses. We have in that section a clover that beats any grass of which I know. We dont have to cultivate. , it. All that Is necessary to get a bountiful crop is to cut it and let It grow again. And when It is made into hay horses will leave any blue grass that ever was seen and go after it. "It is called lespedeza. We dont know where it came from, but some old residents of the vicinity claim it was brought there by the Yankees during the civil war. The United States Agricultural De- partment has sent agents there to study the nature of it and to analyze it, and they reported that it contains more nutriment than any grass. So you can understand that my horses are not likely to suffer for want of food. "My stud is comprised of five stallions and tklrty- five mares. The stallions are Kings Counsel sire of Dishabille, Intrusive, Abe Frank, Sam Phillips and Lucky Dog. Kings Counsel was imported iu utero, his dam, Dazzling Light, being in foal to Queens Counsel when she was brought here from England. Charles Head Smith, of Chicago, paid ,700 for him as a yearling. He showed fast trials and promised to be a good racehorse, but broke down before he could demonstrate his class. In the stud he has made good as the sire of Dishabille. If Ethon does as well as I expect him to, people will bave some respect for Intrusive as a sire. Any- how, I guess the produce of my farm will be able to hold its own against anything Tom Stevens or Tom McDowell will bring to the races." Mickey Shannon, who left for Lexington Saturday with Bob Tuckers yearlings, said Mr. Bennett Is right. "Dishabille is the greatest mare in the country. When I took her to St. Louis he priced her at 00. Barney Schreiber offered me ,500 for her and didnt get her. I was sure she was a good filly and thats why she continues to carry the green, white diamonds."
