view raw text
ONE OF THE GREAT HORSES OF OTHER DAYS. Story of Proctor Knott, the Superb Racer, Whicli Brought Sam Bryant Fame and Fortune. In n business sense a good race horse well engaged is a gilt-edged investment. To an owner of moderate means the possession of such a horse results in a speedily acquired competence. The case of Proctor Knott is in point. Sam Bryant had owned various horses prior to acquiring Proctor and had enjoycfd the pleasures attending on winning races and tls disappointment following defeat, but never before had he possessed a racing jewel of the first order. Proctor Knott made the eccentric, good hearted Kentuckian a rich man in two years of running and was a racer to rejoice in. He was a big chestnut gelding by Luke Blackburn Tallapoosa, and a worthy son of that most famous son of Borcnie Scotland. As the winner of the first Futurity his name is familiar to all who are versed in the affairs of the track and it is doubtful if there was ever a more popular horse with the horse-loving Kentuckians. To them it seemed a disaster of uatiomil importance when Spokane defeated him in the Kentucky Derby of 1SS9. Proctor Knott ran his first race in the West Side Stakes at Nashville, April SO, 18SS. The track was slow, the distance five-eighths, aid Proctor won in 1:03 cantering, with Fan King second and Liberty third. Fan King was the favorite and in subsequent years was a noted sprinter. Liberty was a fine Leonatus colt that afterwards won several important stakes. Madstone, afterwards a crack racer over New York tracks, was unplaced. Proctors next start was in the Alexander Stakes at Louisville; distance, five-eighths; track heavy. This he won by eight lengths with Once Again second and Liberty third. Among the unplaced ones was Champagne Charley, which subsequently, that year, won ten races for W. P. Maxwell and was a very fine colt. The time was 1:04. After those two 1 victories he was beaten three times stnight. In the Runnyinede Stakes at the same meeting, distance three-quarters of a mile, he ran unplaced to i The Lioness, Champagne Charley and Outbound. He 1 i was the favorite and ran fourth. In the Harold Stakes at Latonia, he was again unplaced, Once t Again winning with Gymnast second and Hindoo- n craft third. In these two races he was suffering t from a temporary indisposition and a few days t later showed he was regaining his true form when he ran second to Kasson in the Sensation Stakes, f Kasson carried 105 pounds to his 11S and beat him 1 a length in 1:16 for the three-quarlers of the f race. His stable mate Come to Taw, which could i run a bit himself, was third. That was his last r defeat when a two-year-old. From Latonia he was brought to Chicago and at J Washington Park, June 20, won the Kenwood j Stakes at five furlongs over a very heavy track 1 in 1:0G1, with Bootmaker second and Monsoon third. Heron, Once Again and Caliente, all good ones, were in the unplaced division. Then Bryant took him east to fly for high game. He was given plenty of time to become acclimated and was not started until August 11 at Monmouth Park. Here j he made his eastern debut in the rich Junior Champion Stakes. Dwyer Brothers Oregon was the f favorite at 2 1-2 to 1 and Proctor Knott was at j 10 to 1 in the betting. Pike Barnes rode him and taking the lead on the stretch turn the westerner won by three lengths, running the three-quarters in j 1:14 and enriching his owner to the tune of 0,7S5. j The unnamed Sensation Faverdale colt was second t and Fresno third. All carried 115 pounds with the , -usual sex allowances and the unplaced ones were Salvator, Diablo, Oregon, Caliente, Eric, Lady j Marguerite, Tipstaff, Tom Ochiltree Cyclone colt, Sorrento, Verdeur and Reporter. No better field of youngsters ever started in this country, nearly every one here beaten figuring afterwards as win- , ners of important stakes. At Saratoga, August 25, , lie defeated Seymour, Gipsy Queen and Vendetta in , the Equity Stakes at three-quarters of a mile, can- . tering all the way in 1:1.". This was by way of , preparation for taking part in the first running of the Futurity, in which he made his next and last start of the year. Naturally the.instituiion.of sueh-a- rich -event had engaged the attention of horsemen all over the country. Here in Chicago the fast colt Galen had a great following and there "is no doubt he would have won with a good rider up. He had won the Quickstep Stakes at Washington Park and was given a special preparation for the Futurity at that track. The then secretary of the Washington Park Club, John Brewster, took the greatest interest in his training. His trials were of the most sensational order and Mr. Brewster strongly advised sending the colt east in a special car by express and the employment of a crack jockey. But "Uncle Jim" Gray distrusted other riders than his own, Enoch Turner, and stubbornly despising shrewd advice took his colt east in a freight car over the rough Baltimore and Ohio road with the result that he was in a high fever and had to be given a steam bath the night before the race. Under such disadvantages Galen darted into the lead at the start and set the pace to and into the straight stretch, seeming all over the winner. But Turner became rattled and senselessly took the colt diagonally across the track and lost all of four lengths by doing so, the result being that in a desperate drive on the inside Proctor Knott got up and beat Salvator by a half length with Galen a close third on the extreme outside. If ever a race was thrown away by lack of judgment, Jim Gray threw the first Futurity away and thereby gave Sam Bryant the 40,000 that went to the winner of the great race. The starters were: Proctor Knott, 112; Salvator, 10S; Galen, 115; Senorita, 109; Lady Pulsifer, 105; Eric, 115; Auricoma, 112; Forest King, 10S; Princess Bowling, 114; Tipstaff, 115; Philander, 10S; The Lioness, 115; Limbo, 10S, and Village Maid, 105. Proctor Knott was the favorite and the race was run in 1:15 Proctor Knott started his three-year-old career by running second to his stable mate Come to Taw, in the two Thousand Stakes at Nashville, being pulled up to allow the latter to win. Then he met his Waterloo in the Kentucky Derby. The starters were Spokane, Proctor Knott, Once Again, Hindoocraft, Cassius, Sportsman, Outbound and Bootmaker. In the minds of his ardent admirers Proctor Knott was practically invincible and he was sent to the post a 1 to 3 favorite. Pike Barnes was his rider. Tom Kiley rode Spokane. Isaac Murphy was on Once Again and Fred Taral on Cassius, so famous riders were as much in evidence as famous horses. Proctor took the lead at. once and led at a killing pace for a mile and a quarter, but at the head of the stretch Spokane challenged and at the end of a tremendous drive to the finish won by a short head amid indescribable excitement. The Derby was then a dash of a mile and a half and in running it in 2:34J, Spokane cut the record of the race down two and one-half seconds. The two mighty rivals met again in the Clark Stakes five days later and, not believing in the correctness of the Derby winning, Proctor, coupled with Come to Taw, was backed into 1 to 2 favoritism, but this time Spokane settled all doubts by winning decisively by three lengths. The distance was a mile and a quarter; the race was run over a heavy track, and the time was 2:125. At Latonia Proctor Knott ran third in the Him-yar Stakes, won by his stable mate Come to Taw, and was then brought to Chicago to run in the American Derby. lie set the pace for a mile and a quarter, then shortened his stride and finally brought up unplaced to Spokane, Sorrento and Retrieve. In the Sheridan Stakes he at last had bis revenge on his thrice conqueror. Spokane was the favorite at G to 5, but the Kentuckians backed Proctor Knott loyally and recouped some of their previous losses. He carried 115 pounds to 125 on Spokane and taking the lead at the fall of the flag, was never headed and won by two lengths, t n t t f 1 f i r J j 1 with Spokane second and Retrieve third. He won but one more race that year and that was a purse nt Morris Park. His really great career practically terminated with his defeat of Spokane in the Sheridan Stakes. He fell lame and was only started once as a four-year-old and ran unplaced. Careful handling brought him around in a measure so that when a five-year-old he ran fairly well and won several races, but none of great importance. In all his racing record was as follows: Year. Sts. 1st. 2d. 3d. Unp. Amt. 18SS 0 0 1 0 2 SG7.990 1SS! ....0 2 4 1 2 9,500 1800 1 0 0 O 1 1S91 7 3 1 3 0 2.SG0 Total 2G H G 4 5 ,35O
