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BEST AMERICAN PARIS MUTUEL. How Nickajack Ran Away Three Miles and Then Won at Record Odds. In the early days of" Jerome Park, when that famous course was thrown open to the public in 1S!0, James Thompson had a small road house near the old race course, where he provided the best of cheer for man and beast. His patrons included a majority of the track training delegation, and prominent turfmen from all over the country as well. As the Thompson road house prospered, "Jim" bought himself a race horse or two. He secured the Bonnie Scotland mare Lobelia, and won a good many hurdle races and steeplechases with her. Then Thompson bought a couple of two-year-olds, one of which by Rogers Capitola, he called Nickajack. Nickajack was not of much promise as a two-year-old. His owner did not start the youngster that season, wintering the colt among the snow banks at Fordham, and breaking him to harness before a road cart. Thompson and his colt covered many a mile that spring in the vicinity of Jerome Park, up hill and down dale, through snow and icy rivulets, until his legs became as hard as iron, and his entire underpinning toughened and strengthened to a degree. By the time that the fall meeting opened at Jerome Park in 1S72 Nickajack was hard as"nails, and as his track work had been good, owner Thompson set about picking a race for the colt that would offer an opportunity for a "killing." Matters ran along until the next to the last! day of the meeting. A mile and an eighth race, witli liberal handicap allowances, let in Nickajack at 7S pounds, and "Jim" Thompson made up his mind that lie could find no more suitable spot for his colt witli the Indian name. Meanwhile Nickajack had developed a propensity to run away in his work, on one occasion covering two miles and a half before his boy could pull him up; and on another going two miles at his own sweet will regardless of all his jockeys efforts to control him.- In the aucti6n pools sold on the race, John ODon noils four-year-old mare Fanchon, by Australian Idlcwild, was the favorite. Fanchon had won the Manhattan Handicap, a mile and a quarter, from a field of cracks, and other races as well. Pools sold Fanchon, 1907.sh00; Elsie, 70; Eastern Star, 30; Albuera, 00; and the field 05. Nlcka-, jack was never sold as a choice, always being lumped in the field. His owner bought a number of ; "field" pools, calling for close t8 0,000 if they won. AVbcn the post bell rang the auction pools were always closed, so as to give time for final Investments in the mutuels, or "French" pools, as they , were called when introduced in this country from Paris. - Here only five tickets had been sold in Nickajack as the horses gathered at the starting point. Two of these belonged to the owner of "Jim" Thompson, one to his trainer, one to the midget jockey who rode the eolt and the other to the Thompson stable hands, bought by them on equal ,sharcs. There was nearly ,000 In the mutuels as the horses lined up for the start, and as no one wanted Nickajack outside of the family, tickets on the , colt were certain to make a record in niutuel pool values should he win, as up to that time 1907.sh50 for had been the record value for them in this country. 1 As the horses began to break for the start, the f mutuel selling went on in lively fashion, mostly on the favorites, and the totals grew, passing the ,000 mark and mounting rapidly higher. But still no one else wanted to invest even a modest ?." on Nickajack. Suddenly in a breakaway Nickajack did jiot pull up with the others, and in another second he had the bit between his teeth and was coming down the homestretch at a racing pace, his boy powerless to restrain him. Past the stand the colt rushed, and round the course for another full mile, hundreds lining the track fence encouraging the jockey to pull him up. But Nickajack had his running shoes on that day, and his courage was not of the "Dutch" variety either, for "dope" was at that time an undiscovered art, and the "drench" was resorted to but seldom. The colt, as ambitious as when he began his mad burst, kept on for another mile and then another, making three miles in all. Nearing the end of the third mile, Nickajack was finally got under control, and one of the assistant starters led him back to the starting point, where the other horses were waiting to be sent away on their journey. All this time the mutuel pools had been selling steadily, and as Nickajacks runaway ended thb 1907.sh,000 mark had been reached, a total that represented 1,200 mutuel tickets, only five of which wore sold on Nickajack. As the horses straightened out after the drum had tapped, Nickajack went to the front and led by three lengths, passing the stand amid some applause, most of which was ironical, however, as none outside of his owner thought he had a ghost of a show after his runaway and no rest to speak of. At the half-mile the hope of the Thompson stable led by six lengths, with the favorite, Fanchon, second, and her jockey hand-riding her to close on the flying leader. But, although Fanchon shut up half the gap in the run around the south field, she was still three lengths behind Nickajack as the "runaway" reached the three-quarter post. The rest of the race was run amid little excitement, as when it was seen that Niakajack was going to last out, the big crowd was too dazed to do much shouting. Thompsons colt, despite all the efforts of Fanchon, his closest follower, was never reached in the run home, and won by two lengths as easily as if he had not also that three-mile "warm-up" under liis belt. Besides the 0,000 taken out of the auction pools by Thompson, there was over 1907.sh,000 in the mutuels, all of which went to the Nickajack "family," less the per cent commission always deducted by the management. There were only five tickets sold on Nickajack After deducting the commission from the mutuels, there was ,S00 to be divided among the Nickajack tickets, each one of which paid ,178, the largest amount ever paid by a French mutuel in this country. AAashington Star.
