view raw text
SIDNEY LUCAS AND MAY W. Careers of Two American Horses Sold for Small Sums in England. To those who remember them at the summit of their speed and fame it must seem a shame that such splendid American racers as Sidney Lucas and May W. should be taken back to England and sold for a song. It is distinctly a slur on the patriotism of the wealthy sugar magnate. II. T. Oxnard. that he should have permitted it. Perhaps the paltry return is to be accepted as something in the way of a due revenge for his action. Sidney Lucas was a grand race horse and is too young to have had much chance to make his mark in the stud. It is to be hoped that he will have a chance in England, but it is doubtful if he will. Possessors of choice broodmares there are not given to mating them with 00 stallions. Still, in this country, it would lie deemed worth while in the case of an American Derby winner, especially a horse of such substance and rugged stamina as Sidney Lucas. When a two-year-old he was started in twenty-four races and won nine. All were purse races ami necessarily the. gross of his winnings was no great sum. His most notable achievement was in winning two consecutive races at the Washington fall meeting of 1S99. There the first race Xovemlier 15 was a dash of six and a half furlongs for all ages. With 112 pounds up Sidney Lucas won easily in 1:2.!, with First Whip second and All Gold third. The second race of the day was a live-furlongs sprint for two-year-olds. and. with the same weight, Sidncv Lucas won this also, defeating the swift colt. Ilager-don. Golden Rattle and three others in 1:02. He began as a three-year-old at New Orleans. January 20. 1900. and among his races there won the Oakland Handicap and four purses. From there he went to Washington and won a purse. He was then rested until the Fort Erie meeting began. Here, June 12, he ran unplaced in the Canadian Derby, won by Advance Guard, ran second to Lamp Globe at a mile in 1:401 and was unplaced in another purse race. In this there was little to suggest an American Derby winner, yet he was brought to Chicago and. starting in that famous race as a 20 to 1 outsider, won with James second and the even-liioney favorite. Lieutenant Gibson, thii. Barrack. Advance Guard and Sam Phillips were the other starters. The race was run in 2:401 over a slow track and at the finish Sidney Lucas was six lengths in advance of James. That Washington Park meeting was a glorious one for Sidney Lucas and enriched the Thompson Brothers, his owners. Besides the American Derby the colt won there the Turf Congress Stakes at a mile and three-sixteenths in l:5Sy. carried 11S pounds and defeated such celebrities as The Lady. Serrano, Pink Coat, Potente and Fly by Night, ran second to Jolly Roger in the Great Western Handicap: second to Sam Phillips in the Sheridan Stakes and won three purse races. Then he was taken to Detroit and at Highland Park won the Turf Congress Stakes, defeating Advance Guard. John Yerkes and two more at a mile and a sixteenth in l:4Sl with 129 pounds up. That was his last success as a three-year-old. In 1901 Sidney Lucas won the Flushing Handicap at the Aqueduct spring meeting. Parkway Handicap at Gravesend and a purse at each of these tracks and was then brought out to his old stamping ground at Washington Park. Here lie won two overnight purses in preparation for an effort to take the Wheeler Handicap, but unfortunately fell so lame in his last race that he had to be retired with the following as his record: Sidney Lucas, ch. h. 1897, by Top Gallant Addie C. Year. Age. Sts. 1st. 2d. 3d. Unp. Won. 1S99 2 24 9 5 2 S $ 2,315 1900 ;: 4.-; 12 10 0 ir io.oog 1901 4 20 0 2 5 7 5,430 Totals 3 S7 27 17 13 SO 7,GS1 May W., which sold for the pitiful sum of 5 at the Newmarket December sales, differed widely from Sidney Lucas as a race horse. She was a sprinter throughout her career and a swift one. Her sire. Fagles Plume, was ,a son of Scottish Chief, sent over from England to Calgary and was reported to be the property of the then Prince of Wales, now King Edward. Her dam, Froiia. was a reputed daughter of Faustus, a matter about which there was a controversy of no particular value at one time. Her racing career began in a half-mile dash at Butte. Montana. June .!0, 1S9G, which she won in 49 seconds, with the now-famous Sain second. Except one start at Latonia in the fall, her racing as a two-year-old was exclusively in Montana. Here, at Anaconda, she also began her three-year-old career and won the Anaconda Stakes at a mile in 1:43 and several purses. At Butte she also won and was brought lo Chicago. Her lirst success here was at Harlem. October 10, in a six-furlongs dash in which, at 25 to 1. she defeated the 10 to 7 favorite, Gath, in 1:131. In her next start she was a 10 to 1 outsider and won at seven furlongs from such celebrities of the time as Lieber Karl, Gath, Imp. Irene Woods. Lady Callahan and Paul Griggs, covering the distance in 1:27. Then she beat Abuse. Lady Callahan, Timemaker and Charm at five and one-half furlongs. Her last winning race of the year was at San Francisco. December 24, when, at seven furlongs, she defeated The Roman, Paul Griggs and Rey el Santa Anita in 1:201. People conversant with racing will recognize the fact that in these races she triumphed over horses of wonderful speed. It was a feature of her long career that, when fit, no sprinter was too tieet for her to measure strides with successfully. Unluckily, she was not always fit when raced and lost often when she could have won if carefully prepared. She raced well for seven years, but in purses, so no tale of big winnings can attach to her name. In all. her good record was as follows: May W. 1894, b. m. by Eagles Plume Froiia. Year. Age. Sts. 1st. 2d. 3d. Unp. Won. 1S9G 2 13 7 2 2 2 $ 1,555 1897 3 25 10 10 4 1 4,313 1S9S 4 27 12 7 3 5 4,240 1899 5 12 8 1 2 1 2.320 1900 G 10 4 0 1 5 1,425 1901 7 IS 2 4 4 S 1.735 1902 S 12 3 4 2 3 1.225 Totals 7 Tl7 40 2S 18 25 0,S13
