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CAPTAIN WILLIAMS AS JUDGE OF YEARLINGS. Louisville. Ky.. September 21. —In a conversation at Churchill Downs today several horsemen agreed that Capt. .lame.-, X. Williams is undoubtedly one of the liest judges of weanling and yearling thoroughbreds that ever hid off a coll or till v ill a sales ring. Ills lirsi Investment iu this line was iu the early seventies, when be bought Vera Cm at one 0t M. N. S. inf.. Ids sales on the .stale 1 ha I now Is a part Of J. B. Haggina Rlaieudurf Stud. vera Cru* was placed in the Kentucky Derby in IRTO aad won the SI. l.eg.-r in Louisville that fall. About Ihe some time he bought Classmate, a Ally, and another youngster. Spring Branch. They proved t» be stake winners, too. Iu lssii nis purchase was Bob Miles, one . ! the greatest all around, racers ever owned by Captain Williams, though be failed with him iu the Kentucky Derby, in which he ruled as one of the favorites. In 1!SS3 ho was again busy in the yearling market. He picked up a good looking eoll by King Alfonso, which won the Kentucky Derby in 1886. This was Joe Cotton. FoT several years Captain Williams rested and those horses raced by Mm belonged to He older division. In the early nineties, however, he cut in again in the yearling sales market and acquired the noted burse, Glocjtaer. He was ■ racer that will always be recollected, owing to the fa.t that whenever il was muddy the bookmakers rarely figured on the winner. They drew ■ ring around the name of Glockaer. nio.-kner was on the turf a number of Reasons. This kept Captain Williams out of the sal. s ring for several more years. Then he triad again and picked Proof: Header, a good one. The same year he selected Ihil Finch .ami the next season, for 10, be landed Rams Horn, which be aamed after a religious publication. F»r several yean Captain Williams kepi away from tin- yearling sales, but iu the fall of 1808 he concluded thai i he would buy several weanlings. Among the young sters was a colt for whieh he paid 7.".. That eolt is the present Governor Cray, rated by Captain Williams as a 0,000 proposition, Captain Williams never has been guided by pedigrees in buying youngsters, nor has he observed any system iu selecting young racers. Appearance counts in. st with Captain Williams and breeding is about the last thing he depends it|xm. In some respects he has followed the advice IL Eugene Leigh gave a newcomer iu the game. Ixigh told that man to go to Kentucky, pay no more than 00 for a yearling and pay SO aMeiitioii to pedigrees. "Ta*y have been breeding iu that stale for 100 years and the horses are all well bred. Get a good trainer and if you have good success they will say you gee a scoundrel and if you fall they will say yea nr.- a sucker." concluded Leigh. Captain Williams never has permitted himself to Ik- hampered with an extensive stable. As a result the limited number of hones trained by him receive Ins personal attention. Be lias seemingly no method as ■ trainer: that is. he neither la-longs to the old or new school. But his starters are always conditioned and lit when they conn- on the track, ready, as ..hi John Harper used to saw "to run Iron. Bend to read." Captain Williams now is past sixty years of age. but be is alert and able to attend to bis track duties regularly. While be did not have the great Isaac , Murphy under BOW tract, it was on his great horse. Checkmate, that the black Archer earned his tirst reputation as a rider of brilliancy. Never will it be forgotten bow Checkmate, in -1SS2. with Isaac Murphy on his back, defeated the might Hindoo, with James McLaughlin up. Checkmate and Hindoo were marvelous horses. They were ridden by two wonderful riders, but the superior condition of Checkmate, enabled the ana of Glee At hoi to beat the sir- of Hanover. This was proven a few days later when Os two horses ■gaff met !u the Louisville Cup race. This time Hindoo was right and he won.
