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JOHN JACOB ASTORS TRAGIC DEATH A LOSS TO THE AMERICAN TURF New York April IS From the standpoint of racing one of the regrettable things connected with the terrible Titanic disaster is that when John Jacob Astor went down there was lost to the turf a staunch friend one who was expected to take an active part at least in amateur racing and later on when the sport comes in again to its own as it must before long he was expected to become a leading breeder and owner of race horses as his father was before him What this would have meant to the racing interests you can sum up for yourself But it is a sure thing that if he had lived Mr Astor would have gone much farther than the late William Astor in his pursuit of the turf and thereby would have done much public service because he would have lMgun by extensive pur ¬ chases of tho best English stock and anyone who chooses to devote a little thought to the matter knows that the importation of even one stallion may mean the enrichment of a country to the extentof untold millions as witness the cases of Diomed the first Derby winner Messenger the fountainhead of all that is great In trotting Glencoe which the English tried in vain to repurchase after he had begun to prove how groat a sire he was Leam ¬ ington from which have decended In about forty years hundreds of great horses Eclipse not the first of that name but the ancestor of Domino and all that have come from that famous stallion and many others othersAny Any man who is interested in the forthcoming Kentucky Derby must have read In various articles in connection with that famous stake now the oldest in America that has been run continuously the brief references to its early winners and have seen that in the second year of Its existence it was won by Vagrant a bay or muddy brown gelding purchased by William Astor and the subsequent winner in that now historic race then run 1S70 for its second year The first winner had been the red horse Aristides son of Leamington named by his owner Henry Price MeGrath after Aristides Welch tha owner of Leamington and the fortunate possessor of the famous stud farm in Pennsylvania Chestnut Hill at which was foaled Iroquois the only American horse that has yet won the Epsom Derby and Parole the famous gelding which in 1870 aroused the English racing public to the fact that good horses were being bred in America AmericaSo So well pleased was Mr Astor with Vagrants successes that after Mr Swigerts Baden Baden won the Kentucky Derby of 1877 Colonel Bruce acting for Mr Astor purchased the son of Aus ¬ tralian for 12500 at that time a high figure and the colt was brought on to race in the two great events of that period the Trnvcrs and Kenuer Stakes The first of these he won but in the sec ¬ ond by au unfortunate effort of the starter D J Crouse Baden Baden was nearly left at the post and In trying to overcome the great gap of daylight which intervened the horse broke down He went to the stud at Mr Astors place on the Hudson known as Iorncliffe and a few years later with the rest of the stud was sold at auction Among the horses sold was a colt called Ferncliffe by Leamington purchased by A II Cridge a well known bookmaker of that period whose partner was big Mike Murray W It Babcock was the trainer for Cridge Co and in his hands Forn cliffe won the Withers Stakes at Jerome Park with George Lorillards Grenada second The latter finished nearest to the judges and the verdict was disputed by the public Judge A C Monson one of the founders of the American Jockey Club and D D Withers were two of the judges at that time Both were men of experience as they were constantly on duty Later on Ferncliffe was bitten by a snake and I saw him with one hind leg frightfully swollen from its effects Jacob Pincus trained for Mr Astor when he was racing racingJohn John Jacob Astor was at that time a lad of six ¬ teen hut liked outdoor life and sports There is no question judging from the personal attention that he gave affairs of the National Steeplechase and Hunt Association and the Turf aud Field Club but that be would liave been prominent as an owner in due time H is recalled that Waldorf Astor son of his cousin William Waldorf Astor has been racing en a modest scale in England for several years It is a fact also that a few years ago when James B Haggiu sold off the Rancho del Paso Stud in order to settle a partnership that Waldorf Astor sent an agent to the sale and secured a mare whose Individuality did not impress on ¬ lookers but whose pedigree was superb This was a uiare called Irony or Ironic and 1 have often wondered since If her purchaser was repaid for ills enterprise The Incident reminded me of the ex ¬ pense which the late W C Whitney Incurred when he sent to California twelve years ago the late John Hanning to buy from Edward Corrigan the mare Daisy F HO that she could be mated in due timo with Hamburg Mr Whitney desired particularly tin blood which Daisy F represented and this caused him also to lease Hi Icy from Mr Corrigan Mated with Hamburg Hurly Burly by Riley produced In Burgomaster a firstclass race horse and he In turn begot in Flanders now In England a colt which English turf writers speak highly of and which may be dangerous In any com ¬ pany this Kvawiii when JIH a threeyearold he will have his Klfctigth Joyner told UK in January last that Klniuleni wax 11 goodlooking colt and with tlie Inginning if tin more pretentious meet ¬ ings I am hoping hear of the colts success in some valuable ruwH ruwHAside Aside fridii tin lox of Mr Astftr to the turf other wellknown racing and hunting men are at this writing KtippoHid in be lost Thoy are George D Widener ll iiifiil Moore and James Clinch Smith All wen freijuenters of the various hunt meetings H WIIH at Lynnbrook near Philadelphia the residence of Mr Widener that the remarkably successful hunt meeting took place In September last at which some XJO persons were guests of the owner of the place So successful was that meeting that I had some hopes that before H P Whitney sent to England this year another batch of twoyonrolds we might be invited to a private inspection of them at which trials of speed might bo a feature for the pleasure of Mr Whitneys guests Something of the same nature as General Sanford and his son John were in the habit of doing at Hurricana about a month before the Saratoga seasons began and at which all the best horses at the placo were raced against each other otherThus Thus far no one has suggested such a thing to Mr Whitney but I feel certain that so sportsman ¬ like a man would quickly accept the suggestion but for the fear which he might have that he was seeking notoriety If he could only be got to look at It from this point of view to wit that when those twoyearolds go to England in all probability they will never again be seen in America even if racing is resumed in New York for the reason that the inferior ones will be weeded out and sold for what they will fetch as has been the case with Mr Whitneys horses for the past three years in England and the better ones may be relegated to an English or French stud farm and may never return to their native land Now it is almost cer ¬ tain that in this lot soon to be shipped abroad there are potential stake winners perhaps the winner of a Derby St Leger or an Oaks and if that should prove true those of us still loyal to tlu horse would like to carry in our minds eyes the individualities of those destined perhaps to turf immortality At lied Bank there Is a halfmile track and a stand and Mr Whitney could limit his invitations to about 300 If he saw fit to accept the suggestion which is hereby made with all due respect and with no intention to become busy with another mans property propertyW W K Vanderbilt begins the racing season in France with a great misfortune In the fact that his cnick colt Montrose II has been operated on for some obstruction in the throat and tracheatomy has been resorted to This was found advisable after his second defeat this was on April 4 when both his owner aud trainer felt sure that something was wrong with him after he quit suddenly This was the race wou by Shannon I have scon horses with the silver tubes in their necks but never knew one to be able to run far They have been able to sprint however The financial loss to Mr Vanderbilt by the practical disqualification of this colt from all pretensions to classic honors cannot be easily estimated It was claimed not long ago by French turf writers that it was possible for Montrose II to win all three of the most famous classics for which ho was entered the French Derby the Epsom Derby and the Grand Prix These three states alone will be worth 140000 to the winners Then there is a long list of other races which as the best twoyearold of last year the colt was naturally deemed to have a stout claim on None of these can he be now relied upou to win However this does not lessen the conviction that Shannon his conqueror Is a vastly improved colt for though he beat the afflicted Montrose II by a length In their meeting both these colts beat the third ihprse half a dozen lengths To show how Shannon has improved I may say that I have in front of me a handicap made by a French expert at the close of last years racing In this list he puts Montrose II on top with 13o pounds while fourteenth on this list is Shannon with 115 pounds or eighteen pounds below Moulroso II In their nice on April 4 Moutrose II and Shannon met on even terms on the other hand improvement is possible with others in Mr Vanderbilts stable His filly Sightly for instance has come out in fine form ami has won in such style as to cause the turf writers to say that she will win stakes not only for fillies but Is dangerous In races for colts as well Yet in the handicap based on last years running Sightly is in at 1OS pounds or twentyfive ouuds below Montrose II William hike Is training fiftytwo horses this year for Mr Vanderbilt of which many are out or wellknown American mares which dropped their foals in France and others are descendants directly or in the second remove from that baud of twentyfive mares pur ¬ chased by Mr Vanderbilt from the late Pierre Lorillard in IXKi ONeill i doing the riding of tliee horses horsesThere There ure encountered now and then in sporting circles men so far above the mercenary that they arouse sincere admiration Such surely are Gen Stephen Sanford and his sou John At Hurricana Stud they own a collection of choice stallions and mares and have bred many good racers They spent money like water in the flush times of thu turf Importing costly stallions paying unprece ¬ dented prices for mares like La Tosca and Viola and in other ways testifying to their deep interest in the turf For more than twenty years they have been breeding and racing their own horses but General Sanford could not be made to let his horses leave his farm each year until Saratoga racing be ¬ gan Then their frequent successes set the vast grandstand ablaze with enthusiasm and dailv the veteran sK rtsman held levees in his box at the course The monetary end was tho last thing he thought of for frequently at the close of the Sara ¬ toga season he would order the horses back to the farm there to remain for another year Occasionally of late this rule was broken and New Yorkers had the pleasure of seeing the purple and gold on metropolitan tracks When Mohawk H was a two yearold in 1905 he was regarded as the most likely colt to win the Futurity but he went lame shortly before the race while the Saratoga season was still on and the hopes of this fine old owner were blasted Red fern had been engaged to ride Mohawk II and when his case was hoiieless the then famous rider was snapped up by Tom Welch to ride Orinondale for Mr Macdonough You all know the result how Orinondale won and helped to shed renewed lustre on his famous sire Ormonde Redfem had better fortune hi this race than he had the year before when his mount Sysonby was drawn on the extreme outside of the big field that started and how Mr Keene declared this helped to lieat the great colt Foxhall Keene told me recently by the way that there is much criticism of the English turfman Mr Musker who has named a Melton colt Sysonby Both the original Sysonby and the present one were by Melton aud Mr Mus kors taste has been questioned under the circum ¬ stances The present Sysonby is far inferior to the American colt coltGeneral General Sanford recently sent me a list of his horses in training for 112 In his letter the fear in expressed that as there may be no racing at Saratoga this year these horses will not be raced at all This would be a great pity No doubt they will bo sold as were General Saufords last year In the present scarcity of horses they should be in demand JOSEPH J BURKE
