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v a, j i t d , ", . ., :. ,1 i i i, f P , l TIMELY GOSSIP FROM KENTUCKY. 1 Cincinnati. O., October 24. The great feature race of the present remarkably successful Latonia meeting is the Latonia Cup. This event is set for j Saturday. November 7, the closing day of tlie meet- -ing. It is the full cup course, two miles and a . .quarter, with ,300 added, and in addition tlie winner will receive as a trophy a beautiful and costly solid silver loviug cup. In itll tlie long history of racing, cup races : throughout the world, have contended with Derbys : for tlrst place in the sport of the turf. It was in : 1872 that two of the greatest American cup races -were run. The year previous Harry Bassett had : become the champion of the liastern turf and : Longfellow had won his way to like distinction in the west. The latter had raced in the east the previous season and won the two big cups at Long , Branch and Saratoga, but he had hot met the great sou of Lexington that .season. There are still at the Latonia track some of tlie old guard that followed racing in the early seventies and in discussing- tlie coming Latoiiia Cup the story of Longfellow and Harry Bassett was revived. Longfellow was owned and trained by the late John Harper, a big land owner of Woodford County. Kentucky. It is perhaps proper to note here that J. S. Hawkins, who is making such a successful campaign at Latonia this fall with Chalmers, HUuk ODay and other horses, is a near relative of this famous old turfman. Harry Bassett was owned by a company of turfmen, but his trainer and part owner was the famous David McDaniel, now long since dead, a Virginia turfman of the old school and the father of the present successful trainers, Henry and Will McDaniel. Never will be forgotten the shipment of Longfellow from Nantura Stock Farm in Kentucky to Long Branch, N. J., to meet Harry Bassett for the first time iu the Monmouth Cup. Tlie special express car was accompanied by his owner, and along the sides of the car were streamers painted ou white cloth with the inscription "Longfellow on his way to meet Harry Bassett." In due time the two great horses came together in the Monmouth Clip. It proved an easy victory for Longfellow, as Harry Bassett had trained oft and failed to run his best race. It was the iirst time he had suffered defeat since his first start a couple of years previous when a two-year-old. His defeat was- costly to his eastern followers as they made him a strong favorite over Loligfellow for the race. The Kcn-tuekiuus were naturally jubliant pver the result. The scene then shifted to Saratoga Springs and the pair met agaiii a little later iu the Saratoga Cup. Perhaps no race ever run in this country will outlive the great contest between these two noted horses on that day at that great track. While i Hairy Bassett won. his victory was a bit dimmed, , owiiig to the fact that after a mile and three-quarters of the two miles and, a quarter had been 1 run, the great brown liorse broke down aiid finish.-d I the ;racc on three legs. While this race made : honors even between the champions,, unbaisod turfmen, - while hailing Harry BaJsett as a great horse, . always contended that Longfellow was the greater. . The defeat of the latter .nearly broke the heart t of old John Harper. While, he: lived for some time j afterward, he never airaiu left Kentucky with any of his horses, nor did he live to appreciate the j record breaking Ten Broeck. also bred at Nantura 1 Farm from one of his noted mares, a stud matron 1 that was a half sister to : Longfellow. The belief - that perhaps Longfellow was a greater horse than Harry Bassett is strengthened by the fact t that iu after years he far outshone the son of Lexington as a sire of superior performers. His s blood is even now prominent in tlie top crosses .of f quite a number of the great horses of the present day. There is a performer in the Latonia Cup 9 this season in Rash, which bears a slight rcsein-i blance to Longfellow. He is not of the heroic pro-,, ,. portions of that mighty horse of the long ago, but t he is- of similar color- and has a facial likeness that 4 might have credited him with being by Longfellow. were he racing when the get of that noted horse 1 was on the turf. The bones of Longfellow rest I at Nantura Farm and above them is a costly lnohu-.. : luent erected by F. B.. Harper, a nephew of old !l Johu Harper, as a tribute to that horse and Ten II Broeck. . When one veteran turfman was recently asked at , I Latonia how he thought Longfellow and Ten II Broeck compared with the cup .horses of today, , he shrugged his shoulders and remarked, "Well, if I had one half as good I should think there e would be little difficulty iu winning the Latonia a Cup." Judging from the way several of the eligibles to 0 the event this season- are at present racing at La- : tonia, it is probable that the event this season will 11 have a big lield and be a keenly contested race. It is now believed - that numerically . the field will 11 ; be greater than any similar field that has. gone to o the . post since the race was revived in 1910.
