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A NOTED GIFT HORSE, Never took ■ gift horse la the mouth. That is an expression among horsemen that was probably uttered In the primitive days of the horse, hue it holds good to this day snd ever will bold good. Many a horse has h.in given away or sold for the proverbial song which has proved a valuable asset to a stable. Ii Is doubtful, however, if ever there n.-ts one which raced hers. If Int i prominence as .inl Elisabeth M„ a , !,. tnnl i ited youngster which practically .ii.l nor. hi,, a home in her i ariy .lav a. Elizabeth M. was foaled In California on the farm of J. B. Haggin, and shipped hen- among oth rs as a yearling lo bo sold. Whoever bought her dl ii.,l vs v earlj that she nas afflicted with some or internal tr nble from which II was iloobl ml If she would recover. All the scientific mctli were applied, hu! thi little rnnl of a Blly dW n.i improve, and .-..n she v .s discarded, sin- gavi si little promise thai in the winter 61 ismi n, , 1000 lJi/aL.-ih M. was on the discarded list. Shi wi -practically the Cinib n 1 i of ibe stable In wl i : h belonged. She hardly had a friend. Many ,, horse man 1. -•!-. ■ • ! her ret mil -!: "!. bis h ad wl " she wa~ offered to bin I .!- her away. N • worth h eding was tl . neral i onclusion. on.- day while the winter snows were being Irv.u around the corners of tl tables al Shi Bay by ■ Bfty-mile wim! and owners ami traiaers had gathereil in tbi m irest hostelry to swsp racing stories some m- Incidentally mentioned t!..;t th ■ man who owned Elizabeth M. was anxious to give h.-i- away. "Bill" Beckett, who had only ow of two horses In his tring, overheard the conver atkm, and. buttoning ap hi- coot, strolled oul : 11 ■ bar r i. rramp in. through snow and slush to the stable of Elizah th M.. he |iersuaded one of the stable bands to hi onl the lilly so thai be might lo..k her over. Surely she wa- a scrawny looking object ! r I race mar.. "So p. .,,r was she." said Beckett In telling the sti.ry. "that it was possible to read • newspaper through hag libs, but she %ya» a Watercress Ally, and i ilwaya had reaped for ■ Watercress, aa matte i •!.■•. ji looked." Waal the matter with her?" nkei Beckett ol tin in, .a wiiii waa leading ket inad. • • li.-.i 11 . boss, 1 ilnimii." answered tin win attendant. "She dean areaa ti do weD at alt She tlmic cat ail or eight qaarta of oats a day. hut the-in"" ahe eats the thinner aha get. She Ilka a man with a Make Inside him." "I heard roar boss mated to give hex away. Is iii.it trae?" asked Beckett. "Yasstr. Boaa tolc me If anybody took a fancy to her i let him lead ber off fore ahe tlio cm oar ! inds. sin- a might niere-diapositioaed filly, kinei aa gentle an aeema a- If ahe waat Ie aajr aooie- in i t ate, hut cant gel oat a aoaad. Brery tlaae ■ bona look al hei he aay: She roaad heah yet* hwhy doal mi cut her loo- aa let her eat aaowl rrin tired feedin ber.1 Then 1 say I tin" a home for h i aucae day. ! o jro want to take her away, boas, aa give ber a boaael she might be a good raci in. in- li ahe ever get oeer what aila her.* "Loan me the halter roa have on her aad Ill take her/* said Beckett, "Ill take a chance feed-bar her, though I havent got any aaore grab in the • ■I boi iii.in would feed a chicken. " After bedding ber down in her new stall. Beckett « nt back to the hotel and wrote a letter to Fred Milihn. a friend ol his in Philadelphia, telling him of the gift .-iii.i declaring bin in with half the Mir .f he woald hay her feed hills. The partnership «:in for 1 and Beckett went to work to try to care the rilly nt her ailment. It was weeks before she 1 1 gan to show eigna of improvement, bat as soon as h. spring sun Itegaa to shine Elisabeth M. began to pick no her ears and show si.uns of life. Soon bke Was strong eaoagh to cany a liht hoy. and she was pari to exercising. Her Improvement and growth were so rapid that loans before the racing teasoa m 1«00 bad started trainers and owners won tiered what autre it was Beckett hail which coald outrun any eolt or Hly on the traiaing grounds. !,.. faster she grew in weight and strength, the ■ • edier she tin aaar Beckett held bia secret as loaar as he coald. He and his partner were preparing for a killing, then beiag little question Elizabeth M. would win :!.•• first time of asking. It was nothing to watch her leel oil a quarter la -■. and aa she tilled out sue lieeasae stronger aad was developing lato a weight c artier. The eventful day came for her Initial start, and on June li;. rami, the was asked to go five-eighths m a tioid ol eighteen horses, One or two of the u i-e bah, the dockers, bad discovered -he was entered and while they did not know her naaae the bad her mark. el. and no i aer had she made her appearand in the paddock than the news was qnick-Ij noised around that Elizabeth i. was the speedy nlly Beckett had in his stable. From 5 to l in the betting she was soon cat to ••three-.* hat the w Ighl of money on the other horses drove her price up again until 4 to 1 coald be obtained at i "st : line When tin race waa started Elizabeth M. could be 1 1 a scampering along behind stach horse- a- Tin Rhymer. Dublin, Competitor and others which later proved good racers. At the bend in 1 1 1 - - track she a i fifth, with Shaw hand riding her in hi- usual intelligent manner. Inst a- ahe was asked to make her mat in the last quartc t sin. made a sodden •■•1 swerve •■ the ootei raO and ber backers -auk In n licit shoe-, for such action usually meant defeat. t. Hut mi fo: BUaabetk at. Shaw atralghteaed bei np il in a niomeiit and soon --tie Was picking up the ie leach - one after 1 lie Other. A sixteenth from hoaae sin- aad i very hoi-" in In the race beaten excepting Dublin, which had b en ■n hanging to lea- for the last three furlongs. "Patsy" •• ! tin was cm Dublin and booting him with all his is might, and the big browa horse seemed to he catching: 1- Elizabeth M. inch hy lack, With bat fifty I yard- to go the ehancea of Dublin winning seemed •d premising, lmt Shaw bad not utilised all the energy he possessed, neither had Elisabeth M.. and • calling upon her tor a supreme effort tike gift mare answered ami Inallj "on the race bj a good d length. after thi- race tin- general public, which knew w tbe history of tin- mare, nicknamed her "Cinderella" •• and .-he became one of t!i" public idol-. Onl three ,. .1 . , - later -he ran again, and was a pronounced ,1 fao-j!e to heal Mica good li ,-- • a; Beau Gallant, 1. Luke Ward and lle twing, and she did it in such ., a master!] way thai it caused John Madden, who then n owned Beau Gallant, to look her aver. William C. Whitney also watched ber cool out in the- paddock. t, Shortly afterward the racing shifted to Graves-end, -- and there Elisabeth M. distinguished herself If to such an extent thai Million and Beckett were ■. asked : put a price on her hy Mr. Whitney, she e waa entered in the Boulevard Handicap. Prior to a going to tbe post for the race Mr. Whitney was is told he coald u-i I the tilly for 313.000. "If -in wins this race today i"u take ber," was a the answer to the proposition. "Shc"ll win It, all right," replied the agent who ,, waa transacting the sale, "ana you can win her • r out if you get enough on her at 2 to B, as she will II ei iy hr.M to ranter to heat her two opponents. Sc irrj and The Puritan." As predicted "Cinderella" simply galloped home in the handicap, carrying 1_! pounds to Scurrys 06. She had hardly palled np before Mr. Whitney aim the agent of Beckett fc Milden were in the secretarys office completing the deal. When tbe check k was nan h-ii over, Bechetl aaid lie did not kuoi whether to cash jt or have- it framed, just to show ,v how a Rift horse could he developed int.. a 5,000 11 article. lie finally decided to cash the check, aa a ho needed the money. The- following year Mr. Whitney decided to send ,1 more homes to England to try to gather a tew of ,, the "-"n.lish rlassi -. and Elizabeth M. was one ol lf the chosen ones s, nt across the ocean. As a three-year-old .. she won races on the English tin!, aa 1 I when sole. brought more than *1o.»mm under the hammer, llet progrn] arc now racing in England, and ,1 while she ha- not yet foaled a Derby winner her .,. si as and alangbteB have woa many stakes and d purses. I lie life of Elisabeth M. in the thoroughbred hooks ••add be made J i read like that of Cinderella" in B fairyland stc ri -. She was practically i he drudge , of her Stable. Sob-sly wanted her. though her hi 1 negro rubber had a kindly feeling for her. Then Be kett c-anie along, as did the. good fairy in the . siorv books, and finally the Infatuated Prince in „ the guise of Mr. WVitney. And BUaabeth M. lived 1 happily ever alter.- .New York Telagrani. ■3
