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: 1 I • • ■ • , i ; 1 r - t I f • ! r II y at r n FALSETTOS ONLY FAILURE STORY 0E THE KENTUCKY DERBY IN WHICH HE WAS BEATEN BY LORD MURPHY. Then Went East and Defeated Spendthrift in Two Great Races ar.d Later On Was a Successful Sire. Louisville. Ky.. March IS. — The Kentucky Derby of 187! marked the only defeat of the brilliant race horse Falsetto, the greatest son of Enquirer and one of the shining stars of the then fashionable Leamington tribe. Previous to his start in the Churchill Downs race. Falsetto had won his first three-year-old race, the victory being scored in the Rhoenix Hotel Stakes at Lexington, this start being his first appearance under colors, as he was not raced at all as a two-year-old. The Derby of ls7!t had nine starters and was run on Tuesday. May 29. Ford Murphy, having won early in the spring at Nashville and raced well as a two-year-old in 1S7S. was the favorite, selling in the auction pool- tor 09, to s77 for Btrathmore; i for Trinidad: .*4S for Falsetto; 845 for Ada Glenn and 0 for the field, which was composed, of One Dime, General like, Rucktie and Wis-sahickon. Fike as in a number of these great contests. Lord Murphy went to the front at once and. withstanding every effort to head him. led all the way. but barely won from Falsetto in a furious drive, the latter having overcome a lot of interference in tin- early purl of the race. Strathmore made a Strong effort for the stake in the early part of the running and tired in the homestretch, but landed finally in third place. The race was a mile and a half and the time 2:37. being the fastest Kentucky Derby over this route until in 1888, whan Ren Ali set the Derby record at 2:3ti.j. Ford Murphy ran the first mile of the race in 1:45, the pace being a well rated one throughout. The summary of the Kentucky Derby of 1S79 is given in full below: Ceo. W. Burden ,- 0o.*a br. e, Ford Murphy, bv Fat MaUoy— Winona, by apt. Flgee. 198 pounds Shaner 1 J. W. Hunt Reynolds b. c. Falsetto, bv Enquirer Farfaletta. 100 pounds Murphy 2 Coo. Cadwalladers b. e, Strathmore, by Waver- ley — Rrenna. 100 pounds Hlghtower 3 D. Swigerts br. -. Trinidad, bv Australian— Ronnet. 100 pounds Allen 4 Ceo. W. Bowens ch. c. One Dime, by Wanderer — dam by Scythian. KM pounds Jones 5 A. Rufords h. c. Jen. Pike, by I,ongfollow— Nannie McNairv. 196 pounds Stovall II. W. Farris ch. c. Rucktie. by Ruckden— Tick, 109 pounds Kdwards 7 II. R. McGrUths br. f. Wissahickou. by Leamington Sarong Hawkins S C. D. Wilsons ch. f. Ada Glenn, by Jleiielg — Catina. 07 pounds Brown 9 Time. 2:37. The winner was trained by Ceo. IF Rice, and Bhaner, who rode him. was a jockey of German descent and a noted rider of those days. Ford Murphy in the fall at the Downs came out and won the St. Leger at two miles in 3:34 and was then sold to the late James R. Keene for .sit. 000. lie was sent to Baltimore by Keene to run in the Dixie Stakes, but was defeated by Monitor in that event. Keene sent him to England to race as a four-year-old. but he did nothing of note in that land and his fame as a racer really rests on his winning of the Derby and St. Feger at the Downs. After his defeat in the Derby. Falsetto won the Clark Stakes and then was taken to Saratoga, where in both the Travers and Kenner Stakes he defeated the mighty Spendthrift. He was then purchased by the late P. Forillard for 110,999 and also sent to England, where he never raced, breaking down in his preparation as a four-year-old. It is related that his trials in England amazed the trainers of that country and to this day it is a question if a better American-bred horse ever cantered over Newmarket heath. Being returned to this countrty. he first did stud duty at Rancocas Stud in New Jersey, where he sired the great Dew Drop when he was six rears old and Rupert when he was a five-year-old. At the breaking up of the then Rancocas Stud he was purchased by A. J. Alexander of Woodburu Farm in this state and at that place got many fam- mis horses, Including the Derby winners Chant and His Eminence and such other cracks as Iatron. Bright Phoebus, Gascon, Kenwood. Farrier and Pordham. When Mr. Alexander died and the Wood-burn Stud was dispersed, falsetto was purchased by George .1. Long and at Bashfotd Manor still further Increased his fame as a sire. He got there The Picket, winner of the American Derby and Brooklyn Handicap, when he was thenty -three years old and Sir Huon. winner of the Kentucky and Fa-tooia Derby a, when he was twenty -six years old. Strathmore. which ran third to Ford Murphy and Falsetto in the Derby of lS7i. proved a brilliant sire, getting the American Derby winner Strath- nieatli. which won 14,958 on the turf, and such Other good racers as Damien. Monrovia. Captive. Siiisun. Strathreel and Strathflower. Of the other beaten horses of the Derby that ynna One Dime. Con. Fike. Ada Glenn and Rucktie became the most distinguish! d. all proving later on that they possessed high racing qualities, which made them worthy of being Derby starters. There wen forty-six nominations to the Ken tucky Derby of 1S7! and the race was worth tS.530 net to tlie winner. Ford Murphy was bred in Ten- nessee and sold as a yearling for 8490. The meeting at Chin- hill Dow 11s that spring was of seven racing days. Time ami fame have surely dealt generously with the track over which Ford Murphy and Falsetto fought out their great race in ls7i. In all the nun and downs of the turf since Churchill Downs opened in 1s7r, every year the Derby has been run. List year the soil of Epsom in England, where the Derby there has been run for more than a century, for the first time was not disturbed by the roll of the feet of Derby contestants. So at last the Kentucky race is now the oldest Derby which has to date enjoyed an unbroken history. It should be greater this year than ever, with .1 field to come from the great array of entries which have just been made public by Secretary Apple-t gate and its 810,999 in added money will make its value far in excess of the sum Lord Murphy took when he won the event in 1879.
