One of the Chief Contenders for Championship Honors in the Three-Year-Old Division, Daily Racing Form, 1917-08-17

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f ONE OF THE CHIEF CONTENDERS FOR CHAMPIONSHIP HONORS IN THE THREE-YEAR-OLD DIVISION , it is one of the undecided turf problems of the i day whether Hourless or Omar Khayyam is the better three-year-old. Maybe the matter will be settled in the Travers Stakes next Saturday. Both are superb creatures, and representative of the best breeding of France iind England. On the occasion of their only meeting this year, in the Brooklyn Derby July 11, Omar Khayyam was the victor, while Hour-less was last in a field of four. On the basis of that race, the adherents of Omar Khayyam have the best of arguments concerning the respective merits of the two colts. However, it is claimed for Hourless that the going that day was detrimental to his chances, and that on a. fast track he will redeem himself. Of that avc shall know more presently. Hourless was bred in Franco and brought over by Mr. Belmont when a yearling. His sire, Nego-fol. a grandson of St." Simon, was a capital racer and good winner for his owner, W. IC Vanderbilt. As a two-year-old he won the Prix dHoulgatc at the Deauville meeting and the Prix de Seine-et-Oise at Maisons Laffitte. At three he won the French Derby Prix du Jockey Club of 1909 from eighteen of the best three-year-olds in France, the race being worth 193,900 francs to the winner. He also won the less valuable but important Prix de Fontainbleu and Prix de Guiche. He did not race as a four-year-old. The dam of Hourless was bred .in this country by Mr. Belmont mid sent over to England and from there to France, where her mating with Negofol brought about the being of Hourless. This good colt made an auspicious! start in racing at Belmont Park May 27, 1916, the occasion selected for his debut being iu the fortieth running of the Juvenile Stakes at five-eighths of a mile straight. For tiiis Mr. James Butler furnished the favorite in his coupled entry. Ivory Black and Breeze. They were at 8 to 5, while Hourless was a neglected outsider at 15 to 1. Interfered with at the start, he was in the rear division ;!or mpre than half the ivay, but came through the .stretch with a grand rush and won going- away by a length, with Ivory Black second and Julialeon third. The result was as little expected by trainer Sam Hildreth as it was by the general public.. It was followed by three defeats before he won again. Runs Unplaced in ""Great". American Stakes"." At Aqueduct July 1 he ran unplaced to Campfire, Ivory Black- and Ticket in the Great American Stakes, but he was nlways pocketed and unable to get out. At the same track July 8 he finished j third to Ticket and Stargazer in the Tremont Stakes at three-quarters of a mile in 1:13. He had up 127 pounds, to 107 on each of the two ,. leaders and ran a good race. In the Saratoga Special, at Saratoga August 12, he finished third to Campfire and Tom McTaggart at three-quarters , in 1:13 f beaten two and a half lengths. The 7 to 10 favorites, Tumbler and Hard Cash, ; were badly beaten. His next race brought a victory. This was in the Grand Union Hotel-Stakes at three-quarters of a mile. He carried 125 pounds and was opposed by Rickety, 11! pounds; Tom McTaggart, 125; Nashville, 110; Mida, 107; Omar Khayyam, 110, and Achilles, 107. Running the distance in 1:12, he won with ease by two and a half lengths from Rickety and at once advanced in public estimation. At Belmont Park September 11 he took up 127 pounds and finished first in the Nursery Handicap at three-quarters of a mile over the main course, but was disqualified for fouling. This was a bit of bad luck, but the colt ran a grand race and covered the distance in 1:11. The other starters and weights were: Straight Forward, 105 pounds; Vivid, 110, and Koh-i-Noor, 108, Stralcht Forward being awarded the race. At Havre de Grace heptembor 30, carrying 127 pounds, and giving I lumps of weight to everything else in the race, he J defeated eleven opponents and won the Eastern shore Handicap at three-quarters of a mile in i ; 1:14. The track was slow and he won pulling up i by five lengths, with his stable mate Woodtrap i second and Wistful third. His campaign as a ; two-year-old terminated at Laurel October 7, when ; lie won the Annapolis Stakes at three-quarters of " 1 , ,3 with 125 pounds up. Fairv Wand. 10 pounds, was second, and Yankee Witch, , iv : . ,,d: Woodtrap, Tom McTaggart, Bonnie ! W itch. Friendless and Ticket ran unplaced. He ! won by five lenghts and went into winter quarters 1 with a reputation but little if any inferior to thaf . of Campfire. Hourless wintered in robust health and entered I training last spring a magnificent specimen of the : high-class young thoroughbred. Training favorably, he made his re-apnearance in racing in the Withers i Stakes at Belmont Park June 2. All carried 118 1 j pounds, his opponents being Rickety, Skeptic, Camp-! fire and Ballad. Reverting to the form of 1916, j Campfire went to the post an odds-on favorite at 13 to 20, Hourless being second choice at 13 to 5. Campfire ran poorly in comparison with what was ; expected from him, but Hourless raced into the lead in the homestretch and, outstaying Rickety in a closely contested finish, won by a half length, with Skeptic only a head behind Rickety. The i mile was covered in 1:39 over a dull track. The result Was stunning to the confident backers of Campfire. Hangs Up New Record in Bolmont Stakes. He raced no more until the Belmont Stakes came on for decision on the last day of the Belmont Park meeting. With only Skeptic and Wonderful to- oppose him coupled with glowing reports of his improvement since winning the Withers, he went to the post a red-hot favorite, at 1 to 4. This he justified by winning all the way and covering the mile and three-eighths of the race in the new track record time of 2:175, pretty fast going with 120 pounds up. He beat Skeptic by ten lengths with Wonderful far down the homestretch, but doing the Itest he could. At Jamaica June 23, he took up 130 pounds and won the Southampton Handicap at a mile and a sixteenth in 1:45 in a canter. The gpod gelding Corn Tassel, with 120 up, was second, Bella Desmond, carrying 101"., including overweight, was - third, Lucius and Brooklyn ran unplaced. Hourless closed at 1 to 7 in the betting and won pulling up by four lengths. Then came his downfall. Campfire had ran Omar Khayyam to three-quarters of a length in the Prospect Handicap at Aqueduct. Hourless had beaten Campfire badly iu the Withers and won his succeeding two races. Wherefore, when it came to the running of the Brooklyn Derby at Aqueduct July 11, it was deemed good business to back Hourless at odds-on, but it did not work out that way. Omar Khayyam closed at 5 to 1. Recent rainfall had made the track slow. Rickety made the running at a fast pace for the going, but Omar Khayyam tackled him in the last eighth and, in an exciting struggle, won by a neck, witli Ticket third six lengths away. The mile and an eighth of the race was run in l:5iVf and Hourless was a beaten-off last. In general, his defeat was laid to the going, but he had run well in slow going when a two-year-old. It would probably cover the case to say that he simply ran a bad race that day Many a high-class race horse has done the same thing occasionally. Here is what Hourless has done and his interesting pedigree: Yeilr- " MAgc.- Sts. 1st. 2nd. 3rd. Unp. Won 1917 J ! 0 1 14,900 Totals 2 r- . t.; 0 2 3 iHBo" i I Galopin j Vedette St. Simon.1 "j Flying Duchess . , j St. Angela J King Tom I Adeline i: - i , . Wellingtonia J Chattanooga I - 4 l Plaisanterie J Araucnriu Negofoi....... -r - ; : Poctbss Klc Robert the Devil... J Bertram Hoche J I Cast Off j Hermita J J1.1 7 Affection Manoel J Flageolet Nebuleuse J Vestali W o J Navarre J Ventre-St. Gris H cj j Noelie r . t Springfield J St. Albans o - I Sainfoin... J Viridis T Rock Sand.... : fif a - St. Simon j Galopin fs - : -. .:" I Roquebrune " J St. Angela llHour-GIass....-! . ! I St. Marguerite... . Hcrmi rArchiduc.........J T!S?t Hautesse II... J I The Abbess J Atherstone . "j I Convent I Kosicrucian j Beadsman I Hauteur l J Madame Egientine j Hawthorndale f Kettledrum LadyA. Hawthorn


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