view raw text
HAVANA TRACK STILL HEAVY Queen Margot Wins in Her First Start at Oriental Park. Enyer Bey Defeats King Stalwart in Best Finish of the j Day Fields Small. J Havana. Cuba, December 21. Queen Margot, starting for" the first lime here and running in tlie colors of J. W. Pangle, scored an easy victory at Oriental ilark this afternoon, when she won the fourth race, a dash at five and a half furlongs. Tom Tit tired chasing the winner and was outgamed for second place by Kale. Todays races were run over a deep and heavy track, which improved considerably toward the close of the afternoon. However, it will take a -ouple of days before the track reaches its normal condition. The best finish of the afternoon came with the running of the third race, when Enver Bey came from behind, caught the tiring pacemaker, King Stalwart, in the last twenty yards and beat him a scant length. Prohibition, in this race, ran in Ihe colors of G. C. Mizell, who purchased him yesterday from J. W. Pangle. Merry Jubilee was carried wide in the stretch, which enabled Balfron to win an easy victory in the opening dash. Twinkle Toes was the favorite in the second and simply cantered throughout. Another favorite scored in the fifth race and just as easily as did Twinkle Toes. Small fields went to the post in all the days races and all the winners, with the exception of Enver Bey, had substantial margins at the end. In view of the ideal climatic conditions that have "been prevailing here, it is difficult for the Americans, who are here for the winter in such numbers, to give credence to the reports of the havoc wrought by storms and cold on the other side of the Gulf of Mexico, that have been a feature of the news from the United States of late. Here in Cuba the sun has been shining brightly day after day and the lightest clothing suffices at all times. Nor has the temperature at. any time since the opening of the racing season been in the least oppressive. Men and horses from the United States are thriving under the geninl conditions that make a winter in this locality so agreeable to man and boast and those devotees of racing who have cast their lot with the Cuba-American Jockey Club, count themselves doubly fortunate nowadays upon hearing from friends in less favored localities. LITTLE SICKNESS AMONG HORSES. There is much less sickness among the five hundred horses quartered at Oriental Park, than is ordinarily the case at any race track sheltering an equal number of horses. Aside from shipping sickness, which is encountered at all times and everywhere, even under the most favorable circumstances, there lias been only two cases of sickness among the horses at Oriental Park to date, Arthur Middleton and Dental are the two horses involved. They both have been suffering with catarrhal fever. The first casualty of the season resulted in the death of J. J. Feeneys useful plater First Degree. This horses lungs were" pierced by one of the ribs which were broken when lie fell into a ditch after winning a race on December 11 and he died a few days later, after having seemingly improved. First Degree was a dependable racer and his death robs his owner b a useful racing tool. Assistant starter Frank McGinty, who spent a month at Key West in the interest of the Cuba-American Jockey Club, assisting racing men in getting their horses across to Cuba and otherwise making himself helpful to Americans coming here to enjoy the racing, lias reported to starter Milton and taken tip his regular duties. McGinty is a capable starter himself and when the press of other duties keeps Mr. Milton, who fills the dual role of starter and assistant manager at Oriental Park, away from the barrier occasionally, the task of starting is temporarily delegated to McGinty. Battle Abbey, Sandel, Mother Machree, Frank Keogh, King of the Scarlets. Elizabeth II., White Crown, Little Nephew, Cardome. Old Den, Chatterbox, Cousin Dan, Margaret L., Two Royals, Golden Soldier, Beau of Menlo, Sallie ODay, Milton Campbell, Sol Mintz, Nonesuch, Pinafore II., and Fielder II.. are among the most recent arrivals of horses. T. B. Munford, who will train the horses of Cooper Bros., lias arrived from his home in Texas. Muufords most notable success as a trainer was achieved with the good mare Meadow, which he developed and trained for Wade McLemore, a Texas breeder. Jockeys A. Collins and J. Pitz are among the recent arrivals. The former will ride for W. F. Martin, while Pitz is to ride as a free lance. W. F. Schnlte, who is connected with Oriental Park in an official capacity, has received the unwelcome tidings of the death of the yearling filly by Boots and Saddle Lyrist at his Argyle Stud, at Louisville, Ky.
