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ROAMER AND SALVATOR Merit of Their Record Breaking BreakingPerformances Performances Considered Consideredby by an Expert In the course of an article on the Salvator and Roamer recordbreaking miles Henry A Buck gossips interestingly in the current number of Vanity Fair as follows followsAs As every one interested in racing is aware the tracks of 1891 were by no means as fast as those of today the record mile before Salvators great performance being 139 VI VIi i On careful study Sal ¬ vators performance apitears today even more re ¬ markable than it did when made As to the actual trial itself Matt Byrnes Salvators trainer says tIom positive that had Isaac Murphy Salvators Salvatorsjockey jockey in almost all of his great races been able to ride the horse that day Salvator would have run the mile at least two seconds faster Murphy was suspended that day and at the last minute I had to put up Marty Bergen who was nervous and rode in heavy long stirrups while Murphy always rode up off the saddle in short stirrups more in the modern style styleSpeaking Speaking of his remarkable speed Byrnes added Salvator once worked a mile and a half on a deep track at old Monmouth Park in 233 witii ease I tried to stop him in this work but could not Two days after that work I tried him for speed and lie ran an eighth in ten seconds flat witii two other twiners besides myself timing him Some liorse The Spirit of the Times thus described Salva ¬ tors performance performanceAs As to this great time trial the setting down of the regular stable jockey Isaac Murpliy for drunk ¬ enness caused the general public to think that Mr Haggin would postpone or call off the attempted onslaught on old Father Time Mr Haggin how ¬ ever largely relying upon the judgment of his able trainer Matt Byrnes was keen to have the test made He decided however that instead of carry ¬ ing weight for age 122 pounds the horse should carry 110 pounds the same impost that Ten Broeck carried in his recordbreaking performance of 139 iu 1S77 which for thirteen years remained un e iualed iualedThere There were few frills about the affair Only a careful harrowing of the track about six or eight feet from the rail where the track superin ¬ tendent Van Keiiren drove las buggy between the wheel marks of which Salvatbr was expected to run but as a matter of fact only ran a short por ¬ tion of the distance The stable lad riders on the pacemakers even rode in their shirt sleevfes though this did not prevent them from performing their duty most creditably When Salvator appeared be ¬ fore the grandstand the general opinion was that he was looking a trifle worn after his strenuous Suburban the Tenny match race followed by a hot summer but the way in which he moved caused a rush on the part of the public to back him at 13 to beat the then record of 13914 or as the turf betting records of the day put it at 1 to 3 Salvator 2 to 1 time Even money was quoted against 137 for the mile BIG PLUNGERS LOST ON SALVATOR SALVATORThe The betting was fast and furious thousands being wagered at even by those in the know that Salvator would do the mile in 137 or better The prominent bookmakers of the day Lucius Appleby Davy Johnson Jack MacDonald I S Thompson Joe Cotton and G E Smith better known as Pitts ¬ burgh Phil all now dead except Thompson were badly hit as they were of the type that is willing to take a sporting chance and not like the round book layers so prevalent today todayNamouna Namouna a twoyearold filly sister to Bal larat was the pacemaker for the first half mile while Rosette a threeyearold filly by Joe Hooker Rosa B was stationed at the halfmile post to take up the running at that point Jockey Bergen took Salvator a short distance back of the starting point and then came along to pass the post at top speed Naniouna then leading him by a dozen lengths The near edge of the track had been selected by Byrnes as the going was best there and Bergen kept the horse fighting for bis head as closely as he could on the inside of the course in accordance with his orders The first quarter was run in 23 and by the time the halfmile post was reached in 47 the tw6yearold filly was nearly twenty lengths in the rear rearHere Here the second pacemaker then took Salvator to the threequarters At this point Bergen ap ¬ parently thinking that something more could be gotten out of Salvaor used the whip on him but quickly realized that the liorse was fully extended and doing his best The threequarters was run in iil and witii Rosette still a length in front of him Salvator finished the mile in the marvelous time of 135 The quarters were run in 23 23 24 and 24 seconds 4 seconds was cut off Ten Broecks longstanding record and 3 lopped off Raveloes recordbreaking performance on the same track j Reamers successful effort at Saratoga Springs tins year requires less description The track con ¬ ditions were perfect and wind was so slight that it counted for little or nothing from a time point view There was no pacemaker only a stabla companion called Lightning to give Roamer the idea that there was to be a race Lightning sim ¬ ply started alongside of Roamer and almost im ¬ mediately fell back to permit Roamer to continue liis journey alone Schuttinger the rider of Roamer in many of his previous important races was in the saddle A running start was given to Roamer as to Salvator and the great horse settled down to his work at once running the first quarter in 23 the second in 22 the third in 24 and the fourth and final quarter in 24 or the mile in 1343 1343EOAMERS EOAMERS SPARKLING FIRST QUARTER QUARTERRoamers Roamers first quarter in 23 was surprisingly fast but his second quarter in 22 was a mar ¬ velous performance in itself and was chiefly rer sponsibla for the breaking of Salvators record as the third and fourth of Roamers quarters were slower than Salvators There was little or no wagering on the event as the layers would not bet against Roamer breaking Salvators record nor quote prices on faster time lacking the sporting spirit of their yredecessors in Salvators day Just as iu Salvators case the jockey gave his mount a couple of short cuts with his whip in the last quarter but immediately realized that Roamer was extending himself to his utmost without arty urging urgingAmong Among other curious coincidences connected with these performances the mo3t remarkable is that two threeyearolds had reduced the then existing ihile race records in eacli instance only a few days before the date of trials Raveloe in Salvators day from 139 to 139 and Sun Briar in Roamers from l3GVi to 13 Hence both tracks were unquestionably the fastest in the country at the date of these time tests Another point of similarity was the fact that the absolute accuracy of the timing of either trial lias never been ques ¬ tioned tionedAs As to the jockeys there is little to choose though what difference there was seems to have been against Salvator Bergen though a clever rider in his day was extremely nervous never having rid ¬ den Salvator before the test He always rode with long stirrups and in the almost upright position of that period Sehuttinger on the other hand hai ridden Roamer in many races and the crouching and forward position of the jockey of today unquestion ¬ ably saves wind pressure and also distributes the jockeys weight a bit farther forward where it is less felt by the horse in action actionTo To offset this slight advantage of Roamer some expert judges are inclined to think that the absence of a pacemaker in his case may have lessened his top speed close to the finish line This how ¬ ever apparently was not the opinion of his owner Andrew Miller or trainer Jack Goldsborough both of whom were convinced that Roamer ran up to his limit without the added inducement of a pace ¬ maker either in the first or last half mile Ex ¬ perience has shown that Roamer is naturally what is known as a free runner and almost invariably in his best races acts as his own pacemaker pacemakerSARATOGA SARATOGA TRACK MUCH THE FASTER FASTEROf Of course there can be no question that a straightaway course at a mile such as that at Monmouth makes for faster time than the Sara ¬ toga track with one easy first turn and two later comparatively sharp turns but this difference must be estimated at considerably less than a second for such a shifty animal as Roamer Continued on second page ROAMEE AND SALVATOR Continued from first page Therefore having considered the matter from every possibla nngle and as impartially as possible the conclusion is arrived at that the general con ¬ ditions governing the two trials were sufficiently alike to put these great horses on a par except in so far as the much faster Saratoga track gave Roamer an advantage over Salvator not entirely offset by the saving of ground by Salvator through running on a straightaway course against Reamers twoturn track Probably the fairest method of comparison is a study of the performances of the contemporaries of these champions on the same flay as the trials were run or under practically similar track condi ¬ tions within a few days of the trials It is here that Salvators performance stands out as the greater of the two The day before Roamers great per ¬ formance Tombolo scarcely more than a fair selling plater ran a mile in 136 and on the day on which Roamcr made his record of 134 both Motcr Cop and Star Master ran a mile in 130 Bolster did threequarters in Iil2 On August 2S 1890 on a fast track at Monmoutli Senorita one of the best mares of the day ran a mile in 142 Lady Reel afterward dam of Hamburg an extremely speedy sprinter ran threequarters in 113 flat An even more significant performance was Firenzis mile and a quarter in 210 A on that day for Firenzi one ot the greatest race mares of the coun ¬ try then was at the top notch of her form formIn In other words Salvators record mile though of course on a straightaway as against an elliptical track was exactly seven seconds faster than Senoritas on the same day and live and onehalf to six seconds faster thnir the average miles run on the fast Monmouth course by the speediest and high ¬ est class horses of that period periodA A comparison of these performances with Motor Cops and Star Masters miles at Saratoga in 130 exactly two seconds slower than Roamers record on the same day and the previous miles of Tombolo and Sun Briar respectively run in 136 and 136 VS shows that Roamers contemporaries were at least two seconds closer to his record speed under similar conditions and oil the same track than were the best of Salvators day dayJ J B HAGGIKS CLAMBAKE CELEBRATION CELEBRATIONTo To celebrate Salvators great performance his owner James 1 Haggin the California copper mag ¬ nate gave a clambake at Hollywood N J to which lie invited all of the prominent men of the day Interested in racing Among his Immediate entourage present were of course John Mackay Mr Haggins stud manager who purchased Salva ¬ tor as a yearling for 400 and phophesicd his fu ¬ ture great career his trainer Matt Byrnes still hale and hearty and a witness at Saratoga of Roamers recent recordbreaking performance as well as Isaac Mnpliy the famous colored jockey of the time who had piloted Salvator to most of his great victories victoriesThe The assemblage was a most representative one and included notabilities in all walks of life Among them were Col AV P Thompson president of Un ¬ American Lead Trust and owner of Brookdale N J his sons L s and AV P Thompson General AVingate Col Thomas Porterhouse Ochiltree the great story teller and President Emeritus of the Ananias flab of his day Senator George R Hearst of California owner of Tournament Gorgo and other highclass thoroughbreds Richard Croker the Tammy Hiii Boss later a partner of General JuCkson in the Belle Meade Stud of Nashville Tenn and more recently owner of Orby the English Derby winner of 1907 Collector of the Port Thomas Murphy General Grants intimate friend Mayors Hugh J Grant and Robert Aaii AAyck S S How laud brotherinlaw of the present August Belmont later managing director of the Benning and Belmont Park tracks Dr Gideon Lee Knapp owner of the famous Sir AValter and elder brother of H K Knapp tin present secretary and treasurer of the Jockey ChibSiniling Joint Kelly a close friend of the earlier Tammany chieftain John Kelly but not related to him John Hoey president of the American Express Company Col Michael J OBrien president of the Southern Express Company Schuy ler L Parsons the recently deceased steward of the Jockey Club who was even at that early date a popular follower of the turf Robert A Pinker ton who developed the Pinkerton National Detec ¬ tive System of the country E A Buck editor ot the Spirit of the Times Martin Aan Beuren Trav ers Aau Beuren Carroll Livingston Percy Drayton George AVprk son of Frank AVork who was a member of Commodore Vanderbilts driving horsa brigade and himself a great crosscountry rider Goold Hoyt John Matthews known as the Mayor of the Bowery George L Lorillard one of the most prominent turfmen in the early Jerome Park days John G Follansbee a sportsman popular among all classes J H Bradford secretary of the Coney Island Jockey Club and later a steward of the Jockey Club M F Dwyer the biggest owner plunger of his day Dave Johnson the heaviest bettor among the bookmakers Thomas Patton now postmaster of New York City Clarence McDowell a wellknown turf official Harold AAallaek son of Lester AVallack the actor Edgar G Murphy one of the greatest pigeon shots of the day AV G Murphy M S Corbett Chauticuy Floyd Jones Maquis dc Neuvjlle etc
