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NEAR HALF WAY MARK ♦ i First Fifty Days of Havana Racing Almost Completed. Track Faster Than Ever Before — Cromwell Largest Winner of Meeting. , a , HAVANA. Cuba. January IS. Tie- Havana racing season is now nearing tin- half way mark, having almost completed the first fifty days of the scheduled meeting of one hundred days. In contrast lo the last s,.;,siiii. which was late in getting started, and which was interrupted by the street railroad mens strike, the present meeting has been beset with no such difficulties and the prospects are largely in favor of a continual ion of the present highly favorable conditions. Another feature that has ape rated in favor of the present season is the unprecedented fine Weather, which has served to increase the daily patronage. The almost total absence of rainy weather has also made it possible to maintain a fat brack, which condition invariably tends to a bettei- grade of racing than wiien a heavy track prevail-. As a result the hors-s have been running pretty much to form ami there have been lew in-lam-es of form reversals to record. Tin- track was never in better condition than al present, and this is evident by the number of track records that have been lowered dm ing the pnat lev. weeks. The shattering of these marks is I. coming so common that they attract lis:, at- lintioii than they deserve. The most notable of these was the performance of Waluul Hall, which dipped four-fifths of a second off Iippo Sahibs previous mark of 1 :._.s :- for a mile and three-sixteenths. High Gear also made a notable showing by running three quarters in 1:11. which is three-fifths of a second better than the best previous time. Fort Churchill, the fast three-year-old Iloneywood colt owned by A. H. Bresler, also distinguished himself by running five-eighths in oil. thereby clipping one-fifth of a second aff Imperati rs record, which had stood since January 1. llllti. Cromwell has proven to be the champion horse of tin- Havana racing season. lie has won al three-i|iiarli rs of a mile and at one mile and over. His record to date is five winning races, one second and two thirds, and he has not finished out of the money. His victories include the Christmas Haadicap in which he defeated the best horses at the track, and his total earnings amount to over ,000. Cromwell is a four-year-old black gelding by Plaudit Affect, and was bred by J. Ii. Morris at Rasoue Boalta Farm, in Kcntmkv. He was purchased as a yearling by J. W. McClelland, but mver faced the barrier in a race until he was a throi -year-Old. His first start was at Hot Springs on April 1 of last year, and he won thai race easily. Al the Havre de Grace meeting last fall he was claimed from McClelland by J. 1.. I.,nahay. his present owner, for ,900, who turned him over to C. K. Moore to train. Cadet Moores handling the geding has developed into a high class horse, and if he does not go amiss he will finish the Cuban season with the distinction of earning more money than any ether horse that ever raced on the island. The geMiags owner is the surrogate of Freehold. V. .!.. and is a comparative newcomer to racing. Mr. Daaahay is expected to arrive here shortly for a brief visit. His trainer. . U. Moore, is regarded as a first -class handler ,,f horses. Be has been engaged in the pref* SB lea for fifteen years ami during that time has been employed bv James Allen of Philadelphia; W. I.. Oliver, j. V. Iledruk and others. He has trained such well-known performer- as Collector Jessup. Ninety Simpl . Sara ■ toga. Murphy. Tea Caddy, Shooting Star and odd-crest Boy For a time he was associated with V. A. Shea in the ownership! of a small stable. Jockey J. Carassdy, arho came here unknown and unheralded, is proving to be the real "find" of the season. Although but an apprentice ha has been riding like a veteran and has advanced so rapidly that he has outstripped the other riders and is now* at the top of the list of winning Jockeys, baviag passed Cremp a few diys ago Thhl youngster is a prime favorite with the Cubans, who invariably back any hares, that he rides.
