First Upset In The Kentucky Derby: Occurred in 1882 Renewal When the Unknown Apollo Defeated the Great Runnymede., Daily Racing Form, 1920-04-14

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FIRST UPSET IN THE KENTUCKY DERBY Occurred in 1882 Renewal When the Unknown Apollo Defeated the Great Runnymcde LOrtSYILLE Ky April 13 With the wide ¬ spread interest that Is being shown in the 1520 re ¬ newal cf the Kentucky Derby now only a few weeks away veterans of the turf are bringing to light incidents in connection with the running of the historic event in bygone days daysPerhaps Perhaps the most interesting of these reminis ¬ cences 1ms to do with the llrst great upset that oc ¬ curred in the race back in 1SS2 Previous to that year all of the favorites for the big race by no means scored but up to that time there had been no great surprise in the event eventDuring During the winter of 1SSI1SS2 Rnnnymede was a strong choice for this important race He went into winter ipiarters with the prestige of being tin real star among the twoyearolds of issi Ho had been bought from his breeders Bowen Clay by Dwycr Bros for ir00 and was regarded bytheiii as even a better prospect thftn his brother Barnes one of the racing stars of 1SSO1SS1 1SSO1SS1During During the winter preceding the Derby of 1SS2 good reports came from the training iiartcrs of this son of Billet with the result that a fortune was wagered on his chances in the winter books causing his price to b cut to the shortest figure ever of ¬ fered against winter favorite for the race His owners had sent Hindoo to Kentucky the year pre ¬ vious and that great performer had made a show of his opposition in the stake so the prostigo of the members of the great Brooklyn stable reached from ocean to ocean oceanIn In later years James R Krone with his Castl tonbred horses and others he developed from mares secured from the Bitter Root Stud of Marcus Daly enjoyed wonderful success in racing but great as were the triumphs of his racing string from 11113 to the close of 1OS its record had little on that scored by the borses raced by Dwycr Bros in the early and middle eighties eightiesTo To tell the history of this remarkable stable is to recount the deeds of other stars besides Runny mcde Hindoo md Barnes embracing Mich great favorites as Hanover Bramble Miss Woodford In ¬ spector 1 Drop Kingston George Kinney Onondaga Paniine Kingfisli Charley Corman Millie Potomac Raceland Banquet Don Alonrit Joe Cotton Rhadainanthus and the unbeaten Tre moiit moiitRUNNYMEDE RUNNYMEDE WAS POPULAR POPULARAs As the date for the running of the Derby ap ¬ proached Ruimymcdc increased in popularity and on the eve of the race he was piloted at even money by the layers At post time he was an oddsoil fa ¬ vorite and regarded as a certain winner by all supposed good judges judgesThere There hail come up from the south that year a rather ordinary looking gelding named Apollo in the stable of Green B MorrK Mr Morris bought Apollo in the spring of 1SS1 when the future Ken ¬ tucky Derby winner was a twoyearold He was not raced at all at that age In the spring of that year Henry Brown a Kentucky trainer bad Apollo in his care and while workiiit him one morning with another horse the latter carried the future crack out all the way around the course the pair being pulled up a mile in 14S 14SThis This work of course was too severe for a two yearold so early in tbe spring so Apollo was sent by hi owner I Swigert to Stoekwood Farm neat Midway Ky anil turned out In a few weeks Mr Morris made a visit to the place and though the coll collwas was r in flesh concluded to buy him He secured securedApollo Apollo by paying Swigert SI 200 in cash with a promise if 300 more should the colt win the Ken ¬ tucky Derby the following spring springIt It may be incidentally remarked here that at that time the Kentucky breeder had no idea that Apollo was a future Derby winner lie had how ¬ ever sold two colts previously which had proved winners of tbe Churchill Downs event in Baden Baden and Hindoo anil as Apollo was clo clv re ¬ lated to Mahlstick a highclass race horse and a Louisville Cup winner Swigert felt thai it was not certain by any means that Apollo should be a fail ¬ ure as n racer of good class He reasoned that should he prove as noil a horse as Mahlstick lie would have a Derby winning chance and so In added to the price he asked Morris MorrisMorris Morris in due time shipped Apollo to Xew Or rlcaus and while still a twoyearold he had him gelded and made no effort to train him to aiiv ex ¬ tent until the time came to begin giving him hard work for his threeyearold campaign The gelding proved a generous doer and having grown and spread out during the winter looked all over a good horse horseStill Still no one was bold enough to even suggest the possibility of I he ruggedlooking gelding ever being able to beat a coll with the reputation possessed by Itunnymede ItunnymedeFIRST FIRST START IN PICKWICK PICKWICKApollns Apollns first start was in the Pickwick Stakes al Xew Orleans lie was beaten but Morris did not like the appearance of the race and ran him back in a few days in the Cottrill Stakes against the same sort of opposition putting up on him his exercise buy Babe Hurd Apollo won that stake in a canter and then going on t Memphis continued his winning career careerFinally Finally he reached Louisville to meet his Derby engagement Hnrd continued to ride him in his races and had the mount In the Derby To this day senses are offered for Runnymcdos defeat in the great race by Apollo Heavy track conditions were InIll to have contributed to the son of Billets down ¬ fall Then again it had been claimed that he was not just keyed up to a hard race at a mile and a half the Derby bfcing his first start as a thrti yearold yearoldThe The truth however is that Apollo under all con ¬ ditions thai day was the better horse He never for a moment left the outcome in doubt and while Riinnymede turned the tables on him a few days later in the Clark Stakes the distance was a quar ¬ ter of i mile shorter than the Derby route Riihuyincde was one of the best looking horses that ever ran in tin DPI by He was more finished in appearance than his noted lirother Barnes a rather coarse horse After he was taken back east he won the Tidal Stakes and other races but In died young Apollo afterward won many good races as a three and fouryearold Brighter stars have won the Kentucky Derby but he was better than an average performer and will ever enjoy a merited place in the annals of the turf


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1920s/drf1920041401/drf1920041401_2_5
Local Identifier: drf1920041401_2_5
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800