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SUPREME HORSES COMPARED , h ♦ I Some Analogies in the Careers of j Ten Broeck and Man o War. i i Both Wonders in Their Racing Days and Neither Should Have i Ever Known Defeat. - r » i iRY SAI.YATOR. "Oio mnii Harperi goae to rest. sic-pin wiirn- the blaegnap Mows, on tin- uplands verdaat crest, Winn- tin- merry daisy paws; Ten Broecka ataa of marble white MUeteua math the gold— MB, By the paddock, arhar the aright An gfc ry of Ins fame- began." So aang James Tandy BMia yean agw. There was magic in the aaaM "t Tin Breech in thane "brave , i : i % — ,,f old" ekm t" iiiiit which tedajr anjrroausia Hie name .if Man o War. Each was hailed as a eaper-bi me and their careen had this in manaaea - thai they uren reeacd-breakera par excellence. If it he true thai the first necessity ef a great race imis is apeed; that the second is mem apeed, ami lliat the third and last is still inure apeed, then Ten Breech and Man o War were indeed "above ordinances." In the Matter of speed the one. as the other, in his day a clips td all rivalry, particularly under the test of the watch. Both simply - Tr*nv.-d liaviw with the table « f •«.ilds Record-. establishing new erlterfona which made former ones seein commonplace. And in the gltatnena of each there was. or i-. the eBBM doubtful ni ;e. In i the midst of Ten Rivecks eomniests of the scythe hearer the aevere erltJea continacd to complain I that, while almost never heaten by another horse, his raring career was chiefly marked by easy victories over mediocre OfSBeacata. The -nine is true of Man o- War. Neither of these speed tnaiv.-l-ever ■ definitely stamped himself a supremo race herae in the same onvineins; manner Unit Other hor-cs have. Their admirer- lasistec that thi they eonld and would have done, given the proper opportunity. And they point, in especial, to Man 1 o Wars triumph over Sir Rarton as proof of their a-sorl b lis. Rut veryliody know- that the S.i I.arton defeated by Man o" War at Winds.. r |.,-t October was not within many pound- of the sir Bartoa of former days, and the race in itself proved 1 as little as did Ton Broecka defeat of Molly McCarthy. And here again We find a curious -inn larity between the careera f the two. Each said 1 farewell to the tuif in what amounted to a ••circus" act — a teaman riallnril and hippodroaric exibibition, the antipodes of a almiWI pail "apOTtiag ptoposi lion." Man .." War ha- been s. nt to the I tad. -in rounded with glamour and glory and the pundits are e ereiaing tliein-elves over the question. Will he prove a gteat sire? If we take the ease . 1 Ten Rrnecl. as premonitory, the answer will be disappointing Ar least, a few of tin- stake winners of today i carry the Id I of the champion of the "70s. He founded no family of his own. For thi- the "figures" and "pur-sang" pcepngandista have their . ever ready explanation he wasnt bred right. There was too much native American blood in his veins. And then, there was another important reaeoa: Ten Broecfca opportunities in the -tud were anything but the best and they ended suddenly with his premature death, at fifl.cn years of age. However* he pat ad least two greed race hones, Drake Carter and Beraaa, and a aaaaher of ether more than fair ones. HUMBLE ORIGIN OF TEN BROECK. There was no similarity, however, in the ways in " which Man o War and Ten Broeck came into tin world. The former, -.ion of ultra -aristocratic aim " and dam. was foaled in Americas most fnnioii- stud and from the moment he was foiled fame seenie.l his natural birthright. The lattera origin was decidedly " different. In 1885 Jam.- w. F.-nw ick of Virginia, bred a man of obscure anil disputed pedigree to Rertrancl. The produce was a haj filly, ; foaled ill IMS. She was named Quiz and Fenw ick para e« traded her te a kinsman of his in Kentucky. . apt. John A. lloltoii. She was used by him for all sorts of purpo-es and oo.asio.iall? he raised a foal from her. In 1888 he bred her to a bent called variously Rrawners Kclipse and Counterplot. Which at that time wa- beiaf used aa a dray hois, ,. in the town of Frankfort. Ky.. and. it is said. actually palled a manure cart in that capacity. The result of thi- mil. ill wa- a bay filly that wa-ntimed , Nantura and lloltoii gave a half intere-t in „ b.i to Jeha Harper, a farmer friend of his. to train „ and campaign. Harper BUM dabbled in race bones Nanlura proved a capital race marc. When retired ll -he was bred to Lexington and a filly called Fanny Holtou. foaled 1882, was the result. Later -he had ,1 a whole he 1 of other foal-, aaiaag them a eelt t by Leamington that WOB great fame a- Longfellow — a Might la.e herae and a meat progenitor. Fanny HoltOB had Wonderful -peed, but was ruined by :, a negro exerelae bad bet.. re ever gekeg to the next So .lohn Harper bred her to Phaeton, a son of Kin;: p Tom that was knocking about the •tall gram" in ,, Kentucky with none to .1 . him reverence, despite ,. his blue blood. Her foal ilsTli was Ten Breech. A whole romance might be writ ten around this hone. A romance thai would n.- crthe-b— - 1m composed of facts, -lohn Harper died when the son of riiaeton and Fann. Helton was a two-year old and. with the rest of his horses, he became ,. the property of .lohn- nephew Flank Ten Broeck k I trainer. He raced in never had a profo-siona wa- ii and out of ..onditioii and those who knew him best t -aid that he should never have bcea beaten. He .. lost several races when a hea favorite to aorsen s that ho was normally able to aaaaader. And at it the height ff hi- fain" he araa run lor *- .-. purses. - Think of that, ye turfite- who last October saw i Man o War do his Hi He 988.888 act at Windsor! So. while. Man a War tops the list of America* - leaidtag nmunty-wlaamg racers, icu Breech deesat t occupy a place anywhere on their raster. With the ie nolo exception of the Molly McCarthy match, it it ie doubtful if be ever won a race that was worth b ,. k in ii t .. s at it - i - t ie it it b more than *1 , MMt net to him. and few of c-veii that value. After in- wa- retired to the stud Ten Broeck a i- kept b] Fank Harper at his farm in Wood ford County, Kentucky, which was called Hie Nan tura Stud, .m apposing name for a ..ruel. establish ii.e-nt. His home- was what today would be roaaid ted a tumble down -lie-. I. Its door Waa so low , that "lie day. in passim; through it. on throw lag up his head. Tea Broeck struck it. Spinal in.-niii mil- resulted and he- died a few daya later, after piteaaa aafferiags. This was Jnasj S. iss7. Let us hope for a happier stud career and a bet ler fate for Man o War. the aaodrea Vin Broeck. Maj the parallel between them case from now out.
