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FAMOUS AMERICAN MARE Doubtful If Ever the Equal of Firenze Has Been Seen Won Forty Six Out of Eighty One OneRaces Races and 112342 During DuringHer Her Turf Career In the course of the last thirty years or so many fast and famous mares have graced the auuals of American turf history The names of Artful Beldame Imp I idy Amelia Tanya Hamburg Belle Blue Girl and Regret Nyill readily occur to the pres ¬ ent geiifraticn of admirers of racing as examples but it is doubtful if any year in the past thirtyfive produced the equal of Firenze She va a small mare but every inch a highclass races horse for which no distance or weight had terrors She could sprint with sprinters and stay with the best of longdistance runners on dry tracks or wet tracks It fell to her to lw actively racing when such great horses as Hanover Kingston Tcnny The Bard Exile Racclaud Riley De Mutli Tournament Eurus Aolanje Los Angeles and Tristan were in their prime anil not one of them was decisively her master Beaten now and then by such giants of the track she defeated them in turn and was almost as firmly Intrenched in the affection of patrons of racing of her time as was the Coal Black l idy Imp a few years later laterShe She was a hardy and enduring little tiling a true Glenelg She raced actively and successfully for six years beginning as a twoyearold in 1885 and running her hist race in 1S91 She was a bay by Glenelg Florida by Virgil and next to Salvator most beloved by Mr llaggin of all tlie tremendous array of horses he had bred or Ixmght and raced Her first start was for a purse at Saratoga August 1885 It was a fivefurlongs dash over a heavy track and she won in 105 from Beth Broeck Lexbia and throe more Purses were comparatively slim in those days and all that Firenze returned her owner in this initial success was 250 It was an humble beginning of a subsequently brilliant career and a busy career A record of her successes in the big stakes of her lime attests this later feature amply and is interesting reading These j stakes fell to her August 2S At Sheepshead Bay the Autumn Stakes 31 mile S SSeptember September 25 At Jerome Park the Nursery Stakes 34 mile 1887 June 4 At Jerome Park the Ladies Stakes 1 14 miles Junt 115 At Graveseud the Gazelle Stakes 1 1S miles June 27 At Sheepshead Bay the Mermaid MermaidStakes Stakes 1 18 miles July At Monmoutli Park the Monmoiith Oaks 1 14 miles August IS At Monmoutli Park the AAcst AAcstEnd End Hotel Stakes 1 12 miles Octolier 11 At Jerome Park the Hunter HunterStakes Stakes 1 34 miles October 13 At Jerome Park the Jerome JeromeStakes Stakes 134 miles July 12 At Monmoutli Park the Monmoutli dip 1 34 miles July 21 At Monmoutli Park the Harvest Handicap 1 14 miles August 2 At Monmoutlr Park the Freehold Stakes 1 12 miles August 11 At Monmoutli Park the Champion Stakes 1 12 miles August 25 At Monmoutli Park the Mon ¬ moutli Handicap 1 12 miles September ft At Sheepshead Bay the Aver ago Stakes 1 315 miles September 15 At Sheepshead Bay the Great Long Island Stakes 1 1S mile heals October 4 At Jerome Park the Manhattan Handicap 1 14 miles October 8 At Jerome Park the Battle Stakes 1 315 miles October n Vt Jerome Park the Firenze Stakes 1 1S miles June 20 At Sheepshead ISay the Knicker ¬ bocker Handicap I 3S miles July 11 At Monmoutli Park the Moiimouth Cup 134 miles July 20 At Monmoutli Park the Navesink Handicap 1 12 miles July 30 At Monmoulh Park the Freehold Stakes 1 12 miles September 5 At Sheepshead Bay the New York Handicap 1 12 miles September 7 At Sheepshead Bay the Omni ¬ um Handicap 1 1S miles October S At Jerome Park the Firenze Stakes 1 1S miles June 2C At Sheepshead Bay the Coney Is ¬ land Cup 1 12 miles 1S50 1S50June June 28 At Sheepshead Hay the Knicker ¬ bocker Handicap 1 3S miles 1815 1815August August 7 At Monmoutli Park the Freehold FreeholdStakes Stakes 1 12 miles 212 212September September 3 At Sheepshead Ray the Twin TwinCity City Handicap 1 14 miles 3735 3735September September 10 At Sheepshead Bay the New NewYork York Handicap 1 12 miles l5t5 1891 1891August August 13 At Monmouth Park thn Cham ¬ pion Stakes 1 12 miles 3750 3750In In this recapitulation there is one feature that stands out strikingly That is the comparatively small values Here in the course of her career this famous mare won thirtytwo stakes AVitli some few shining exceptions they were the richest of her time yet the combined value of this great array of fixed events won was but S5 52250 in exact figures In later days the same number of stakes won on the big New York tracks would almost certainly net nt least double the sum named When a twoyearold Kirenze started in eight races of which she won five was second twice and only unplaced once After winning the purse at Saratoga she next ran second to her stablemate stablemateI I Milton for the Criterion Stakes at Monmoutli Park with the King Ernest Julietta colt third August Augusti i 14 her next start she ran unplaced in a purse won by Montrose At Gravesend August 25 she w n a purse at seveneighths over a slow track in 131 V defeating Ittilala Louise and three more fillies September 3 at the same track she won from Burch Pearl Jennings and two others at the same distance in l SJi Her first important suc ¬ cess was achieved at Sheupshead Hay August 2S when she won the Autumn Stakes from Belvidere and Uidy Primrose witli Oriflamme Montrose Bradford Falstep and Roi dOr unplaced It turned out to be the most valuable stake won by her in the course of her long and distinguished career Her campaign as a twoyearold terminated Sep ¬ tember 25 when she won the Nursery Stakes at Jerome Park with Belvidere second and Santa Ititn third Belvidere was a good race horse and came into renewed prominence in 1905 as the sire of the crack twoyearold Salvidere Santa Rita subsequently became familiarly known to Chicago patrons of racing in the colors of Tony Licalzi and was long the inain tuy of the locally popular Wa ¬ termelon stable stableBRILLIANT BRILLIANT STAR WHEN A THREEYEAROLD THREEYEAROLDFircnzc Fircnzc was a brilliant star when a threeyear old and was never worse than third in any of her fourteen races in 1887 Sheiiiude her debut in the Ladies Stakes at Jerome Park and prevailed over Fhigeolctta Almy and three other fillies All car ¬ ried 113 iwiimls June It she captured the Gazelle Stakes at Gravesend again defeating Flageoletta with Maggie Mitchell third and three more un ¬ placed Ill both races Flageoletta was an oddson favorite She was a fine fast filly and was only beaten a head at euua weights in the Ladies In tlie Gazelle she carried 103 to 113 n Firenze and this led her admirers to think she would re ¬ verse positions but Ificenze easily defeated her by two lengths At Sheepshead Bay June 18 phe for the first time met the mighty Hanover and the lit ¬ tle less formidable Kingston In the Swift Stakes at seveneighths The track was heavy Only the three started All carried regulation stake weights ami Hanover won by ten lengths with Kingston second In 132 At that time Hanover was prac ¬ tically invincible and this race was his sixth in a stiing of fourteen consecutive victories A few days later Firenze won tlie Mermaid Stakes from Lady Primrose Almy Flageoletta and Hypasia easily running the mile and an eighth in 151 fast time then and won by two lengths Then she went to Mounioitth Paik and continued her clean sweep of the filly stakes by winning the Monmouth Oaks from Lady Primrose and Almy then took a purso from Bradford and Belvidere at a mile and a six ¬ teenth i iAugust August 13 she again tackled Hanover This was in the Champion Stakes at a mile and a half run in 238 but Hanover beat her three lengths and Vo lante was third ton lengths behind hor Only the three ran and Firenzo put up a good race Five days later site won tin AVest End Hotel Stakes at a mile and a half from Almy with 120 pounds up August 20 sho triumphed over Hanover for the first tinie but did not win the race It was the Omnibus Stakes at one and onehalf miles track heavy Old llavy AViuters laggard with 118 iwniuds up won Firenze with 120 was second and Hanover 12S third Kingston 118 and Esquimau 113 ran un ¬ placed Tlie time was 244 Laggard won by an inch and Hanover was a short head behind It Avas a battle of giants and Hanover was a 1 to 2 favor ¬ ite From Monmouth she was taken to Saratoga and ran third to the western fillies AVary and Gri sutte in the Pocahonfa Stakes Then she went to Jerome Park ami won the Hunter Stakes for fillies and tlie Jerome Stakes for threeyearolds In this Hanover was her solitary opponent and an over ¬ whelming favorite at 45 to 100 post odds The distance was one and threniiarters miles Hanover carried 125 pounds Fireiize 122 Hanover led to the last quarter where the filly passed him anil won in a canter by three lengths in 301i extraordinarily fast time for that slowest of all slow tracks After that Firenze ran twice in stake races at Pimlico and was second each time first to Kingston at one and oneeighth miles and then to Linden at a mile and a half halfGREAT GREAT CELEBRITY IN 1888 1888In In 1SSS Firenze was better than ever and a great celebrity AVith 117 pounds up she ran third to Elkwood and Terra Cotta in the Suburban beaten a length and a half in 207Vj Outside of a purse she won nothing until July 12 at Monmouth Park where she won the Monmouth Cup at one and three quarter miles from Elkwood and Eiirus in 3OSM Next she defeated Exile Surinam Eurus Favor and others in the Harvest Handicap at a mile and a quarter over a heavy track August 2 sho won the Freehold Stakes at a mile and a half from The Bard in 234 The latter Was a 2 to 5 favorite Firene carried 113 pounds The Hard 120 Next she defeated Kingston and Santalcne for the Champion Stakes one and onehalf miles in 235 and won by three lengths In the Monmouth Handicap she took up 123 pounds and won cantering from Exile 118 Belvidero 121 and five more highclass horses running its mile and a half in 230 At Sheepshead Bay carrying 122 pounds she ran away from Lelcx 102 Terra Cotta 115 Montrose 114 AVary 101 and Brown Duke 102 one and threesixteenths miles in 202 This was in the Average Stakes Then she won the Great Long Island Stakes at one and oneeighth mile heats with 125 pounds up in 150 1 5ivi At Gravesend Kingston beat her a length in the First Special and with ninetyeight pounds up to her 125 Connemara defeated her by a half length in the Honlevard Stakes one and one half miles in 237 Then in succession sho won a purse the Manhattan Handicap Battle Stakes and Firene Stakes at Jerome Park Uaceland defeated her in the Grand National Handicap it being her last race of the year Itaceland was always a troublesome opponent to the gallant little mare defeating her several times In the following year But Haceland was also a great race horse horseIn In ISM she won the Knickerbocker Handicap from Eurus the Moninouth Cup from Uaceland the Navesiuk Handicap with 125 pounds to Inverwicks 102 and Tristans 107 they finishing second and third walked over for the Freehold Stakes took the New York Handicap from Retrieve the Omnium from Strideaway and the Firenze Stakes from AVi iiona Raceland defeated her in a purse at Jerome Park the New York Jockey Club Handicap and for a second time in successive years in the Grand National Handicap In the Grand National of 1SSS Uacoland carried 110 pounds to her 131 In 1889 it was Raeclnnd 12i Firenze 130 In fact it was nothing but high weights for Firenze now Mie carrying 129 pounds when sho defeated such a fast horse as Strideaway with but 112 pounds in the Omnium Of her other unsuccessful races she was second to Hanover for the Coney Island Cup to Kingston in the Average Stakes and third to Los Angeles and Eurus in the Champion Stakes and to Earns and Senorita in the Moiimouth Handicap HandicapGREW GREW BETTER AVITH YEARS YEARSGrowing Growing better with years Firenze gave notable exhibitions of speed and endurance in 1S90 She ran unplaced in the Suburban won by her stable comrade Salvator but in the Coney Island Cup she gave cauivineing evidence of her still unsurpassed greatness as a stayer by defeating Cassius and Tea Tray in a canter ami running its mile and a half course in 233 AVIth 12S pounds up to Long stieets 115 she defeated him for the Knickerbocker Handicap In the Freehold Stakes she defeated Teuny at a mile and a half in 233 Tenuy had previously beaten her in the Eatontown Stakes at a mile over a heavy track She showed grand form in the Twin City Handicap at the Sheepshead Ray fall meeting when with 12S pounds up she won from Tournament 114 Earns 119 Los Angeles US Rizpah 97 CometoTaw 110 Senorita 117 and Badge 114 running the mile and a quarter in 207 It was her last great triumph of that year yearIn In 1SK1 sin ran but three times and was then retired to the stud At Monniouth Park she won a purse from Sir George ami a week later with 120 pounds up defeated Riley 122 and Raceland 123 for the Champion Stakes at a mile and a half in 23Si She won by a half length and Riley beat Raceland a neck Her last race was in the New York Handicap at Sheepshead Bay where with 131 pounds up she ran third to Do Muth 119 and Frontenac 1021 in 237 In all the record of this extra extraordinary mare was Year Sts 1st 2nd 3d Ilip Amount 1885 5 2 0 1 1257500 1SS7 14 8 4 2 0 2215500 18SS 21 12 3728i5 50 1889 21 12 210C550 1891 14 7 1451000 475001 Totals 81 45 21 9 5 11231200 11231200The The late 1 P Haggin had fondly hoped his great mare would produce sons and daughters equal to herself in fleetness and stamiiiM but had to submit to bitter disappointment As in the case of other great race marcs too milch campaigning told its tale and the nervous energy that might have told in reproduction was expended in racing
