view raw text
; RACING CAREERS SIMILAR California Turf Writer Says Mor-vich Following in Footsteps of the Great Ladas. According to F. L. McKenney, a California turf writer of repute, the career of Morvich greatly resembles that of Lord Roseberys great horse Ladas. Here is the comparison Mr. McKenney draws of the two horses in an article to the San Francisco Chronicle : "The career of Lord Roseberys great horse Ladas was remarkably similar to that of the American Morvich. Ladas started at a good price in his first race, as did Morvich, and in like manner to the stocky brown son of Runnymede, won in a canter. .Ladas was a brown too. "The English colt was just over 15 hands 3 inches. Morvich is said to measure about 15-3, but is probably quite a bit under that height. Ladas has been characterized truly as "a gentleman in manners and appearance." a perfectly true description of the California colt. He was a Hamilton, and that added to his value, as the blood of the son of Lord Clifden was much esteemed in those days and is still sought after. "Ladas won all of his four races as a two-year-old, similarly to the eleven straight victories of Morvich at that age. He went into winter quarters favorite for the Epsom Derby. In each case the best youngsters in training were defeated. "Matt Dawson, a famous conditioner, had charge of the training of Ladas. Dawson was hard on his horses as a rule, but he allowed Ladas to have a comparatively easy time of it when being prepared for his three-year-old engagements. He said the colt did not require a stiff preparation, owing to his breeding and constitution. "Ladas went to the races for the first time as a three-year-old in the Two Thousand Guineas, which he won easily. "He also won the Epsom Derby in hollow fashion. "The six victories in as many starts made Ladas look a certainty for other stakes, just as when Morvich won twelve straight people began to talk as though he was almost a machine and would always be at the top of his form. BLOCK WAS REAL SPORT. "Trainer Fred Burlew did not want to start Morvich in the Carlton, but was overruled by the colts owner, Ben Block. It was a sportsmanlike proceeding on the part of the owner, but tough on the thoroughbred. Burlew had let up on Morvich following the running of the Kentucky Derby, and the colt was not keyed up to meet Whisk-away, undoubtedly the second best, if not the top-rung three-year-old of the country. "Dawson was aiming at winning the St. Leger, just as Burlew had his heart set on winning the Latonia Special. There were some races, however, prior to the running of the St Leger, worth about S50.000 in all, and the English trainer could not advise Lord Rosebery to keep Ladas in his stall by leason of their value, especially as the colt had a great chance of winning them. "Trainers of long experience say there is no more difficult job than to let a horse down when he has been thoroughly fit and then to produce him again at the top of his form, unless he has plenty of time in which to do it. "As in the case of Morvich, following the running of the Kentucky Derby, Ladas had an easy after the Epsom Derby. A littTe more than a month later he was an odds-on favorite in the Princess of Wales Stakes at Newmarket and lost by something more than three lengths to Isinglass and Bulling-don. It will be recalled that Morvich was defeated in the Carlton after being away from the races about five weeks. "Isinglass finished in front of Ladas again in the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown, a parallel to the vanquishing of Morvich by Whisk-away in the Latonia Special. "As a two-year-old Morvich had the sweetest of dispositions, and every one about the stable made a pal of him. He was easy to handle both on and off the track. It is significant that in the days just before the Latonia Special he tried to run away with his exercise boy and cut up other capers new to him. He had lost his playful spirit and had become irritable. "Similarly, when Ladas was put into strong work for the St. Leger he showed clearly enough that his delicate temperament had suffered from strenuous racing. He took to pulling very hard. "It is well remembered that Ladas lost the St. Leger to Throstle. He was undoubtedly fit that day, and according to the leading authorities lost because Tommy Loates, his jockey, was not strong enough to handle him. "Ladas started once as a four-year-old, ending up fourth in the Jockey Club Stakes. Trainer Dawson accounted for the deterioration of Ladas by saying: " Horses for years have had too great a strain put on them in the two-year-old and three-year-old days; consequently every succeeding generation becomes less robust, and you will find that as time goes on horses will less and less be able to stand the work that their more hardy ancestors stood. "
