view raw text
Here and There on the Turf Influence of a Great Horse; His Welcome by Chicago. Vagaries of Mad Hatter. The reception accorded Willis Sharpe Kilmers Exterminator on his arrival in Chicago is just one more evidence of what a good horse can do for racing. It was fitting that the best son of McGee should finally find his way into the identical box stall at Hawthorne that once housed his daddy when he was racing under the silks of Ed Corrigan. Exterminator held open house Sunday and vast throngs took the trip to the track just to have a look at him. There was no hope that he would be seen in action. It was just a tribute to the horse. They wanted to see this marvelous cup gelding. And it is right there that an Exterminator or a Man o War does so much for the turf. Such, horses become national characters and those who know nothing of the sport still take a lively interest in the performances of such a horse. The world loves a champion in any line of en- deavor. At his winter home in Binghamton the coming and going of Exterminator amounts practically to a holiday. The old fellow is escorted to and from the car with all the pomp that belongs to a champion, and thus far he is the Bame honest old chap, with no ambition other than to go out and do it whenever he is asked. Mr. Kilmer did a big thing for Chicago and a big thing for the turf when he shipped the son of McGee and Fair Empress to Chicago. His presence should go further to make the revival of racing here a success than any other one feature. Mr. Kilmer and a large party of his friends will also be on hand to lend their aid to the racing at Hawthorne and will find a hearty welcome awaiting them. That so many traveled to the track to say "Howdy" to Exterminator seems indicative of a desirable tension of local interest in the near-by Hawthorne meeting. Outside of Exterminator, few, if any, horses of national fame are to be expected or are expected. But there will be enough of the serviceable kind to furnish an interesting brand of racing. The impelling reason for the meeting is not racing pure and simple, but the ascertainment through court decisions of how racing with its ordinary and understood adjuncts may be carried on in Illinois. Once that is ascertained and established we may count confidently on the restoration of Chicago racing on a scale that will simply compel the participation of all the horses of fame in the country. That the ultimate in view is the revival of the dead glories of Washington Park racing, on a new track and on a plane worthy of one of the greatest cities on earth, is the thing not to be lost sight of. So, as a means to such an end, those who yearn for it exceedingly should give their presence and their money to make the Hawthorne meeting a success. On more than one occasion the uncertain temper of Mad Hatter has brought about his defeat. Giving Prince James all the credit due for his recent magnificent performance, it was contrary to all form that Mad Hatter should be last in such a field. He could have been closer, for at the end Sande was pulling him up, but he did not ease him up until the last chance was gone for any share in the money. It could all be attributed to the unruly temper of the son of Fair Play Madcap. Every once in a while this good horse runs one of his sulky races. Naturalist isanother that from time to time has sulked in his races, when racing kindly would mean victory. Cock o the Walk was another that is remembered at this moment, and from time to time there have been others. They are rare exceptions, for ordinarily a horse that sulks has something hurting him. Mad Hatter is a horse of moods a wonderfully good horse, but by reason of his temper a most unreliable brute. Hildreth has time and again had him up to a race fit to run for a kings ransom and then, just because he is bumped or some other unusual thing in the running sours him, there is no skill in riding that will make him try. But when he is in a sweet temper he is a sweet race horse and capable of giving weight to almost every horse in training.
