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SHOWS TO ADVANTAGE General Thatcher at Last Races Up to Early Expectations. Hephaistos Wins Merchants Hani dicap Hopeless Carries H. P. Headleys Colors to Victory. BALTIMORE, Md., Nov. 9. Early in thai spring Preston Burch had visions of winning both the Preakness and the Kentucky Derby with George Wingfields General Thatcher. He started in both, but was beaten by Vigil in the Preakness, while just before the Kentucky Derby he went slightly amiss and did not show to advantage. This fail the son of Sweep has been coming back to something like the form that was expected of him and he was an easy winner this afternoon in the mile and a sixteenth of a condition race at Pimlico. He was only opposed by H. P. Whitneys Transom and the Greentree Stables Moonraker and ho made a show of the pair of them. This was the best offering of the day and, while General Thatcher had no troubla in scoring, it was an interesting race. The. weather was delightful for the sport and there was a goodly crowd on hand. Much interest was had in the prospect for the racing tomorrow when the Walden is down for decision. In this the Maryland Jockey Club is running the big two-year-old prize in two divisions to take care of the twenty-eight that were named through, the entry box. This same generous plan was pursued at the old Baltimore track last year with the ?40,000 Pimlico Futurity and on one other occasion the Preakness, by reason of the big number of starters, was run in two divisions. RACES IMPRESSIVELY. In this comeback of General Thatcher tha handsome brown performed like a first clas3 colt. Sande rated him along behind the pace of Moonraker in the early running, went to him without any effort, and drew out to win well under restraint. Moonraker quit rather badly and Transom, after rushing up on tho outside, tired when McAtee rode her hard through the last three-eighths in an effort to catch the winner. Rounding the far turn Sun Quest slipped through on the inner rail, while Hopeless moved up on the outside. The field at this time was racing in close formation. A sixteenth from home Banter still had a brief, margin and was going strong. Hopeless, under severe pressure, closed with a rush and was up in the closing strides. Banter held on gamely and at the finish barely outlasted Sun Quest, while Wildrake was but a. few inches back. The winner was accorded some support in the wagering and netted a purse for the Kentucky delegation. Frank E. Browns Hephaistos was winner of the mile and a quarter of the Merchants Handicap, which was the sixth offering and it marked up two in a row for Earl Sanda for he had brought General Thatcher home winner in the fifth. In the Merchants it was W. Fenwicks - John Paul Jones that raced to second place and third was the portion of P. S. P. Randolphs High Prince, when he led home H. P. Whitneys Gadfly, with E. B. McLeans Pumps the only other starter. John Paul Jones and Gadfly were the ones to cut out the pace, while Sande rated Hephaistos well back from the leaders. It was going to half mile ground that he moved up into a contending position and gradually wearing the leaders, was right with them at the turn for home. John Paul Jones hung on resolutely after the use that had been made of him, but Gadfly tired badly and High Prince, closing with a rush was just a stride short of beating the Fenwick horse for second place. SCORES IX HARD DRIVE. Hal Price Headleys Hopeless was returned the winner of the fourth race, which engaged a rather well matched band over the mile and seventy yards journey. His victory came after a hard drive in which ha beat out J. W. McClellands Banter and W. S. Kilmers Sun Quest. The start was a poor one and Thimble and Miss Smith had no chance. Banter was hustled away into a brief lead and Wildrake . went along with him while Fields had Hopeless along in a contending position. There was no chango in tho running positions during the first part of the journey. The Elkridge Steeplechase, for three-year-olds, over the two mile course was not aa Continued on twelfth page.. SHOWS TO ADVANTAGE Continued from first page. altogether satisfactory renewal of the raco for the reason that W. G. Wilsons Top Notch, one of the starters, carried Joseph E. Widcners Ethereal Blue around the inside wing of the fourth fence and in doing so eliminated a filly that seemed to be best of the company. It was Max Hirsch that saddled the winner when he sent J. B. Smiths colt. Autumn Bells, to the post. He was an easy victor and, while he may be a long way from another Sweepment, Hirsch has brought him to the post fairly well educated and he will undoubtedly do better as he becomes more familiar with jumping. W. V. Dwyers St. Lawrence was a distant second when he outfinished Robert L. Gerrys Rock Bass. Tassel, after unseating her rider at the eleventh jump, was remounted to finish fourth, while Top Notch and Ethereal Blue, after leaving the course, were both pulled up. Right at the start Autumn Bells, from his inside position, swerved out badly, and piled up the field, but that crazy move had no bearing on the result Top Notch was permitted to go to the front and Ethereal Blue was racing along after him under a steadying restraint. Then, moving into the back field, Jones made the fatal mistake of going up on the inside of Top Notch, approaching the fourth jump. Top Notch swerved around the inner wing and carried Ethereal Blue with him, eliminating the pair of them. With these two out of the way, Autumn Bells went into a good lead and he was at no time threatened to the end of the journey. Tassel was going well until she made a stumbling landing at the eleventh jump that sent Keating from the saddle. That left Rock Bass in second place, but St. Lawrence was closing under long drive as ho gradually wore the Gerry gelding down and, while he was second thirty lengths from Autumn Bells, he readily beat Rock Bass. In the meantime Keating had remounted Tassel to finish for the fourth money in tho stake. Joseph Tevis at a public sale this morning purchased Fairlight from J. S. Cosden, and he did not have long to wait to realize on his purchase, for jockey Lang had him homo winner by a narrow margin in the running of the first race, which was fashioned for maiden two-year-olds, at five and a half furlongs. Marshall Fields Dolly Gaffney raced to second place, while A. C. Bostwicks Dusk was third. It was a troublesome band that lined up at the post and following some delay left in good alignment Fairlight was hustled to the front and was quickly joined by Elsbeth and Stevens. The trio raced in close formation, while the field on the whole was closely bunched. At the stretch turn Elsbeth began to tire from chasing the leader and dropped back. Hastings, in the meantime, had worked his way up on the outside with Dolly Gaffney. Through the final sixteenth the Field filly was closing fast and at the finish she was wearing the winner down. Dusk came along with a rush at the end and was a good third. The mile and an eighth, for platers, that was the third offering, was a prize for jockeys as well as horses. It was for apprentice boys that had never ridden a winner and their share in the award was 0. The little fellows gave a first class exhibition and it was E. Robins that carried away the purse when he brought W. E. Martins North Wales home the winner from Edward F. Whitneys By Jiminy and W. M. McKinneys Mary Maxim.
