view raw text
BRADLEYS HUGE LOSS His Promising Derby Candidate Big and Burley Breaks Down. Lord Granite Defeats Certain by a Nose Old Faithful Bleeds Again and Is Barred. NEW ORLEANS, La., Feb. 2S. E. R. Bradley suffered a severe loss and a strong contender was eliminated from the Louisi-anna Derby when Big and Burley, the promising Son of North Star III. Boiling Pot, apparently brolce down during the running of the George L. Berry Purse, featuring todays program at the Fair Grounds. The dash was at one mile and brought to the post some good three-year-olds with Big and Burley ruling a strong favorite. He was kept in the wake of the others for the first half mile with Invictus the leader by a wide margin, but when Big and Burley was called on he rapidly diminished the distance separating him from the leader and, rounding into the stretch was fast moving into the lead, when suddenly his right front leg seemed to give away and he began nobbling j toward the outer rail. His elimination was complete and it left Invictus to go on unattended as far as the lead was concerned and he won handily from Quivero, with Leonard G. in third place. There was less interest about the winner than there was for Big and Burley on his way to the stand. He was with difficulty led back to his stable. The extent of his injury is yet undetermined. Big and Burley was a growthy type oe colt and still green to rac- j ing. He was held in high regard and seemed j in a fair way to make good the expectations i of his connections, for he was improving steadily. D1PKOTED "WEATHER. Improvement in weather resulted in a better racing offering and the presence at the course of a big attendance. The better grade of starters in some of the dashes accounted for excellent sport, some of the finishes being keen and hard fought. Tho outstanding race from a monetary point was the third race, a three-quarters handicap with 200 added. It produced the best contest of the afternoon with Lord Granite the victor by a nose over Certain. The latter was the favorite and showed a good effort, succumbing only in the last stride. It was one of the best performances Lord Granite has shown in these parts, for he stood the hard drive that L. McDermott subjected him to with rare gameness and made Certain quit in the last few strides. Mercury, under a bungling ride, finished in third place and with better handling might have been the winner. Backers of favorites began in auspicious style when they installed Billy Klair the favorite in the opening dash and he rewarded the confidence with a handy victory from the dozen other maiden three-year-olds that tried conclusions with him. Comedy, an outsider, finished in second place and Watch Charm was best of the others. The public followed up its initial success when they selected Poor Puss as the Kkely one to land the purse in the second race. He did, but only after he had given his backers considerable concern on account of his tardiness in the first half mile. He came fast in the stretch and overhauled Rapid Day, the latter securing second place from Stamp by a slight margin. THE ARCHER DISArPOEfTS. A coup was attempted in the fifth race on The Archer, but it failed of consummation when Huonec managed to beat him home by several lengths. The Archer looked all ever the winner when reaching the stretch, tut he tired slightly in the last eighth and it enabled Huonec to draw away. Gondolier, under a weak ride, outstayed the others for third place, and with good handling might have been the winner. St. Donard was the favored one in the race, with Old Faithful a second choice. The latter bled and after the race the stewards issued a notice barring his entry here for the rest of the meeting. It is the second time that he has tied in races this winter. Another attempted coup failed in the sixth race, with St. .Michael serving as the medium. He gave his backers extensive hopes for the first seven-eighths by leading, and even in the stretch, when challenged by Eddie Jr., he made a valiant effort to stay in advance, but Eddie Jr. provd too much for him and won by three lengths. AVater Girl, the favorite, finished in third place. There was a stampede in the ring to back St. Michael. He was as good as :;0 to 1 in s.ome spots, but this disappeared rapidly. The suddenly improved performance of St. Michael brought a notice from the. stewards to owner H. L. Munson to appear before them tomorrow and show cause why the further entry from his stable should not be refused. The locally-owned The Franciscan annexed the closing dash after a spirited stretch duel with Yorick and Gladys V. The Franciscan was best, but his victory was put in jeopardy by B. Breuning when he permitted the horse to swerve out badly in the stretch. This enabled Yorick and Gladys V. to press him hard in the last sixteenth, but he won by a head. The same margin separated the other two.
