view raw text
j Twenty Years Ago Today Chief Turf Events of March 22, 1904 Racing at San Francisco, Los Angeles and Little Reck. In recent workouts for the Montgomery Handicap, McGee, Witfull and Banter showed that they are fit and ready. McGee worked a mile easily in 1 :48, while Banter traveled the same distance in 1:47. "Did the best horse win the Bell Stakes on Saturday last at Oakland?" This is the question that racegoers in this neck of the woods arc asking themselves. Arisbe, a worthy daughter of Brutus and Annie Buckingham, won the big two-year-old event of the season and, while she is certainly a smart and fast filly, she had a!l the racing luck and Bullman as pilot. The Bell Stakes was the first time that two-year-olds have been asked to go five furlongs this season and was worth ,480 to the winner. Amy J., the sensational filly owned by W. B. Jennings, was favorite for the event at 7 to 5 and Arisbe was as . good as 4 to 1. The latter is owned by Adclph Spreck-els, son of Claus Spreckels, the great sugar millionaire of California. Bullman was determined to beat the barrier with Arisbe. He broke and wheeled and wheeled and broke, thinking always of ths big ticket in his boot, presented to him by Mr. Spreckels. In spite of all Jake Holtman could do, Bullman eventually beat the barrier and at once hustled out for the money. Amy J. was crowded back to next to last and had to go around the others to get to Arisbe. This the Jennings filly did all right and led the rest a length turning into the homestretch. But the effort told on her in the run to the wire and she faded out of the money entirely. Whipped and hustled by Bullman, Arisbe won by a length from Pinker-ton, the good colt that Barney Schreiber brought from Los Angeles to try for the stake. Pinkerton, a son of Sain, also had plenty of bad racing luck, while The Mist ran an unaccountably bad race with Spencer up, finishing absolutely last. It is for these reasons that racegoers are in doubt as to whether or not the best two-year-old won the. rich stake after all. Making allowances for all the bad luck of the other starters, it must be conceded that Arisbe has never run a bad race in all her half a dozen starts. Bullman is the best two-year-old rider now on the coast, and if Henry Spencers effort on The Mist was the best he had in the box, then Henry is the worst two-year-old rider there. The Mist has done everything asked of her up to this race. She is a fine filly by Magnet Tenebrae. She had beaten all the horses that finished in front of her in this race with the exception of Pinkerton and Amy J. She gave Arisbe a two-length beating on March 9, with Bullman on Arisbe at that.