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EIGHT DERBY STARTERS ! Roman Soldier Tires Under His Weight Blue Armor Third. Big Crowd Witnesses Defeat of Odds-On Favorite in Auroras 0,000 Closing Day Feature. AURORA, 111., May 24. Mrs.- Silas B. Masons Sun Portland, a new Richmond among the candidates for the three-year-old crown, scored the first stake triumph of his career and the third victory in successive starts within the last fortnight, when he triumphed in Jthe third running of the Illinois Derby .before a tremendous crowd and under fine conditions at the Fox Valley Jockey Clubs s course here today. Running the nine furlongs in 1:50, which is within one-fifth of a second of the track record, held by Mata Hari and made in last years running of the same race, the son of Sun Briar and Portland Urn def,..ted Sachsenmaier and Reuters F-jman Soldier by a neck. Four lengths farther back Tearout, furnished by the D. B. Midkiff stable, accounted for third honors and was followed home by McCarthy, Blue Armor, Dark Woman, Sand Cloud and Joseph J. G., which finished in that order. While the fast and game performance of the winner earned him and his rider, C. Kurtsinger, a fine reception from the near record throng, the defeat of Roman Soldier, which was held in suca high regard that he went to the post at a little less than 2 to 5, was one of the biggest upsets in three-year-old racing this season. In justice to. the Kentucky Derby runner-up and Texas Derby winner, it must be recognized that he carried top weight of 122 pounds, eight more than his conqueror, which proved him-self a racer of the first water to down the son of Cohort. RACE WORTH ,570. The race was worth ",570, while Roman Soldier earned ,000, and awards of ,000 and 00 went to the owners of the third, and fourth horses. Sun Portland and Tear-out were the second and third choices in the betting, the former returning odds of a little better than 4k to 1 straight. While the unexpected withdrawal of Milky Way Farms Stables Whiskolo, stable companion of Blue Armor and, like Roman Soldier, one of the outstanding three-year-olds developed during the winter, took some interest from the race, contention was stronger than in any running of this three-year-old fixture. After Roman Soldier, Joseph J. G. and Sand Cloud had delayed the start more than four minutes, starter G. Wingfield caught the field in good alignment and the eight contestants raced past the stand so closely grouped that there was little to choose between their positions. Racing into the turn, Blue Armor moved to the front and with Jack Westrope calling upon him for his utmost, he raced far in the van before the backstretch was reached. Dark Woman was second, closely pursued by the winner and Roman Soldier. Tearout was last, many lengths away from the flying leaders. MOVES UP ON TURN. Approaching the second turn Kurtsinger made his move with the Mason colt, and he had taken possession of second place about three lengths away from the leading Blue Armor as the final half mile was reached. Lester Balaski, riding a waiting race, made scarcely a move on the Sachsenmaier and Reuter colorbearer until three-quarters" of a mile had been completed. Coming up on the outside he was within striking distance of the leaders as Sun Portland advanced to within a short length of Blue Armor as they straightened out for the run through the final straightaway. A small but select band of sprinters answered the call for the fifth race, titled the Au Revoir Handicap, which engaged five in a test of three-quarters. The powerful Mrs. A. M. Creech stable furnished the winner when Crout au Pot defeated the speedy Irenes Bob, which performed under the colors of Mrs. E. B. Shipp, while third Continued on thirty-seventh page. SUN PORTLAND DEFEATS ROMAN SOLDIER BY NECK Continued from first page. went to H. Herendeens Redress, with Ima Count, which formed an entry with the winner, in fourth place, leading home Frank Serembas Zekiel. The winner had the services of jockey Charlie Parvin, who gave the filly an excellent ride, bringing her from behind the pace to overhaul Irenes Bob in the final stages to finish with one and one-half lengths to spare. Much was expected of Ima Count and it was understood the stable depended a lot upon hjs ability to bring home the long end of the purse,, but after cutting up badly at the post, during his. antics unseating his rider twice," he left the gate in front, but Irenes Bob soon took a commanding lead. After following the pace for three-eighths Ima Count had enough and it was apparent it would be up to his .stablemate if the Creech colors were to be victorious. When C. Parvin sensed that Ima Count, was done he v.ent after his mount in a business-like manner and got her to running at full speed as they turned for home. At. that, it appeared hopeless as Irenes Bob enjoyed such a commanding lead, and he was holding on with better courage than usual, but the game daughter of Pot au Feu kept to her task and gained steadily to overhaul the Shipp representative inside the sixteenth post. C. E. Davison, who seldom misses a meeting at Aurora, just couldnt resist his urge to witness his colors flaunting over the old course before the termination of the meeting, so sent Whizz James to the post in the first race. The son of St. James, which seemed to realize the zeal embraced by the Naperville owner, just made a show of his rivals by taking command at the start and won all the way. He scampered home a length and one-half before Mrs. E. B. Shipps Bunty Ann, which might have given the winner a stronger argument with better racing luck. However, she gave a good performance in offering strong contention for tne winner, and they were forced to extremes to outstay Dark Entry, which closed with a rush. Chicasha, an invader from Kentucky, raced to expectations when, after being installed a strong choice, left the post quickly and never faltered. The winner, in the van from the break, just cantered along with a commanding lead, which he increased to five lengths after turning for home. From there on he was under mild reserve and finished the three-quarters in 1:13 and won by a length and one-half. Theron, which raced closest to the winner throughout, gained some ground in the final stages, but was by no means a threat. Everybody, which was badly messed about, closed strong to garner the third award. Another of the OConnell and Smith horses made his presence felt when the suddenly improved El Cajbn turned in a game performance to down Good Mary, which was grouped in the mutuel field. Lovers Chat was third. Moratorium, sturdy son of Victorian and Morgold, which races for P. T. Chinn, accounted for his second purse in as many starts when he took a fair band of sprinters from the middle class platers into camp. The victor ran the first quarter in :22 and the half in :46, which enabled, him to maintain the lead throughout, but at the end, he had but a head advantage over C. E. Davisons Caleb, which came from a good distance back to. finish fastest of all, and probably would have won in another stride. Third went to the disappointing Grattan, which through his laggardness was outrun for three-eighths, then failed to give his best. Among the visitors on hand to vjew. the running of the ..derby was Miss Gertrude Morgan of Philadelphia, who was the. guest of Placide Frigerio.
