The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-08-17
MONTANA TO THE 'FRONT.'.
Marcus Days Sir Matthew Defeats
All the Youngsters at
Morris Park.
And Landed a Stake Worth Over
$4,000 for the Miner
Millionaire.
Contrary 60 the Expectations Of the Book
mskers Merry Monarch Did Not
Have . Walk Over.

WAker Merry Monarch Did Not
Have Walk Over.
Tho New York Times has this to say o
The race for the Junior Champion stake rul
at Morris Park ON Tuesday last:
The Junior Champion Of 1891 is a rae
that will not be remembered with the kind
Hest Of feelings by those who saw it or wer,
interested in it financially. The complete
and utterly unexpected defeat of the favor
ito. Merry Monarch, 10 the reason for this
II looked, on paper, to be a toregone con
olusion that II would fall to tho Representa-
tive of Mr.. Gideon's stable, who on hi
races and in his trials has seemed to war
rant the belief that he was but few pounds
II any, q poorer colt than His Hiehness
Mr.. Gideon made NO secret of his belle
that his colt would be able to win the rae,
without trouble. and he advised all his
friends and acquaintancss to back his colt
- one Of the absolutely sure things in rae
ing. He backed him heavily. and so did
his friends, and there seemed to DO but one
opinion among the trainers. and that was
that Merry Monarch had q practical walk
oyer in the race. But they all made one Of
the greatest mistakes of their lives, and the
ristake cost them . mug bit Of money.
Sir Matthew, the candidate of the Mon
bans cooper King most fancied by his
astute trainer, Matt. Byrnes, won the race,
much to the surprise a. we'll as disgust of
those who have seen the colt both in his
work and in his races, and who would not
believe that with anything like ever weights
he was q match for Merry Monarch. When
this colt carried the copper, with green cap.
of the Montana miner, with the dusky
Barnes in the saddle, first past the
judges. the result of the contest was SO I'M
expected that there was no applause, and
almost no welcome for the winner of the
race that was worth $4,000 to the miner
millionaire.
There seems to be no way in which to &C.
count for the defeat of Merry Monarch, ex-
cept the effect Of the humid weather IN the
horse. His trainer, John Hyland, had him
trained to the hour, and In as perfect con
dition rs ii was possible for human hands
to make him.. lie was as we'll ridden az any
one Of the sixteen horses that ran
In the race. he got off in the first rank,
and was not interfersd with at any part Of
the heat. So there is no excuse to be found
in the usual causes for complaint. Merry
Monarch ran in front of the field in
company with Dagonet for just q quarter
Of a mile, and then began to show = dispo-
sition to quit, something that he has never
lone before. Bergen had to go to work on
the hardest be knew how NJ to the very last
stride of the race. The horse gamely
answered the call OF him as best he could,
but shat best was not good enough to en-
able him to beat his field, even though the
race was run in what was not very fast time,
for him. Bergen said after the race that he
could feel the horse in distress of some kind
under him. He could not tell what was the
trouble, but he persisted in getting all
there was in the horse out, because be
thought the colt might shake off the slug
gishness and finish with a sharp burst Of
speed.
That the horse was much distressed at the
finish was very evident, but SO were all the
starters except the winner n Dagonet,
who once moro slipped into second place.
The probability is that the intensely humid
atmosphere had much to do with the defeat |
of the 4avorite and the evident distress Of
the other runners in the race, all but the
two named crawling rather than racing over
the line at the end Of their run. The same
utterly played-out condition was noticeable !
in all but about half a dozen of the horses
that ran in the other races. The frightful
mugginess had completely exhausted them.
It wasn't to be wondered at, for it used up
everybody that was at the track and made |
the afternoon about as uncomfortable as
possible. It could have been NO less I'M
comfortable for the poor racers, who were
it was that the condition of the
racsr told, n the probability is
that Sir Matthew was keyed up to
that point where the exertion told less
against him than the otheEs. Matt Byrnes
will say that the horse won because he was
the best one in the field, but he will have a
hard time making the general public be-
lieve that. Merry Monarch is too general
q ~favorite to be disposed of in that way.
But what 6. shrewd trainer Matt Byrnes
is! How can they beat him when he gets
his mind mads up that he has a good horse
and that he wants to win a certain stake
With him2 He has already the Great
Eclipse stakes, the Lorillard stakes, and
the Junior Champion to the credit of his
horses, and he only missed adding to this
string Of rich turf prizes that richest of
them all, the Realization. by the very mar
rowsst margin. ~ every raceRosr will re-
member little stakes and ordinary races
do not seem to bother him much, nor does
he waste much time on them, but when
there is a particularly rich prize in sight
there il some very lively hustlinR in the
Byrnes family, and hustling that generally
brings success.
He had three string to his bow yesterday,
starting T.mmany. winner of the Great
Eclipse, and Silver Fox, as we'll as tho win
ner. Sir Matthew, and yet with these three
running in the same interest the book
MuohSkb wore 81 bQIo 6HAt merry MON8rol
would win the race that they laid eight to
one against the stable winning, and three to
one against it's running into the place. But
they lost no money even at that, for the
public poured their money in OF the favor
lite, and the "bookies" had all that to pay
their losses with, and 1t more thar suficed.
DaRonst. who was specially prepared for
the race. was good enough TO get the place.
and perhaps with a better boy than DogQstt
might have won, though 1t would have been
hard to find a mistake in the way in
which he handled his mount. The West
ern division spranR a fairly good colt on
the public in Bashford, who was a good
third at the finish, just beating the Patri-
mony colt, Yorkville Belle, and Merry
Monarch at the end. "Old Man, HAYWARD
came Town from Saratoga expressly to ride
the Patrimony colt, but he made a mess of
it. and if he had not got into a pocket
about 200 Yards from the finish, just behind
Dagonet and Bashford. he could not we'll
have helped running second at least, and
his might have won.
Automatic nannsrs.
But time changes minds as we'll "a man
nara khRn9h ovAA ~4 -I.- --.-