Great Falls weekly tribune., 1896-05-08
JOCKEYS FAULT.
Bad Riding Lost the Great Kentucky
Derby for the Best
Horse.
BEN BRUSH WON BY A NOSE
Simms. the Rider of the Winner. IL
Given Credit for the tneX-
pected Victory,

LOUISVILLE, May Go Willie Simme,
rather than to Ben Brush, belongs the
credit of victory in the 22nd kentucky
derby. The great son of Bramble WAS
not tit for a bruising race, such as he
had under the careful guidance Of Simms
lie landed the coveted prize ami the first
Kentucky derby ever run at the short
ened distance of one mile and quarter.
All the honor and the $1,000 which went
to Ben Brush, properly belonged Ben
Elder, and had it not been for stable
boy who essayed TO pilot the son Of Fosno,
there would have been several lengths
of daylight between Ben Brueh and the
colt who should have shown the way
under the wire.
When the flag went down, Starter
Chinn had them we'll in hand, with Ben
Eder having the advantage Of a neck,
The Winner second, First Mate, The
Dragon, parson, Ulysses, Ben Brush and
Semper Ego in the order named,
At the fall of the flag the red coors of
Eastin and Larabee shot almost like a
fash to the front, and when the stand
was passed the first time Thorpe showed
the way on First Mate by half a length
from Semper Ego, neck in front of Ben
Elder, followed by Ben Brush nose be-
hind him and the others close up.
Thorpe seemed determined 10 make d
runaway race of it, and in going around
the turn the first time he let First Mate
have his head until lengths separated
HIM from The Winner, with Semper
Ego before Brush, The Dragon, Parson,
Ben Eder and Ulysses following
in the order named. 1t was in
going down the back k-stretch that Tabor,
who is but little bigger than stable
boy, committed the first error that cost
the Hot Springs stable $1,000 From
safe position he had pulled the colt back
to seventh place at the first half f-mile.
In this position he raced down the back
stretch, making no attempt to come
through the field until they had turned
into the stretch. First Mate continued
to show way and when the first mile was
finished he had the advantage of half a
length, Simms having moved Ben Brush
up to second place, with Semper Ego
still third, The Winner fourth, The
Dragon fifth, Parson sixth, followed by
Ben Elder and Ulysses.
Willie Simms began riding on the
last turn, and when they we're straight
ened out for the final run he was leading
by neck from Ben Eder whom Tabor
had brought up from next to last in
half furlong Of the journey, First Mate
was third. Semper Ego fourth. The
Dragon fifth, and the remaining three
strung out.
'Ben Brush wine.' went up from
q thousand throats almost simultaneously
as Willie Simms, inch by inch,
urged his steed. But there was
another horse in the race who, despite
poor riding of his jockey, pushed the son
of Bran BILE to the race Of his life. Ben
Brush did not have much left, but
Simms was getting what little that did
out of him, whle Ben Eder, with
steady riding, was gaining on the colt.
For the last sixteenth of the journey, u
pretter battle of horses was never wit
messed. Simms, by his good work, kept
Ben Brush in front by ecant nose,
while Tabor, apparently unconscious
that he was iD horse race, sat on Ben
Elder and saw the Fosno colt lose race
that properly belonged to him. Its a
dead heat" followed from the crowd
around the judges, as the horses shot
under the wire five lengths ahead of
Semper Ego, who was five lengths from
First Mate, the same distance separating
The Dragon. The Winner was sixth,
Parson seventh and Ulysses eighth. The
judges seemed little uncertain them
selves, but after wait of minute they
hung out the numbers which made Ben
Brush victor, and Ben Elder second