The Portland daily press., 1896-07-04

Deserved II Crowd OF Ao,oOo-A SfeaG
Gard for To-day.
There WAS a horse race that was horse
race at Rigby yesterday, race that
ought to have had 10000 people to see
it instead of the beggarly crowd that
attended and had the crowd been there
it would have simply gone wild with ex-
citement. 1t was the 2. IL pace and it was
q fighting race from start to finish as it
was riddle for the shrewdest suesssrs.
The man who could pick the winner in
that race was star.
For seven miles the. gallant horses
struggled for supremacy and twice when
it looked like settled thing new aspi-
rant came out of the bunch and snatched
"a heat from the leader. 1t was a Wilkes
day, Roam Wilkes, one of tho squarest
and most popular performers on the
turf looked like winner with two heats
to his credit when Kentucky Star won
the next two and looked like the race
winner. Then Crafty, a we'll named
horse, Wilkes blood though, lest the BAN
ner of the Wilkes should trail in defeat
came to the rescue and sustained the
honor of his noble lineage by pacing
grandly to victory in three straight
heats. 1t was a race that a man secs
only a few times in dozen years and
a race which it is pleasure to record.
Tho "a class produced but three horses
and the performance was very tame.
magnificent list of attractions is offered
at Rigby today. Biddeford and Saco
people are coming two or three hundred
strong with band. 1t is a holiday and
nothing going on in Portland. There
ought to be- big crowd. If you don t
go you are missing an opportunity to
see some great. racing.
2.l2 PACE FIRST HEAT.
This heat was what might be termed
Sweetness long drawn out'' and very
poor quality of sweetness at that. Seven
starters came out and after several I'M
successful trials Simmons broke his bride
and there was wait for some time to
get now one. Then Touch me-Not
threw a shoe and went off for new one.
She was gone SO long that is was de-
cidsd to refund her entrance and start
without her. The field went up to
score and it looked like start but that
shoe was terror and Of course it had to
be in the right spot for O'Neil to run
over it and puncture the tire of Oddity's
sulky. This was remedied and when
they did get away t was very tame
performance. Roam Wilkes won easily,
Simmons second, Sea Bird third and
Dalghetty, Crafty, Kentucky Star and
Oddly in the order named. The time
2.21 IA.
SECOND HEAT.
Starter Walker got the horses off in
short order for this heat 1t was soon
evident that the battle WAS to be between
Roam Wilkes and Simmons and they
easily left the field way in the rear. 1t
was splendid battle between these two
beautiful specimens of horse flesh. They
went to the quarter in 80 and to the
half in 1.04 1-2 and they went is neck
and neck. 1t was anybody S race till into
the stretch. Then the roam showed a
great burst of speed and simply flew I'M
der the wire In 2 08 1-2, beating Sim
mons by a length. Then came Crafty,
Sea Bird, Dalghetty and Oddly. Some
idea Of the way the first heat Of this race
was driven may be had by comparison
of the times, 2.08 1-2 as against 2. 21 Ia
There is food for reflection in these
times.
THIRD HEAT.
The field got away early and the peo-
ters who were present were rewarded by
seeing horse race, one of the old flesh
Toned kind of heats that stirs the blood
and makes man yell in spite of himself
q A good many thought that Kelly would
lay the roam up that heat after the terrific
drive of the previous one but he didn't
and made great drive to win but the
fe Id was cut to beat him and the task
fell to Kentucky Star to do the trick.
Like a whirlwind the horses cana down
the strstch but Kentucky had the sneed
and though the roam fought gamely be
was beaten head. 1t seemed as thouob
Kelly made an error in going for this
heat but he probably knows his horse
best.
Crafty made great rush in the stretch
and landed in the third place. The field
was some distance in the rsnr. Time.
2.101-4.
FOURTH HEAT.
To name the winner of this heat till
within 10 PAGES of the wire. 1t was a
horse race from start to finish
was impossible. Roam Wilkes
and Kentucky Star were leading
the Others little TO the half and pacing
like machines They kept together clear
into the stretch but the roam was tire
and could not respond to Kelly's cali
and Kentucky finished first. Kinney
came very strong with Delghetty in
the stretch but did not begin his CT We
"a