The Irish standard., 1897-12-04
The WEARER OF 1.-THE TRIPLE CROWN
WINS TWO THOUSAND GUINEAS.
DERBY AND ST. LEGER,
SUPERIORITY OF The IRISH HORSES
SHANE O'NEILL, "vIRGIN QUEEN,
AND IRISH PENAL LAWS.

The present year Is likely to he IA
nous hereafter for its record breaking
events in the field of sports, and in me
history of the English turf the year 1897
Will long be memorable for the victories
Of Galtee More, the Irish colt, which
| gallantly won the cripple CROWN a
proud and rare distinction, which the
prince of Wales, Lord Rosebery, and
| many another noble patron of the turf
have longed and sought for in vain. In
English racing parlance, to achieve the
| triple crown" means that a horse shall
win, in one season, the Newmarket Two
| Thousand Guineas Stakes, the Derby
and the st. Leger. These three great
| events Galtee More this year magnifi-
| Gently captured, and considering his pre-
vlous performances and the opinions Of
turfmen regarding him he may justly
be pronounced "the horse of the CEN
| tury,' title first given to Ormonde.
! Since the establishment of the English
Derby, now more than 100 years ago.
only five or six horses have won the
triple crown" The first to do so was
the famous West Australian in 1853 who
covered the Derby course of a mile and
J half in 2:55h. Gladiateur took two
/ minutes and forty-six seconds, and Or.
monde two minutes forty-fve and three
; tifths seconds. Commoner also triple
| victor, was two minutes t1fty-six and
tour-hfths seconds making the race.
/ Galtee Mores time was 2:44, but it is
conceded that had he been pushed at
any moment during the contest he could
have clipped his time. 4
+ The quickest Derby ever run was that
I OF last year. when the prince of Wales
| Persimmon covered the distance in 2:52
But time records seem to cut but little
figure in this great racing event of Eng.
land. TO win the Derby, no matter
what the time, to bear away the .sbluo
| ribbon of the English turf" is the I'll
preme ambition of all patrons of rae
ing In England, and it was said thar
| Lord Rosebery was as proud of being
the owner of Ladas, after that horse
won the Derby, as he was of being prime
minister Of the British empire. The
prince of Wales, too, after the victory
| or Persimmon, is said to have felt as
keen delight as in any moment of his
life. But to neither of them has come
yet the glory of the triple crown"
l {o
horse that ever won the Derby, to say
nothing Of bearing off the "trinlc
CROWN and his victories have naturally
created great enthusiasm in Ireland He
derives his name from the highest peak
OF the Galtees, a chain of mountains in
Ilpperary, extending into Limerick.
In this latter county it was that Galtce
More was bred by his owner, John Cub
bins, who is high-minded lover Of
horses and all field sports, and whose
social position is described in Ireland
as that of gentleman farmer" He
belongs to family that has always
been fond Of horses and all field Dports
and he has a brother, priest, who It
IS said. is so much Of a sportsman that
he surrendered his avocation and his
parish to follow his bent for the turf
and other outdoor preferences.
Galtee More made his first public an
pearance In Stockbridge, Eng, last year
as a 2-year-old, and signalized it by
defeating Minstrel, a long odds favorite
for the Hurstbourne stakes. Several
other prizes successfully fell to him.
and his last show in 1896 was in the
Middle Park Plate, where he defeated
Lord Rosebery's Valesquez, Wreath Or
and other good horses.
The first appearance of Galtee More
this season was in the Two Thousand
Guineas at Newmarket, and in that
race he again emphasized his superiority
to Valesquez by easily beating him.
This was the first of the victories for the
triple crown" and in due time the
other two, the Derby and the Doncaster
st. Leger, followed, with several sue
cesses intervening between the three
great events.
The supremacy OF the Irish bred horse
in steeplechasing has always been adj
mitted in Europe, but Notwithstanding
successes in many classic and strongly
contested fiat races in England his abil-
ity in this line has been doubted. The
triumphs of Galtee More have finally
established the reputation OF the Irish
bred horse as the equal, if not The Sill
perior, of England's best racers, and it
is no wonder that Irishmen not only at
home but in every land regard the win
ming of the Derby and of the triple
crown" as a matter Of national congrat-
ulation.
The breeding of fine horses in Ireland
Is almost coexistent with the Irish race
While gratis may be acknowledged and