The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-08-02
KEPT THEM ALL GUESSING
-Four Heat Winners in the Fast
Pace at Rieby.
GOOD SPORT AT OPENING OF
AUGUST MEETING.

The Stake Events Were Rather Tame,
But the e,15 Pace Was Worth Watch
ing-Prudence and Arlington, Both
| Fayorites, Won in straight Heats
One Race Unfinished.
| Rigby's August meeting opened favor
ably. Portland people did not go out In
as large numbers as the management
would like to have seen them, but the
trains from Old Orchard brought in car
loads of summer visitors, and many rep
resentatives of the sporting "profesh'
from Boston and other Massachusetts
| cities, who follow all the big races, were
there, watching the sport, and recording
their predictions.
| 1t was very comfor table in the gran d
stand, a decided improvement over the
sultry days of fortnight ago, when the
first race meeting of the season was in
progress
Up to four o'clock the sport was rather
tame, for the reason that the first two
events on the card went off in straight
heats, as stake races are apt to go. But
the 2. pace, one of the class races of the
week. was SO exciting that the crowd re-
manned in the grand stand till long after
shutdown, the last heat being paced after
the gathering shadows had settled down
on the track in sufficient density to near
| ly shut out the horses from view up the
| back stretch. That race was unfinished.
| the four heats having been won by as
many horses. every one of them lower
| ing his mark in getting leading place
| in the summary.
This meeting Is down in the books as
the "Rigby stake meeting" but strict ly
| speaking the races are not stake events.
| The horssmen refer to them as traces
paid up on the instalment plan.
Mr.. A. Il. Merrill of Danvers, Mass,
aTfavorite ssstarter, handled the flag in the
stand, and Messrs. George W. Leavitt
and Allen Lowe of Boston were associated
with him as judges.
| There was not an exciting feature in
| the 2. 50 trot. Prudence. a bay mare of
| Bither g. Conley's string, had the best
wishes of the sporting fraternity with
her from the start. Her winning at Rig
by two weeks ago, and another at Dover
last week, in which she lowered her
mark to ZIG, satisfied the guessers that
she could out-trot anything in the field.
She was never headed, for more than a
second or two at time, during tho three
heats.
Ronald, gelding from Holyoke, Mass,
| and Malacca, from the Maplehurst farm,
Lancaster, Mass, were tied for positions
| in the summary and divided second
money.
| The field of eleven starters in the 2 "a
pace. were a long time getting away,
there being several bad actors among
them. After several times scoring Susie
S. fell about fifty yards from the wire
and broke some of her harness, necessitaa
ting another tedious wait. Finally,
when they got the word Arlington, the
| pole horse, forged ahead and opened up a
gap between him and the field. Several
Of them tried conclusions with him at
different times over the course, but every
time he had reserve which carried him
out of harms way. He finished an easy
| winner, the hottest competition being be-
tween Alpine ami Lady Alice, for second
place.
| The next two heats were patterns of the
| first, SO far as the leader was concerned,
Prudence winning handily without being
forced anywhere near his mark of 20 1-s,
made at Dover last week. Arlington is
owned in the Massachusetts, city Tor
which he was named.
Second money went to Alpine, owned
by L. j. Foley of Springfield, Mass.
third to Dick Wilton of Taftville, Conn.
fourth to .Underhill, Efrom Readville.
| Mass.
| One guess was as good as another in
regard to the winning of the 2. 10 pace.
Many of the talent" picked James
Golden's Hal Wilkes. Others believed
Jock Bowen's Norvin G. could beat out
the field if the race strung out long
enough. Pussy Cat, from the Lookout
farm, South Natick, had her friends, and
so did Annie Shedd, Nea and Belle Col
ley. They were all good ones, and the
race was bound to prove interesting.
| Nea, pretty little mare from the EN-
pire farm, Copake, N. Y, drew the pole
and in the first heat lead the bunch
around the first turn and to the first
quarter post, in so seconds. Then Pussy
Cat cut loose and came up on even terms
with the leader. Together they showed
the field the way over the greater part OF
| the course. Norvin G.. moved up from
fifth place to third in the third quarter
mile, but went off his feet and lost his
place again. Coming home Bowen came
down the outside with his brown geldlng
and made hard try for the heat but
could not get within q length OF the TWO
leaders, Nea and Pussy Cat, who Wen'
under the wire in the order named, the
mare neck to the good. The t1me'
2.I2 ID, was new mark for Nea.
= In the next heat Nea kept the pole 1ne
full mile, but lacked the necessary speeu
at the finish, Pussy Cat beating her ouu