The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-07-21

the owner of Wax Taper (Candlcmas-Utili-
tvl. the sensational race horse of the year.
Wax Taper is admittedly the best handican
hore in training. Best handicap horse
means best all-ro,nd horse of any ayc.
Captain Rice comes by his title Iegiti-
mately. He was Captain In the United
States Navy. Twenty-Five years ago he re-
signed from the service and went to the
ARKANSAS woods to die OF consumption.
6eing brave man. and q hardy one
~ithal. he recovered his health, and is now
Is sound as q dollar.
The Captain is famed for his luxuriant
~hiskers and courtesy and grace of man
0er. Some one of the great sayers of sharp
things once said that a man who wore
great whtskers subordinated humanity to a
auft OF hair. The man must have been do
nuded Of mans greatest glory by disease.
Certainly Captain Rice never has subordi
mated his personality TO his whiskers.
though they are the finest. the sikiest and
the most profuse ever grown. Some fifteen
years ago Captain Rice went on the turf
IN modest way.
A man who bears the euphonious nick
name OF ''Scotty de Tout and who dressed
like . lord, initiated the gallant Arkansan.
VINO was fresh from the fiat water and the
plantation. He staked Scotty to a banI,
Toll to make book at old Garfield Park
ana bought few horses of more or less
value. He received the usual hard knocks
all newcomers get, but. being a well-bred
man. took them gamely. Now he Is on top
During all his turf career he has never had
q horse that has run anything but good
race-at least as far as he was concerned.
He ID always trying, be his horse good or
bad.
In 1885 Captain Rice first came TO st. Louis
with the good horse Chimes, who was then
about the best handicap horse at the Fair
Grounds. He won many races that year.
Chimes went hack on him at its close The
Following two seasons saw him with 4 poor
stable, Revenue and Francis Pope, poor
platers. being about all he had. Trim. of
poor horses he quit the turf for few years.
Last spring he grew weary of plantation life
and malaria in Arkansas and determined to
give the turf another whfrl. With this idea
IN view he bought lot of good horses, Fred
Hessig. Crrd GilIock, Miss Dora, Bandrol
and last, but not by any means least, Wax
Taper.
Wax Taper was the property of John
echorr. the Memphis brewer The horse
did not have very good season in 1900,
and as he developed ossilages-eniarged
bones OF the fetlock joint-Schorr did not
want the horse. The previous fall he put
him UP at auction and bid him in for him
self at $500. Gil Cwrey. who now owns
Blink and Sister Sarah. bid sic0 on him.
Next day Schcrr told Currey he could have
him for 800
No." said Mr.. Currey: you did me an
ugly trick bidding him in yesterday and 1
40 not want him now at any price
Wax Taper would sell for go go to-day.
Last spring Captain Rice was at Memphis
looking for some good horses. He heard
Wax Taper was for sale and he watched
the horse work. George Walker was using
him as work horse for Silverdaie, Lady
6chorr and Alard Sheck. They were putting
Jockey Johnnie Woods, good boy, on
these horses and throwing any old negro
stable boy on Wax Taper
"still," said Captain Rice, in relating the
STORY. he was beating them all every day
IN their works, and the more 1 saw of him
the better l liked him. / asked Johnnie
Schorr what he was worth. He asked me
NS@. ! offered $500. They refused"
an anen came the Memphis meeting and the
Western Jockey Club. Schorr was fighting
the Tur1 Congress- and doing IT a deal of
injury. In fact. but for him there never
Celia OF st Louis chief OF the Turf
Congress FORCES, resolved to play even with
Schorr for his action by bidding up his
horses In selling races. Schorr lives in
Memphis: his son-in-iaw makes the pro-
gramme at the race track, and he did not
neglect his father-in-law's interests. Many
races were made for Schorr's horses to
win. Celia did not mind this bit. When
ever Schorr put s., COO horse in a race to
be sold for $50. Celia bid him up. He made
Gchorf's life miserable by this action. Wax
Taper was entered in these selling races
for 800 and Schorr was fearful that Celia
would bid him up. So one day he said to
.Capdin you can hat dot Wax Diaper ov
"a, .Ail !. right" replied the Arkansan, how
Fifteen hundret tollars." said Schorr
Sound? queried the Arkensan.
An bud his !aigs.",, said Schorr. ''nn you
IAN right" said Captain Rice. come to
the clubhouse and will give you check"
So, for $780, Captain Rice bought the
him out a few days later at Memphis Then
he took him to st. Louis He was not
Thought very much of then. though adj
He was hot favorite in the first race
run at st. Louis this year. but WAS beaten
through bad ride. Later on, he beat some
johnson. Dissenter and Hottentot beat him
through flukes and other mishaps. But one
day he ran mile in LAO and won in a gal
in 1:l3x with 126 pounds up These races
were both won easily and stamped him as
. remarkable horse. Then Captain Rice
sent him East. All the Southwest. from St
Louis to Ell Paso. bet on him his first out
at Sheepshead Bay. Over 2oo0o was bet on
him. and over s15o. 900 would have been won
had he managed to land first. He would
have done So had he not been thrown to
his knees at the first turn. He got up, lost
some twenty lengths. yet was beaten only
length by Watercure. horse who ran
second In the Suburban later on. He ran
his mile that day in 1:3Sls.
A few days later he was in again and won
q tremendous mile in LIS 3-5, one of the
great races Of the year. But his first race
had shown him up and no long price was
laid against him. But he won. Then he
to l. This race thoroughly opened peoples
eyes to the merits OF the horse, for he car
Jied 10 pounds. A few days later he took
up 132 pounds and beat To-day. the mare
who ran third in the Brooklyn Handicap.
giving her eighteen pounds. and bad lick
Ing. This race made Wax Taper the great
horse in the East. The people went wild
over him. He ran SO pluckily and SO brave
" under ali kinds of weight and against all
disadvantages that he became PUBLIC idol:
Recently the horse has had lot of hard
luck and has been going of shade in
form. Yet his last race. where he WAS
beaten q head, saw the mile run in Lag 3-5
ana he was beaten because he was fouied
Herbert, at the head of the stretch and lost
two lengths.
Wax Taper's races have been tremendous
ones. rot only in point of weight carried
and horses beaten. but also in time.
Carrying UP to LIS pounds right along he
has run his miles in better than Lao. win or
lose. As q rule he has been poorly ridden
No less than two Jockeys Were suspended
for successive poor rides on him in me
week.
without e .loubc he IS the sess handicap
horse OF the year.
wax Taper Is a rt.h brown in colcr. He