The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-07-30
SPORTING NEWS.
Who Is the Greatest Horse Of
This Racing Season.
Commando Had Claims Until
Parader Beat Him.
CONROY is A HUSTLER.
If He Can Perform Again as i'm
Brooklyn Handicap
He Will Come Near to Having a
Clear Title.
CONROY is A HUSTLER.

New York, July s0-The question,
Which IS the horse OF the Year," comes
as regularly as the racing season and
once the discussion begins, there is no
stopping it until-wen, after all the dates
on the racing calendar have been filled.
The races at Saratoga have yet to be
run, and the fail meetings at Sheepshead
BAY. Gravesend Morris Park and Aque-
duct are vet open for the clearing Of tt
ties Before the question can be salts
factorily settled. however, some stand
ards must be established by which to
judge the horse of the year" What
must he achieve in order to be declared
the champion? Shall he be selected be-
cause of his winning a few fashionable
stakes from noted company Or because
running in all kinds or weather and In
all kinds Of company and at all kinds oL
iistances-he fought his battles as he
found them, and got the money! 1t was
BY such a standard that the morse OF
the year" was judged in the old days Of
the American turf In the days Of King
and LongfelloW and Preakness and Gle
neig. Of Alarm and Tom BoWllng ana
Sprlngbook ana Buckden, that morse was
decided the champion which picked up his
burden, whatever il migAt be. and car
frequently, no matter what his opponents
might be or whence they came
Before Commando was beaten by Inc
Farader it was often said that this par
tioular 3-year-old of Mr. Keene's was the
decade, and that it was only about once
ia ten years that really great thorough
have had a habit of appearing oftener
than once in a decade. and the probabili-
ties are that the habit VIII continue In
1870 there were three Kingiisher and En-
Quirer divided the honors in the 3-year-
Old division and Helmbo4d was PROBABLY
the best of the all-ages. Iongfellow was
81 3-year-Old in 1870. but he did not reveal
Then Harry Bassett and Salina. were s.
XHAr-0ldgs and who shall say that these
were not great race horses Harry Bas-
set and Longfellow, the latter Bassett' $
walfnped each other until their perform
ancea made the year famous on the
American turf In 1872 there were the
menora BILE contests between Woodbine
den and Alarm fought it out for cham
plonship honors in the 3-year-oId division
IN 1873 there were Catesby and Slyboots
and Tom Bowling, all horses that left
tleir impress on the American turf. and
they followed each other in quick success
Coming down the years. Duke OF Ma
nnd Eramble and Pfque were 3-year-Olds
mat Fought for the championship in 1878.
NE suffered but one defeat and won the
most money Himyar was a close second
and Bramble was not far behind In 1879
Harold and E'erida. that wonderful mare
OF George l. Lorillard's that never found
journey too long. and Uncas and Moni-
tor and SDeudthrtft were the 3-year-oi ds
that Tent Iuster to their year. IN issO Luke
Blackburn. perhaps the greatest of the
get OF Bonnie Scotland. and the greatest
hnree ri their opinfon ever owned nv
Nnc brothers Dwyer. appeared. and it did
not take him long to prove that he was.
without the shadow Of a doubt the best
OF his year.
A different story might have been told
NaA E4erre Lorlllard's Sensation of the
same age as Luke Blackburn. continued.
as a 3-year-old. his whiriwind record of
the year before. When Sensation was a
2-year-old there was nothing on four legs
Of equal years that he could not beat. The
record shows that great horses followed
Immediately after Luke Blackburn and
Sensation, for in 1881 Hfndoo and Thora
were winning the races for 3-year-olds
And then followed Runnymede and
Barnes and Drake Carter and Rootjack
and Pearl Jennings and Cseta Wav and
Es0le and Miss WoOdford and Salvador and
Tenny4 straight down to the days of Han
over and fremont Handspring and Re
nuittai The Butterflies Hastings. Domino,
DObbins and Hamburg.
if ConrOy can perform again as he did
IN the BROOKLYN handicap. if he can win
races in any kind of going and company.
he viii come pretty near having a clean
title to the championship Of 1901.