The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-04-02
SAVED HIS STABLE
CIRCUS WON MONTGOMERY HANDI-
CAP WHEN BALDWINS WE'RE
IN DISTRESS
BOOKIEs LOST MUCH MONEY
Three-Year-OId Was Quoted Mt 100
to L on the Winter
Book at Hot
Springs.

MEMPHIS April THAT horse racing
is lottery was never more strikingly
illustrated than in the victory of the
three-year-old Circus in the Montgomery
handicap yesterday. Circus was never
seriously considered in the list of nomina-
tons in the richest all-aged event of the
spring meeting. He raced all winter in
New Orleans and did not win enough to
keep his owner out of the hands of the
feed man. He came here as an assistant
immigrant, the only hope of a stable Of
frazzled selling platers running in the in
terest of w. T. Baldwin & Son.
In a flush moment last winter, Circus
having shown a slight symptom of quail
ity, the stable bet $65 on him in the Mont
gomery handicap against $500, Joe I'LL
man laying the price. The stake was
worth $2.995 to the winner That made
$9,495 that the Baldwins stood to win. 1t
cost them $35 to take the chance
"Old Man" Baldwin pleaded long and
earnestly with his son not to take the
chance Thirty-five C4oIlars looked as big
as a house TO the senior partner at noon
today. but the youngster scraped it up
and sent it in, and Circus started.
Circus was slated to carry 81 pounds,
the bottom weight, and Earl, a colored
boy not long out of the maiden class, was
engaged to ride him. With Waring,
Searcher, Valcain, Wax Taper and Nj
trate, and Jockeys Turner, O'Connor,
COburn and Dominick to beat the thirty
bookmakers doing business in the ring
went as far as 100 to l 10 take a little
sucker money" off Circus. They did not
have to beg for it, and. Judging from the
lines that formed behind the books after
the race, they got more than a sufficiency.
History of the winner.
Circus was at one time quoted at 100 to
l in Joe Ullman's winter book at Hot
Springs, Ark and it was not until the
book had stood to lose a fortune in the
event of the despised selling platter's win
ming the Montgomery handicap that the
price was, toward the end, cut to so to l.
The play on the hght4weighted three
year-old was small but consistent, and
seemed to come, as Ullman was heard to
say, from all directions.
1t hardly seems possible that the colt
was played to win the big Tennessee
event on the form he displayed in his
New Orleans races, although on one or
two occasions there he showed a flash Of
class when carrying light weight.
He won three races at New Orleans, his
most creditable performance being a vic
tory over Silver Coin, which he beat two
lengths going mile and a si,s zenith.
Circus was not raced as a two-year-
old, and first sported colors at the fail
meeting at GraVesend, where in a field of
thirteen maidens, he finished twelfth. The
colt was then brought West and started
at Latonia where. on Nov. Is, he cap
tured his first purse.
Circus last race at New Orleans before
being shipped to Memphis, was enough
to blast his Montgomery handicap aspira-
tions, provided it was on its merits. On
this occasion he finished sixth in a seven
horse race, being beaten fifteen lengths
by the winner, Amigari. and eight lengths
by crab of st. Tamany's class, which
ran fifth.
1t is the unexpected that happens, how
ever, particularly in horse racing, and
history has merely repeated itself.