The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-09-07
LUCK IN GIFT HORSES
RACE 'E1xi IT'S A cINCH," IS
 THE ADVICE OF A VETERAN.
Maybe They Want a Change and That is Why They Save Them selves to Do the New Owner
 Credit--One Case.

Credit--one Case.
 saraStoga as N. T.. Special to The New
 Never look a gift horse in the mouth
 race him., remarked veteran turf
 the talk veered around to the subject
 of gift horses and their tantalizing habit
 or winning races after they've been given
 away 6y disgusted owners and trainers. nave to ransack my old head to
 tnink of gift horse that hasn't pranced out ana won q race or so for his new master after having been passed up for
 Theren ss 1l no tallow o by his previous owner
 Maybe It's the shift in training methods. Maype it's because the gift horse usu- ally finds himself after having been all
 little bit of all these things I think it's
 pure cuseedness. mingled with pride and
 a desire to ret hunk with the old owner,
 on the part of the gift horse. sI know an excitable St. Louis owner who gave horse away on the St. Louis fair grounds track three years ago. The animat was s-year,oid geldins and he'd
 purple-topped morning glory as a year.
 old breaking the hearts of good aged
 work horses in his dawn galiops. But
 when VI t camp to racing in the afternoon counter of a Jerk-water railroad station. He was loafer and . rogue when he paraded to the post. and he wouldn't so
 real test came. On the strength of his works his owner bet on him time and again when the geldihg was a 2-year-old but the brute. after frequently fiattering
 eagle 'em. would % invariably look for the hole In the fence when it came down to the pinch, and wind up in the ruck. Clung to His Horse. The excitable owner was frequently tempted to try to sell the geldng or send him to the grease factory after these sor- 2-year.old. but he hung onto him in the hope that he'd take a tumble to himself and pay for his feed and keep when he
 exactly the same stunts from the begin ming of his 3-year-old racing career. He'd sizxle the track for the morning clockers and run like a string-halted goat when
 the bad way up in the four figures on him.
 Then he concluded that he'd been rac- ing the gelding at too long distances shortest kind of sprints So he got a bolo edge on the gelding for the short dashes and tried him out in work. The brute did the>fve furlongs one morning in | minute and a second on the bit, and the owner doped it out that at last he was going to drill his plug through for at least a bit of the money he had lost on him. So he stuffed him into a five-fur- | long sprint for 3-year-olds that ought all | of them to have been In the United States l | cavalry. and took to 1 to win for a | | pat $1.ooo on his gelding. '"The gelding led by fifteen lengths into | the stretch. Then he began to act like | he'd dropped or forgotten something in | the early part of the route He pricked |
 his ears and swished his tail like yearl- | ing looking over rail fence. and then | he dropped back into the bunch like a | handcar slowing up to make sharp | curve on a narrow gauge road. He was beaten about three days and half. "His excitable owner was waiting at the | l paddock gate for the stable hand to lead l the rogue through the barn. His face was as mottied and red with wrath as an old l fashioned moss-agate. and the nearer the | | mutt drew toward the gate the madder | the owner became. 'Jim,' he roared to the stable hand leading the gelding. don't you take the | trouble to cool that d-d bit of riff-raff out. Don't take him to my barn. I'm going to see if ,an give him away to some pinhead that don't know a horse
 from a wash boiler Hold him just minute
 Just then darky sport with an end | man makeup leaned over the paddock | fence and grim sd. The excitable owner
 caught sight of him-he was on nodding
 Line he said to the black-and-tan
 hot sport, do you want horse?
 "'What kin O hoss ,suh?' inquired the black man. Pleased the Negro.
 "'This racehorse here. sputtered the excitable owner. pointing to the gelding. This beaut of a combination of Hanover
 Henry of Navarro. Lamplighter, Hast
 back to the First Arabian-this cracker jack of my string He was so smoth-
 cred with rage that he could hardly talk
 plain.
 grlnningly replied the black sport. 'Whut
 yo' all askin' fo de hoss? 'The excitable owner pushed his hat
 to the, back of his head and walked over to the fence on which the darky was leaning. Line he said hoarsely, trying to hold himself in. I don't want d-d thing for him. If thought was cheap skate
 enough to impose upon any man. white.
 red or black. by asking as much as g for that internal sonofagun of a mutt
 I'd toss % myself self into the. the Big Muddy and
 him: all you've got to do Is to take him
 by his little halter string and do as you l confounded please with him. Hes nah hoss,' announced the black |
 sport, hopping into the paddock. He | took the horse from the stable hand and led him away. As he went the enraged |
 owner stopped and picked up clod and l owner himself the rest of the afternoon to cool out. ''The black sport led the gift gelding | over to the barn of a well known black |
 owner and trainer, and the two made ar engagements. Now, all of you know that | there are certain thoroughbreds that have l | naturai-born liking for colored folks, | and love to have them around. This geld !! ing was one of that kind. He muzzled | into the coat of his new owner. the black | sport, and the black trainer, as if he felt | that he was at last back in old Ken
 lucky. Like good many thoroughbred | rog1es, he was a fine locker, and his new |
 trainer. fully knowing the trial and trib- |
 ulation the gelding had been to his for |
 mer owner, nevertheless thought he saw |
 race or so in him. Three days later, |
 when he put him into a race at a mile l
 and a sixteenth and entered him in |
 the selling race as a $1.000 proposition at |
 that, the gelding's former owner all but |
 rolled on the lawn grass-he was so |
 amused. But he became almost hysterical 1
 with laughter when the black sport to |
 whom he had given the animal approach
 ed him shortly before the field was due |
 to go to the post and said;
 Boss, yo all kin git yo' checks down |
 on dat hoss yo' dun give me. Hes suah |
 uh-goin tuh win by fo houahs, an they'll |
 be bout thutty uuh one agin him.
 Yes the geldng's former owner surely | was entertained over this. He enjoyed i
 1t. When he was able to talk at all he |
 said to the black sport: |
 E.l.1 ..Ir 1I