Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-04-04
BRADLEY AND HIS METHODS.
Virginian is old-Fashioned, but Very
Successful.

Virginia" Bradley. the long. lean horse
man from the broomstraw country of the
Old Dominion, has succeeded most con-
spicuously since the opening at Benning In
having the racing limelight thrown on him.
self and the curious assortment of thor
oughbreds he has brought out for the COM
Ing campaign. Virginia" is looked on by
modern trainers as good deal Of a joke.
His ways are not their ways: his animals
are not of the type that excite their admit
ration, and his treatment Of them Is q vio-
lation Of all present day methods. And yet.
as joke. he has demonstrated pretty thor
oughfy in the last few days-and with this
same curious assortment Of thoroughbreds-
that he is one to be reckoned with. With
Peter Paul, Allen Avon, General Steward
and Boney Boy he has won more races than
any other two owners combined, and he has
done so along his own peculiar line of pro-
cedure.
When his animals were brought to the
stabling quarters at Benning from their
Virginia plantation they created as much
merrfment as minstrel parade. All OF
them were In rags and tatters. Some had
two shoes on; some three; more of them
none at all. Old Boney Boy had q leg as
big as a rain barrel Peter Paul looked as
II he had been on an exclusive diet OF pine
needles. One darby was assigned to lead
three horses. and all wore web halters.
When trainers and owners INDUCED In face
tious remarks Bradley merely smiled. ac-
cepting their comments good naturally.
Later he smiled again when he put three
specimens from his junk pile first across the
line In as many races. The next day he
followed with two more winners. and the
next with one-taking six races with seven
starters.
All of his animals. with the exception OF
Boney Boy, who Is son of the old Iron
horse Bitten, are the get of Aloha, and
were bred by Bradley himself. Aloha was
gift horse. although at one time In his
career he sold for $4,000. J. J. MMcCaffer-
ty raced him one year, and finally sold
him to the late Frank Beard. who gave him
to the Virginian the next year. With
Robert Waddell, a son of this same horse.
Bradley won the American Derby at Chica-
go few years ago, and he now asserts that
he will repeat the performance next June
with his three-year-old colt Peter Paul.
Virginia will put Peter Paul on a fiat
car" one owner predicts; ship him to Chi
cago by freight and tow rope all the four
legged dudes that travel out there in their
private palace cars. The rest OF his string
he will herd to Chicago over the highways.
using old Boney Boy as a lead horse. Brad
ley belongs te the racing era of Boston.
Fashion and the four-mile heat horses He
breeds to copper bottomed mares that can
gallop all day, and turns their foals out to
shift for themselves until 1t Is time to SEND
them to the races. Then he gives them
couple of nubbins of corn apiece and tells
'em to go long. If any one else tried it he
would have a stable of dead horses at the
end of the first week Bradley does not
believe in having any drones in his hive
If they can't win, they must race. anyway
To his friends to whom he felt under oblt-
cations Virginia made his three starters
on Thursday the means of paying of old
scores. He personally looked up these ac-
uuantances and advised them to bet on
Peter Paul. Allen Avon and General Stew
ard to win. IS bet 'parleyed' on these
three horses would have netted 1854"