The Savannah morning news., 1904-12-25
C0RRIGAN TALKS
OF GREAT HORSES
THOMAS COLT is CHAMPION.
NOTED THURMAN LIKES HERMIs
AND SCINTILANT.

Says Hermis' Performance in the
Worlds Fair Handicap Was
Great Race-MiEht Have Won the
Big stake with MCGEE. But He
Was Too Hasty-Predfcts a Great
Future For His English stallion
Scfntiiant-OId thurman Dis
cusses Best Horses of the Day.
Edward F. Corrigan. the master of
Hawthorne, is a great believer in his
English horse, Scintilant, holder of the
American record of 1851 rs for one
mile and three-sixteenths. made at
Harlem two years ago. Scintilant is a
son of Sheen and a Hermit mare.
This Scintilant,. says Mr.. Oorrigan.
Is going to make a stud success, and
if I am not vastly mistaken he'll do
1t right away. He is the best son of
the best son of Hampton. All English
men, L believe, concede that Sheen as a
race horse had something on the other
sons of his distinguished daddy. I
know from personal observation that
Scintilant can beat anything else Sheen
ever sent out. He is, I think. the only
winner of the Czarewitch ever brought
to the United States. He won the
Czarewitch as a 3-year-old, you will
remember. 1 think he is about as fast
horse as 1 ever saw, and many smart
horsemen tell me that they never knew
of one that could outrun him. In the
race at Chicago in which he made his
new record for one mile and three-six-
teenths he is said to have stopped the
swiftest and final quarter of which
there is any record in that part of the
country"
Mr. Corrigan is a great admirer of
Edward R. Thomas 5-year-old Her
mis-. He never saw the Hermence
horse, who was the conceded kingpin
of the mature division in these parts
until the Worlds Fair handicap was
run, but he had heard a lot about him.
Hermis' performance in the Worlds
Fair handicap, although he did not win
Mr.. Corrigan thinks was sufficient to
stamp him champion, even if he had
never won a Suburban or a Brighton
cup.
Hermis was beaten in the Worlds
Fair handicap, as I expected and pre-
dicted," says Mr.. Corrigan, but he
ran a much better race than 1 looked
for. Colonial Girl was then at her best
and the going suited her exactly. Her
mis- was trying to concede a ton of
weight to her, and if he had done it
would have been prepared to call him
the best horse 1 ever saw. Three
months before the running of the
Worlds Fair handicap 1 thought the
race would be between Colonial Girl
and my horse, MCGEE. They had all
the best of the weights. I did not
give Hermis a thought because
thought him too heavily weighted. Yet
l am not sure now that he would not
have beaten Colonial Girl if he had
been properly ridden. When Redfern
opened that gap of four or five lengths
at the break and took him the first
half in :49 2-5 I did not think Hermis
would last quarters. Colonial
Girl did not go to the first half in bet
ter than so. 1t was the way Hermis
struggled gamely on after this heart
breaking effort that made me think he
might have beaten Colonial Girl,
weight and all, if Redfern had kept him
under restraint and had not permitted
not want to be understood as harshly
criticising Redfern. because I do not
know what his instructions were, nor
do 1 know positively that Hermis
would have stood for restraint. Horses
of his great speed do not always run
we'll when an effort is made to choke
them back.
Because of this great speed Hermis
showed, and because of his beautiful
individuality and sweetness of temper.
he ought to make a good horse.
should like myself to have a nice colt
or two by him.
IF had not been overhasty might
have won the Worlds Fair handicap
with MCGEE. My overhaste consisted
in ordering him back to Chicago on
the morning of the race, before l in
spected the track. MCGEE had never
been a good mud horse, and I heard
before left Chicago, that the going was
very muddy. I ordered him back home
directly the car which took him from
Chicago reached st. Louis. The going
Colonial Girl won over would have
suited MCGEE as we'll as 1t suited her,
and a short time afterward at Chi
cago he beat her handily.