Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-10-14
BY Clarence L. Cullen.

ny Cl8ISQC0 ~. SuAACAs
Some Of these turf sharps are overhasty
in applying the term ''plater" to race
horses that haven't arrived"
Holscher, a Lamplighter three-year-old.
a weed. thrust out of Diamond Jim Brady
barn and carelessly picked up by, Alec
Shields. walked away with the $4,000
Brighton Cup on Saturday last. Holscher
was a platter that showed them
Ever since he first showed up at the
races Holscher had been called platter.
But, in the Brighton Cup. at two miles
and a quarter, he ran over and showed up
such horses as Proper and Flip Flap, and
anybody who would call Flip Flap and
Proper platers would be laughed at.
They're not great ones, but they're stake
horses, all the same, and there is supposed
to he all the difference betwixt here and
there between platers and stakers.
/ Holscher, the so-called platter, didn't huke
home in that race, either. Carrying his
package Ill pounds-nifty weight for a
three-year-old, one almost a maiden. es-
pecially at the cup Observation-Disclosures
simply let the stakers four-fush out In
front and kill each other of, while he
trailed, patiently taking their mud FOR
nearly two miles. Then the despised platter,
with the plater's price Of 80 and 40 to l
against him In the four-horse race, just
picked up his feet and came on, smother
ing the stakers for sheer endurance, and
winning by length, going away. He won
whereas all of the stakers that had made
bid at one stage or other of the journey
chucked 1t like hounds.
The truth about this platter. so-termed.
seems to be that he just about got ready
to race some on Saturday last. He was
merely slow one to come to hand. No
body doubts now that Holsccher will be
one of the big factors in the distance races
20 will he
about Holscher's chances for the big prizes
all winter. And those who will give him
the best chance to nail some of the long
journey things next year will be the chaps
who. before the Brighton Cup race was
decided last Saturday, were probably the
loudest in adverting to Holscher as dog
and a sausage and a crab and other pet
names for the platter.
A whole raft of shrewd fellows who had
been listening to this platter talk for a
good many years took a chance on Hols-
cher on Saturday last They figured cor
rectly that no Lamplighter horse is ever
a planter in the mud, and they also said
unto themselves that Alec Shields was
hardly the man to chase any kind of a
horse over two miles and a quarter of
thick mud If he didn't expect that horse
to get something. Some of these thought
full people gotsas high as so to 1 for their
money, and when Holscher trudged reso-
lutely down to the tape they had some OBJ
servatons to make about platers that maue
foolish.
Some nightly good horses have suffered
under that platter stigma of the knowit-all
horSemen.
Remember Imp's Career.
Imp, the great Wagner Founding mare
that came from the shed of Harness &
Brosman in Chillcothe, Ohio, didn't do
much as a two-year-old. She wasn't ready.
She was a big flly, growing all the time,
huge feeder, and not easy to train. And
yet, when she was being beaten right
along as a two-year-old Harness & Bros
man were claiming that Imp was going
to develop into a great mare. They were
hooted at by the wisdom packers Aside
from her proven incompetency, the dead
wise ones said, Imp wasn't bred to be
her sire? What had he ever done that
would entitle his progeny to any kind Of
claim to distinction? What good were
Ohio-bred horses, anyhow? Had Ohio
ever bred firSt-rate one? Thus the smart
fellows talked about the optimism of Imp's
owners.
AS a three-year-old Imp went to Chicago
anc trimmed everything worth while
around there. Then Harness & Brosman
decided to take her to New York to see if
there was anything in those parts that
she could get
When the New York know-it-alls heard
and laughed. Yes, they admitted, Imp had
put it the things around Chicago. but
what were those Chicago thngs-all platers
from Platerville! Sure! Not good horse
out In Chicago! Any platter from the New
York tracks could go out to Chicago and
just hide from all of those Chicago plugs
doing anything from jump to four miles
Imp proceeded to make all of the cracks
around the Long Island tracks stretch their
necks. and she beat them a heap oftener
than they beat her. She picked up a hat
full of purses and stakes without seeming
to more than half try, for she had a
swallow-like action that always made 1t
seem as If she were merely loafing. She
became the absolute idol of the New York
going popuace. The folks knew that
she was always trying, and every time she
finished in front women in the stand be-
came hysterical with affection for the grand
mare as the grandstand band played Nah
Coal Back Lady" and men made them
selves hoarse for week bowling her
praises. There never was such scene at
a race in this country as there was on the
day that Imp walked off with the Suburban
handicap. People all over the place were
SO choked with emotion over the beautiful
mares triumph that they couldn't speak,
much less cheer. There was something
about the mare that appealed to them
perhaps it was the knowledge that she had
come to New York as sort of under dog,
amid the clack of predictions from the
Wisenheimers that she was common or
garden variety Of platter destined to bring
up the rear with the gunnysack every time
she met any kind Of real good horses. She
raced at all distances, from six furlongs to
two miles and quarter and she won at all
of these distances. They called her the
sleepy mare" because while all the rest
of the horses were kicking and flashing out
with their heels at the post she would face
the webbing as quiet and doce as an old
fire horse awaiting the cluck-but when the
bunting was dropped, how she would dart
to the front with that frictionless stride,