The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-09-03

ROSEBEN'S RETURN TO FORM RE-
FLEETS CREDIT on TRAINER.

The victory Of ElectiOneer In the Futurity
on Saturday overshadowed the remarkable
performance OF the. mighty Roseben In the
Fall Handicap. When ROseben ran his last
race at the Bay last June and pulled up lame
II was generally predicted that he had faced
the starter for the last time. Owner DAvy
johnson. who had turned the Ben Strome
Relding over TO his friend l.. o. Appleby. was
criticised severely nc the time for his mis-
management OF the champion sprinter. As
johnson had been warned even before the
opening Of the racing season by such expert
turfmen az John A. Drake and Frank Farrell
that ROseben would never make a successful
long distance horse, there was little or no
sympathy for him when Roseben was beaten
badly in the Brooklyn Handicap after similar
setbacks in the Excelsior and the Metropolitan.
Even then TO the suggestions Of his friends TO
turn Roseben back to the s%printing same
Johnson turned a deaf ear. feeling sure thet
the racer could be made TO go q route.
Bat with the loss OF thousands OF dollars
and crushing defeats came a conclusion by
johnson that Roseben. after all. was nothing
but a sprinter. a fact that his friends and adj
visers had tried hard to point out 70 the
plunger all along. But when Rosebcn went
into retirement it was the general belief that
he would never come back to the races.
Always troubled with weak underpinning.
the big Splinter after running In the BROOKLYN
Handicap without aluminium pads was so
AHe tndJ ne nhIuly COuiu q "a us
stall.
Can anything be done with him?" asked
johnson Of Trainer Frank d. Weir. who has
patched up many criDples in his time.
only time will TELL. replied Weir. who
never believed in letting Roseben start In
the big handicaTs. -Roseben needs a long
restl"
The Ben Strome gelding accordin ely took
matters easy for nearly six weeks before
Weir began to work him. His lameness had
all disappeared. and with aluminium pads
on his feet Roseben soon showed that he
had all of his old speed. His time trials
were so fast that Weir could not believe his
clock was correct and called on several
of his turf associat - TO time the big fellow
too. When Weir was sure that Roseben
was At and ready he notified Appleby and
johnson that the champion sprinter was in
shape to win the Fall Handicap from some
of the best sprinters in training. including
O~rmondale. Neva Lee. Hamburg Belle. Hand
EarrA. Kings Daughter and others.
Can he win sure?" asked the plunser whose
policy had almost ruined the racer.
1T looks like he would break the track
record If extended. replied this conservative
trainer. He was never better at six fur
longs"
50 Roseben was c~raftily added to the Fall
Handicap with 1872 pounds and he was backed
to win a fortune. The way the big fellow
performed was a feather in Weir's cap. for
Roseben not only showed that he was NJ
but also displayed practically the same re-
markable form that enabled him TO break
the world s record for three-quarters OF a
mile at Belmont Park last fall with the crushing
impost OF tF7 pounds on his back, In Satur-
days race Roseben had wonderful speed. yet he
he was eased up in the last furlong by Lyme.
who saw that he had the race at his mercy.
Roeeben. il he had been compelled TO stand
even a mild sort Of a drive. surely would
have hTOlan fh0 frank record OF I13 and
might ha We equalled his own record OF III SIS.
Roseben must be reckoned with In future.
He has a number Of valuable enga gements
at the fall meetings here and II he continues
in his present condition he will be hard to
beat. II is safe to say that Trainer Weir
will be permitted TO have his own way in
future and that there will be no further Jug
Cling with the greatest Splinter Of modern
times.
r. J. Dryer has made up his mind that his
Aqueduct track will in the course of time
repla ce the old Gravesend racecourse. which,
according to rumor. has been doomed for
real estate purposes already. DwyeF tried
TO get hold of a tract OF land in Nassau county
near Garden City for a new racetrack. but a
bill was passed by the Legislature at Albany
last spring which made this plan impossible.
Dwyer, who controls the stock Of the Queens
County Jockey Club. therefore has decided
20 enlarge the accommodations for the public.
at the Aqueduct track. which. 80 far as racing
itself is concerned, is one OF the best appointed
courses under Jockey Club rule. Hitherto
there has been only a long wooden grand
stand with a wooden clubhouse for the pat
ronage of the public. but when Aqueduct
opens in November the public will ind COM
pleted there a new field stand entirely OF
steel. which is In course OF construction now
at an outlay Of sec, 600. Behind this stand
will he a huge semi-circular betting pavilion.
covered. TO which will be a separate entrance
from the railroad tracks.
The field stand. though 1t will be nearly a
quarter OF a mile from the finish pole. will
be a great accommodation TO that portion
OF the raceRoinR public that cannot afford
TO pay So admission TO the grand stand en-
closure. Dryer always has catered to this
particular element at Gravesend. so why not
at Adueduct? When the new field stand Ia
completed il will make the old grand stand
and clubhouse look decidedly cheap. But
II is generally understood that these old
buildings will be torn down within the next
year or so. 10 be replaced with modern steel
structures that will put Auueduct on an
equal plane with the other large metropolitan
tracks. And under these circumstances 10
will not he al all strange to see the Brooklyn
Handicap and other of the old Gravesend
classics decided over the Aqueduct course,
which was once little more than a merry
go-round.
The fact that there was practically no
DlluKlik NJ OulhAOkd ~ Wv ~ - "
that the Jockey Club has been doing some
effective missionary work in this direction.
II is understood that nearly all the ssnsa-
tional operators have been personally re-
auestcd to curtail their waRers. II at least
locked that way on Saturday, when the small
army Of bOokmakers handled nothing but
comparatively small waRers. The public at
large practically owned the betting ring by
sheer force Of numbers. The layers were
in some instances unable to handle the
volume Of money that was almost thrown
into their laps.
That is the kind OF business We like
said a Leading chalker to THE Sun man Just
NtPr the speculation on the Futurity had
ended. We handled more than 5000 on
tha. race alone and IL was nearly all In small
wsgers Of tens. twenties. hftles and hundreds.
We held Electioneer because we liked him
ourselves, but we laid the keene stable and
everything else that went to the post"
This particular book was about 81 900
winner after the business on the six races
was over. so that one can imagine the amount
Of labor and worry q layer goes through In
an afternoon even to win this little pile.
This will be a banner week at Sleeps
head Bay. In addition to a splendid card
HML