Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-16
Base Ball, Racing
and Other Sports
Continued from Ninth Page.)

the spotlight and monopolize the whole sit
uation, destroying even the semblance OF
contests in the finest race fixtures a-going,
and making everything on the calendar
thing without interest. because 1t is all
dead-sure to go the way for one man only
That Crazy Jumper From England.
By the way again. when that crazy
Jumper, John NJ. P. was brought over to
this country from England, didn't the same
wise boys previously adverted to here nudge
to the firing line and state that that fellow
was the steeplechase horse of the century,
Yas'm. they sure did, That's what they
said. "Steeplechase hcls Sc of the century
just like that Well. John NJ. P. may be
all of that, but II he isn't an equine lunatic
then some folks that lay against him the
heaviest In the various betting rings must
be winning all kinds OF gilt on him. John
NJ. p has all the looks and lines and
lions of a leaping Clinker, but he sure does
some astonishing Things, or is made to do
them. / am not saying which. He knows
how to jump as beautifully as a brier Dird
sailing along from hedge to hedge, and just
why he doesn't finish his races as he be-
gins them is more than anybody who stud
les the thing can find out. for the horse
never looks in the least distressed after be-
Ing brought back TO the weighout scales,
| never COMFORTS hims Elf like four-hoofed
maniac on his way to or from the post,
and acts just natural and beautiful at every
stage of it-except when the wise fish In
the main ring are laying big against him.
Then, at the proper time. John NJ. P.
bolts or ref f e or peeks at t,,j jump 1p
thing like that. and the thing that has
been backed off the boards to trim the Eng
fish jumper skins along and finishes alone.
l have rarely seen a rawer looking piece
of work than that jumping race at the bay
recently, which was won by the horse
Mr.. Mccain. And if anything on a race
course was ever anticipated, that victory of
Mr.. McCann's surrey was. John M. P.
at tn Nv q n
l. Then the rush of Mccain coin set in,
and presently Mr.. McC ann the to
thing. while they were holding the "steeple-
chase horse of the century," John M. p.
at even money. Now, there was no place
betting chalked up against Mr.. Mccain In
this four-horse race at ALL but John NJ. P.
the even money favOrite, was chalked up
at 3 to 5. and in some books even to 10.
for the place Catch that? Even money to
win, to 10 for the place. in four
horse race, while the second choice was out
for second PLACE.
How the Race Was Run.
And that's exactly the way it came out In
the wash. John NJ. P. ran nobly for
two miles, clearing his jumps like a
quail, carrying his weight like a racing
Percheron. and outspeeding the others
on the fiat SO as to make them look
ridiculous. Sailing out yonder in front by
twenty lengths, John NJ. P. came to the
very last jump On lHe lar luEN. Hdu
my glasses glued on him as he took that
last jump, and he took 1t as beautifully as
he had taken any of the others. But-his
rider fell off at that last jump. After the
horse had taken the jump and settling
into his stride on the fiat again. the rider
fell off. There some nice. long grass
at that spot for him to fall off on. Then
Mr.. Mccain merely waltZed home and the
layers who had been laying that neat-look-
ing to 10 against John NJ. p. for the potz
Rugged themselves and looked gloaty. It's
pure moonshine to say that their position
was that if John NJ p. didn't stand I'D to
win they could of course afford to lay big
second money against him. John NJ. P.
did stand up, and he could have won off
by himself. l have seen him refuse a
couple Of times, and It never looked to me
as If he refused" with his heart in that
sort of business. He always looked to me
as IL he was crazy to take his timber and
come and win.
But the game has been pretty smelly over
here this year, and there never has been
time in the history Of racing in thse parts
when the so-called Stewards exhibited
such consistent and hopeless somnoience.