Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-27
EXCELSIOR WON
BY DIR. GARDNER
Big Handicap Captured by Sui
Iivan's Horse in impress
sive Style.

NEW YORK, April 27.-Taking the top
weight to the front in the first furlOng of
mile and a sixteenth race, DR.. Gardner,
owned by Timothy D. Sullivan, made his
own pace and won the $4,000 Excelsior
handicap at the Jamaica track yesterday,
just about he pleased, after a truly
markable performance.
The race was the special feature of the
opening of the Metropolitan Jockey Club
spring meeting, and attendance esti
mated in excess of 10000 visitors saw DR..
Gardner win. with Glorifier, the winner Of
the Carter handicap. second, and the one
time great horse Cairngorm third.
In his run from the barrier into first
place DR.. Gardner had to go on from the
extreme outside position at the start, cross
the entire breadth of the track and out
speed the swiftest horses of the field to the
first turn, but all Of that the Sullivan horse
accomplished from break back in the CEN
ter of the crowd, and from the time that
he showed in the lead until he galloped In
winner by a length and a half the result
was never seriously in doubt.
The race was the first really important
victory that DR.. Gardner has earned for
his owner since T. D. Sullivan and Frank
Farrell bought the horse from Barney
Schneider for $4,000 at Brighten Beach
last fall and stout and fast DR.. Card
ner proved himself to be last season, the
result was far removed from the expecta-
tons of the general public. and even was
something of a surprise to his stable, for.
after his defeat at Aqueduct by Athlete,
the Sullivan-Farrell-Johns combination
lost faith in the colt to such an extent
that the stable backed him only gingerly
yesterday, the horse going back in the
betting from to 1 at the opening to a
post price of to 1.
Big Crowd Present.
Aside from the result however the race
was one which in popularity took rank with
the Brooklyn and Suburban handicaps of
the past. The crowd that gathered for the
occasion was typical of an important race
day, and the celebrities of every element Of
metropolitan life were on hand to make
the most of the occasion, fashionable So
ciety having an excellent representation in
the club house crowd and in the automo-
bile procession to and from the track, while
the stage. politics. Wall street and Broad
way sent out .goodly number of their
brightest lights. sr ....s. -..
The race that drew the huge patronage
was one that was fully worthy of the prom
tnence the Excelsior handicap has had this
spring. for the field of fourteen horses in
cluded about all the best that have shown
this season, with the addition of several
notables of last season. Only two of the
sixteen horses named in the overnight an
nouncement of the entries were withdrawn.
these being the noted mare Dishabille and
the Splinter Pretension, which ran in an
earlier race of the day.
The field proved to be a most unruly one.
Kings Daughter being especially nervous
and excitable. and kicking at horses which
crowded on her with such good will that
when she landed on Oxford the gray horse
for few seconds seemed to be crippled.
The line of horses twisted and broke for
something like five minutes, and then
Starter Cassidy caught the horses all
headed the same way and sprung the bar
rier to a good start, the field breaking al
horse h1If instant
the break beginning to tangle up in the
crush over to the rail as the short run to
the first turn was begun.
Kings Daughter Pinched
Kings Daughter was the first to suffer.
the FLY being pinched in between Glorifier
and Okenite, with horses jamming them in
from either Shilling. on Kings
Daughter, had to pun back to prevent being
thrown, and. though he steadied the FLY
and tried for leading position by going
around on the outside, tre lost ground and
jostle cost Kings Daught,r her chance for
the race almost at the start. w. H. Carey,
a slow beginner at all times. had no more
hard luck than could have been ANTICIPATED
for him in such field. as he broke next
to last and fell in with the trailers in the
run around the first turn.
DR.. Gardner, actually sixth at the start
to a lead off by Good Luck. with Samuel
H. Harris second, went on with splendid
rush from his outside position, and. cross
ing the track in the run to the first turn,
took the track In less than furlong. and
once in the lead settled down to a steady.
swift pace there. and never permitted any
of his opponents to come TO him In the
remainder of the race. Kings Daughter,
after recovering from the early interference,
took second place on the turn into the back
stretch. and raced there almost to the far |
turn, where sire began to lag and drop
back. Cairngorm and Glorifier, the closest |
of the others to that point then passing |
her and going on In a hopeless chase after
DR.. Gardner. AS his pursuers moved after |
him. DIR. Gardner slipped just far enough |
away from them to cause the Jockeys on
Cairngorm and Glorifier to make the last