Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-06-18
Mistellantols Rsaains.
THE WINNER OF THE DERBY.
How Blood and Training Count For
Victory.

| NictoTJ.
| To have your horse a winner in the
great races and to take him In the
moment of his victory while his blood
and his spirit are yet bounding splen-
didly with the fire and the mettle
which made him a thing Of the wind
on the track, and then amid the plaud-
its of his admirers to lead him your
! own self past the crowded grand
stand where the King Of England sat
to witness the Derby-isn't that some
thing to be proud Of?
It Is out Of the question for one who
is not a fancier Of racing horses to
comprehend what 1t means to win the
Derby; and 1t Is difficult for the most
ardent devotee Of the turf to fully un-
derstand it unless he has lived in Eng
land and imbibed the Derby. atmos-
sporting event on the racing calendar
Of the English people. 1t Is the kings
custom to invite the winner to dine
with him on Derby day. Established
/ 4
$500 sovereigns, 1t Is antedated by
only two English turf affairs-the st.
| Leger by three years and the Oaks by
one-both long ago outclassed by the
Derby. This great event Is regularly
attended by royalty and fashion, and
on the eve Of the races a great assem-
blage Of coaches laden with the gay
ETY. and fashion Of England take up
positions Of vantage over night. At
this years Derby, the 127th, King Ed
ward, the Prince and Princess OF
| Wales, with dukes and duchesses and
grand dukes and other notables OF
royalty, were present to witness the
races.
| Before such a cloud Of witnesses
who would not like so to run as to OBJ
tain the prize? And to be the owner
and, more than that, the breeder OF
the winning horse and lead the fine
dumb thing proudly out before the
king!
All of these self-same honors are
the very ones which came Richard
Croker's way last week when his
three-year-old Orby proved himself
classic in horse flesh and placed the
blue ribbon of the worlds greatest
racing event to the credit Of Tam
many Hail. And Croker had a right
to be proud. There are a great many
very respectable people who cannot
think of many things in this man Gro
kers career that he has any right to
be proud OF; and there are few who
can even start a small catalogue with
things he has done which ought to be
viewed by him with feelings contrary
to those of conscientious satisfaction
But of his Derby achievement the
man we used to see pictured in the
papers as bad, bad striped old tiger
has just cause to be proud.
You remember the story OF 1t all!
How he moved to England not many
years ago and set up to live at Wan.
tage? He took some Of his favorite
horses along, among them a dashinl
Kentucky filly named Rhoda B, who
won some pretty distinctions. Later
he sold his interest in the Belle Meade
Stud Farm near Nashville, Tenn, and
transferred his entire stable inter
ests to England. He wanted to try
for the Derby, and so he looked tc
Rhoda B for the colt to win 1t with
But his English neighbors didn't re-
gard Croker as a fit person to asso'
ciate with. And they wouldn't asso
ciate with him. Oh, that was theil
right, maybe, If they wanted to exer
else it. And they snubbed him-s
way people have Of doing other people
when they don't like 'em. There wa
the Jockey Club who excluded Croker
and his horses from the great semi
public training grounds at New Mar
ket Heath-gave no reasons, just shu
him out. The Vantage folks didn'
want to associate with Croker ant
didn't want their horses to associate
with Croker's turf-pounders. So th'
man who used to wear the tiger clothes
land the tiger claws in the pictures
pulled up his belongings and moved
across the divide over into his below
ed Ireland. The folks were more so
ciable in Ireland and at Baldoyle N
re-established himself. He also Sc
his heart on winning the Derby. Rho
da BIS colt by the great English stal
lion Orme was now year old. Orb!
was his name And for two year.
they trained Orby to give as good al
account Of himself as possible In tn
most famous race in the calendar o
the racing world.
Racing day came last week at Ep
som Downs. The famous young thor
oughbreds of England were on th
track. The favorite Of the Englisl
hackers was the Irish horse, Slew
Gallon, ridden by an English jockey
This horse had just won the New
Market stakes a month before. Orb!
was ridden by an American JocKy
Johnny Reiff, Wool Winter! ridden b!
an English jockey, was in the numbe
that started, as were Lord Roseberry'
Bensonian and John Bull and others
nine in all.
Orby, the odds are against you
You are unknown. You have Amerl
can blood in you. Only one American
horse, Lorillards Iroquois, has eve
won the Derby. You have no big rep
utation to spur you on. The odds ar
against you, that's right, but you'll d.
your best. They've done your boss
mighty bad and all that; and If yo'
win, 1t brings him the stakes of $32
600, and 1t will bring you the blue RID
bon and add enough to your fame ant
price to run 1t all to quarter or
milion-and many a proud English
man would give half million to viii
on your hoofs today. But that's al
right. Orby, just do your best, ant
therell be no kick coming from you
Irishman boss.
e The track is a horseshoe shape
r mile and half long. EPSON Down
is its name, but the first mile is u
, hill; the riders pass out of sight oI