Evening star., 1907-08-18

Frank Gilrs impressive victory in Sara
toga's Travers stake. with 129 pounds up.
showed the important colt to great advan-
tage. And turf veterans present, who have
seen all the famous winners of this time
honored event since Kentucky's inaugural
success in 1864, agreed that Gill was wor-
thy to have earned a place on the roster
of fame of this. the oldest annual stake
event of the American turf.
Said Charles Littlefeld who, next to
Johr Davis. is the oldest living American
trainer: "Of all the forty colts and fillies
that l have seen win the Travers, l rode
one of the best myself-the colt Kentucky.
by Lexington out of Magnolia. But the
race was mile and three-quarters at that
time. Another Travers victor OF great
merit, In my opinion, was Commodore Kilt
sons colt Rataplan, who won the stake In
1884. and incidentally landed the friends of
the Minnesota turfman some very heavy
wagers.'
After Commodore Nathan W. Kittson of
st. Paul, Mimi, purchased his Pennsylva-
MIA stud farm at Erdenheim. near Philadel-
phia. and established bennington. Alarm
and Reform as the lords of his harem, he
bred Iroquois. Sensation and many other
great horses. sometimes selling his entire
crop of yearlings to one man, as he did to
Pierre Lorillard in Iroquois year, 1879.
But after Iroquois had won the English
Derby in 1881 the veteran commodore nat
urally got notion that he might as well
have some OF this turf glory himself and
the next season QSs2) he selected several
OF his yearlings to carry his own colors,
among them a fine chestnut colt of double
parentage-by Alarm or Reform out of the
imported English mare Lady Lumley. This
youngster he named Rataplan. AS two
year-old, however, Rataplan was not exact
iy bowling success. He was a big, over
grown youngster. and Commodore Kittson
did not start him until September at
Sheepshead Bay. He ran twice at the Bay
and twice at Baltimore without success,
and went into winters quarters maiden
with his winning honors yet to earn.
A Promising Colt at Erdenheim.
But Rataplan wintered finely amid the
SHOWS of Erdenheim, and while many of his
prospective three-yearold opponents were
in the milder climates of Kentucky, the
gulf coast and California. the Kittson colt
was becoming Injured and toughened for
the tasks ahead OF him. His owner, the
Commodore, had entered him in a number
OF valuable stakes for his age. but Trainer
William Steele did not hurry him, selecting
as his first start the Coney Island Jockey
Clubs new fixture, the Emporium stake, at
mile and half
Rataplan was not sprinter. and in the
Emporium he received the extreme allow
had started as two-year-olds, without win
ming. Consequently, when a week before
the race the colt showed Steele a mile and
a half trial in 2.Ss, with 115 pounds up. his
trainer knew that he had a great chance
with only lOl to carry in the Emporium
race and so told his employer.
Commodore kittson was never heavy
bettor. Like James r keene. he bred and
raced thoroughbreds more from sentiment
than the financial profit of the business.
But naturally he was not averse to once in
q while attempting a substantial betting
coup with one of his own horses. And here
was the chance with Rataplan in this
stake at such light weight.
The Coney Island Jockey Clubs spring
meeting of 1854 began on the 10th of June
More great race horses were stabbed at the
new course at the Bay than had ever been
collected on an American race course VI
to that time. and the inaugural race for the
Suburban, won by Gen. Monroe. had whet-
ted the public appetite for the sport tc
fever heat.
The new event. the Emporium, for three
year-Olds, was set for the fifth day OF the
meeting. Secretary j. G.. K. Lawrence. as
its name indicates, had drawn up the con-
ditions of the new stake, with penalties
and allowances for winners and nonwin-
ners that would as far as possible balance
up the chances of the field. Whether the
contestants had shown first-class. fair oil
only moderate form As the founder of the