Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-12-06
CLASSY HORSES
IN ALVEY BARN
FIVE CRACKERJACKS IN HIS
STRING
RANKS AMONG BEST STABLES AT
SANTA ANITA
Grover Baker, Trainer-Manager, Has
Exceptionally Strong Hand with
Plnkola, Colonel Bob and
Three Others
BY JAY DAVIDSON

Patrons of the sport of kings IN
Southern California are given a rare
treat this winter at Santa Anita in be-
ing able to witness struggles for, the
stakes and purses offered at the winter
meeting between many of the greatest
horses of the day, and the sport seems
to have Just reached it's greatest per-
lection at a time when all the elements
that oppose it are exulting in their
greatest hopes of successful hight
against 1t in the legislature of this
state The center of American racing
has been transferred, at least tempo
rarily, from New York to Los Ange-
les, and horses that never would nave
been shipped over the Rockies had the
Hart-Agnew bills been defeated in the
New York legislature last summer are
sporting silks regularly at Santa Anita
Because racing has been crippled in
New York for possibly two years,
horsemen who have large fortunes tied
UP in thoroughbred racing stock looked
to California to give their horses an
opportunity to earn something to make
UP in a measure the losses occasioned
by decreased values Of the metropolitan
stakes and the probable entire lack Oh
stake offerings at New York next sum-
mer. For these reasons a large num-
Der of the most prominent breeders
and horsemen in America have shipped
I0elT nlRn-CldSS llOIoGS eiSIOSS liz 80
tinent to race on the coast during the
winter, and local racegoers will nave
frequent opportunities of seeing these
great horses in action.
Prominent among the big eastern
stables shipped to Santa Anita for the
winter meeting is that of Ed Alvey,
the plunging turfman of Cincinnati
and Louisville. Alvey had a string
here last winter, but when he ascer-
tanned that many other strong stables
would ship here he went into the mar
ket and bought up several good horses,
regardless of price, to make his own
stable strong enough to hold its own
with the best of them. He turned
these horses over to Grover C. Baker,
the very capable trainer who had MS
string here last winter.
Baker enjoys the distinction of being
the youngest trainer of high-class
string of thoroughbreds in America.
He is a natural horseman, and his sue
cesses since he began to train ana
manage the Alvey horses, about two
wears ago, attest his competency on
the lob. He is so young that he ad-
mits he never has pondered very much
regarding the matrimonial question,
and vet he is one of the shrewdest
trainers in the business. 1t is seldom
that one of his horses goes TO the post
unfit to run his best race, and any
thing that DeaIS MS SeiuAi"pC S"i -
the purse involved, but only after a
real horse race. Baker developed Col.
Rob. the champion sprinter of the Cali
fornia, winter season of last year. and
successfully handled McChord, Hazel
thorpe and other good ones or MS
string. This year he has bigger
bunch of good ones and will be getting
into the game in few days. Among
his hest ones are Pinkola, Col. Bob,
McChord, Prince Ahmed, Friend Harry
and Redgauntlet.
Col. Bob is one of the handsomest
horses in training on the coast He is
q large. shiny black colt, 3 years old,
and is bv Cesarion- Fonsolette. He is a
remarkably fast breaker at the barrier
has marvellous speed and can carry
high weight, and has speed like a horse
of great class He equals Roseben'
former world record of six furlongs in
1.113- on the Santa Anita track last
winter, and held that record Jointly
with the Big Train until Nimbus
smashed it at Empire City last sum
mer. He was running so easily at the
finish that many horsemen expressed
the opinion that he could have broken
| the record had he been extended. He
broke down shortly after being shipped
| hack to kentucky in the spring and
had to be fired and turned out for the
| summer. He has been put back in
training and is showing greater speed
| in his workouts than ever before. Bak-
or exnects him to be a bear this win
ter in any company
Pinkola is a 3-year-old chestnut
eelding by Pink Coat-Wyola and has
been something of a sensation ever