The Washington herald., 1918-08-02
ROAMER BREAKS OWN RECORD
IN SARATOGA HANDICAP RACE

Saratoga. N. z, Aug. 1S- Old
Roamer, the seven-year-old gelding
which has astonished the Eastern
turf on many. q memorable occasion
and which has been running of late
to the very acme of his ever sensa-
tional form. proved himself one of
the greatest. one OF the fastest and
one of the most courageous thor
oughbreds that ever looked through
a bridle when he galloped to an
easy victory in the Saratoga Handi-
cap, the feature event of the
months summer race meet which
opened at the picturesque and his
toric course here this afternoon.
Andrew MiIler's wonderful geld
ing, skillfully piloted by Jockey
Frank Robinson. was q picture to
stir to fever heat the most slug
gish sporting blood every instant.
from the time when he pranced to
the post until he returned sedately
to be unsaddled after his record
breaking performance. Record
breaking this performance was.
one of the most astoundingly sensa-
tionaI performances of the astound-
ingly brilliant career OF the son Of
knight Errant.
Roamer not only won. and wen
easily this Saratoga handicap; he
not only beat the redoubtablc Cud-
gel, which many considered the
best horse in training. and as well
the fleet War Cloud which had been
credited with wonderful workouts
here; but he raced the mile and o
quarter almost two seconds faster
than a Saratoga race crowd had
ever before seen the distance run.
Roamer covered the distance in
2.0e-5. The old mark was 2:04 fiat.
which Roamer himself set as a
three-year-oid almost four years
ago, when he shouldered 123 pounds.
Roamer carried the heavy impost
of l29 pounds in his record break
ing EFFORT of this afternoon. He con-
ceded many pounds to everything
of his field except the four-year-old
Cudgel which packed top-weight Of
1873.
In passing over briefly to that
world of color which lends an in
describable charm to the very
thought of this mecca of the Ameri-
can turf, 1t must be confessed that
the Western contingent as usual. did
not fare ignobly in the days stirring
activities. The Flash. with G
guaranteed value of $4,000, was won
by Billy Kelly, a two-year-old bay
gelding from w. F. Polson's barn.
Billy Kelly, in spite of four recent
victories in FIVE starts out West,
was so little known or so little re-
garded as to be classed with the
outsiders. Yet he won the two
year-old stake, even more easily
than Roamer won the Saratoga, and
in doing it tied the track record for
five-and-a-half furlongs at los 3-5.
The finish of Roamer was a pic
ture; the old bay is not possessed OF
the rhythmic grace of some of his
younger contemporaries but how he
can and did run. No jack rabbit of
the plains ever got over the ground
more lively. He simply ran awy from
Fairy Wand from the head Of the
stretch in.
But Cudgel was not out of the
race. This game bromstick colt
came round the bend irresistible as
had Roamer himself. But try as he
would the stout hearted Cudgel could
not lessen the gap between himself
and the Miller gelding. Robinson
glancing back. more than a sixteenth
from the finish. realized that the race
was his. He eased Roamer then, and
the latter galloped in as he pleased
the easiest sort OF a winner.