The New York herald., 1922-12-30

Of big thrills experienced by prominent
ttutmcn.
Few horsemen in the world have re-
ceived more thrills out Of racing than
Dynamite Jack" Thornby. He has
ridden or trained horses in all parts
of this country, Canada and Mexico
For years he rode in the bushes" in
Kansas. Nebraska, the Black Hills of
South Dakota, Wyoming and illinois
Later as trainer he had strings of
horses in California. Canada, Illinois.
Jaurez. Mexico; New Orleans and at
all the Eastern tracks. He boasts of
the fact that he has raced at every
track in North America. He says he
received a thrill every minute Of the
day while he was in the bushes" and
had thousands of thrills on the big
circuits. but all Of them were plea
yune compared to the one he received
on July 27, 1898, at the Harlem track
In Chicago, when Friar John, three
year-old colt belonging to him and Il.
r. Bradley. won at 80 to 1.
The victory meant a fortune to both
owners. The winnings on the colt
formed the nucleus of the millions Mr..
Bradley now possesses. Dynamite"
invested his winnings in horse flesh,
wine, woman aid song, and is now a
good but poor trainer.
Friar John was not a stake horse. He
hot he, <,I.
but Mr.. Bradley idolized him. Soon af-
ter that memorable race Mr.. Bradley
bought Dynamite Jacks" interest in
him and retired him to his farm in Ken
lucky. There the thoroughbred led a
nfe or ease until two years ago, when he
died <at the age of twenty-seven. He
was buried on the famous Idle Hour
Farm and Mr. Bra 1iey erected an ex-
pensive monument in his memory.
Mr.. Bradley was poor man before
that race and Dynamite Jack" didn'f
have the rroverbial dime. Early in the
spring of 1898 Jack was at Nashville.
There he saw Friar John, a budding
ttree-year-old. win a mile and quarter
race easily in Pat Dunnes silks. The
race impressed Jack and when he re-
turrled to Chicago he told Bradley about
the colt and advised him to watch out
for him. In the early part of July the
colt arrived at Chicago with Gene
Leigh's stock. With Leigh's horses
came the announcement that they were
going to be disposed of at public auction
within few days. Dynamite hur-
ried to the Harlem track to look over
the colt which ha1 so impressed him at
Nashville. Friar John was In good CON
dition. He was as sound as bell and
looked as If he needed little training
to make him ready to race.
Went I'm Quest of Partner.
Jack wanted the colt but he didn't
have any money with which to buy
him. So he went In quest of a partner
who would stake q few hundred dol
lars against his horsemanship and hard
work. He found Bradley who agreed
to buy IL he could be bought for less
than $780,
At the sale Dynamite" started the
bidding at slOO and kept going until
he reached $50. and to his surprise the
colt was knocked down to him at that
figure.
The sale was at Washington Park.
and to get to Harlem, where Jack
planned to race him, was nearly
twenty miles away. Jack had no money
to hire boy so he was compelled to
walk the horse himself When he
reached the Harlem track he was tired
and dirty and hungry and broke, and
had no stall or feed for his horse.
Walie Fessenden took pity on Jack
and his prospective breadwinner and
gave him and the colt a stall and
supper. The next morning Jack bor-
rowed green exercise lad and had him
gallop the colt. The following day.
with the same boy in the saddle, he
allowed Friar John TO breeze three
eighths OF a mile. That breeze made
the colt ready for a real workout. and
the next morning Jack borrowed the
same boy and told him to let the colt
step mile in about 1:4s. With Jack
waving him to pull up all through fhe
last quarter Friar John ran the dis
tance In 1:44. Then he ran away and
went another mile I'm 1:4S
All the trainers at the track >antici-
pated killing by Dynamite when
they saw the colt work In I :4a but when
he ran away they proclaimed him IAN
other good thing gone wrong"
The race Dynamite" had selected for
the colt was only two. days off and Jack
had TO start him In It or wait nearly n
month. To walt month without enough
money to buy food for either himself
or colt was too much for Jack and he
decided to take chance and race him.
After Friar John ran away Jack
brought him home and gave him a
massaging and cooling out few runners
got before or since. Jack then cooked
an extra large meal of mash and stood
by while the colt ate every kernel of
II. The large portion OF hot feed and
the long hard massage offset his extra
mile run and F'riar John went to sleep
feeling like a yearling.
So that no one could sponge or in
lure the colt In anv way JarL uof bis