The Washington times., 1938-07-14

barn. My peace of mind has gon
all haywire, my wife hardly speak
to me, my daughter has to go
dancing school to get the nag OF
her mind, and even my hound dog
sit around with their daubeI
away down from loneSomeneSS.
Yes, I have got to have Fert
ciouS back no matter how much
costs me. The trouble with FerC
Cious is, no one except myself eve
took the trouble to underStan
him. Once you get the hang of hi
mind, he'll gallop all right. An
distance provided it is a mile an
a half or more. He is one Of thoS
fellows that like to run all day an
don't mean a figure of speech.
FAVORITE TRICK
They say it's difference of opin
ion that makes a hoSS race and
like all proverbs, that is true up tt
q certain point. There was a time
with FerocioCs in there, when i
got So there was practically NJ
difference of opinion whatever, St
to speak. I have seen him mak'
up twenty lengths in the last quar-
ter and never seem to notice it.
He pulled a trick like that thu
day Patsy Flack put in a claim or
him and twirled a halter over hi
head for four thousand SmackerS
I held that against Flack be
cause here was a youngster thai
I had brought up practically in 8
hoSS blanket and weaned on yellow
corn and bran mash. I says tt
him that day:
Patsy, you think you've put
over fast one but mark my word
Ferocious will never step faster
than slow lope for you from now
till hell freezes over. You have
boughten yourself an oats burner
but that's ALL"
Patsy knew better than to sass
me back, especially while my
young daughter Meg was standing
by. 1t did not set too we'll with
Meg to see this upStart who had
been practically appraised with the
same currycomb that I'd used on
her walk in and grab off my pride
and joy.
The two of them had been kind
OF sweet toward one another up
to then, and it was okay with me
because Patsy was and is a clean
living boy who would rather sleer
in a horse trailer any night thar
a Pullman drawing room. But my
Meg is a true Conners-so
thought. She dropped Patsy lik'
q hot cookie.
FOOLISH PLAN
The Bullion Cup Stakes was tn
first race, where FerociouS was en-
tered in F'lack's silks. There wa
a parade of champions at thl
track that afternoon. A mob O.
prancing horseflesh, the favorite!
that had captured the hearts Of
the crowds that season.
1t seemed to me kind of foolish
to put FerociouS in there with
that kind of class, but Flack die
it. FerociouS, you see, never wa!
in the Stake-horSe class. Fact is
he never won a race until he wa!
past S. and now he was going or
10, which made him an old man
But the crowd at the track gave
him the biggest hand of any race
in the parade. They loved him
like any honest man or woman
loves an honest racehorse. They
knew he had courage, that he'c
run the last ounce out Of hi!
lungs to win.
What do they call it-that fina
big roundup in Valhalla? Twi
light of the gods, that's it. Well
that bowling mob which gave Fe
rocious the greatest ovation of hi
life didn't realize it. but they wer,
looking at the twilight of a goc
that day.
The following week at Ba,
Meadows, Flack entered the nal
in an overnight event at a mil
and a half and the public bate.
his price down to three to five. H
ambled in ninth in a 10-horSe race
1t was darn near a turf scanda
Flack shipped to Arlington an,
hired fancy jock to put the leg u
on FerociouS in the Stallion Spt
cial at a mile and three quarter:
A lot of the faithful planked dow
on the old fellow again and h
finished 80 lengths behind tn
leaders.
I ran into Flack a few time
here and there on the circuit. a
Lexington New Orleans, Jamaic
and so forth. 1t got so Pats
wouldn't enter his nag in an
race because it was getting to b
such pain in the neck explainin
why FerociouS wouldn't run.
He put him out to pasture fc
one whole season. I wired hir
an offer of four thousand, whic
had been his claiming price, b,
pride, I guess, wouldn't let FLAG
sell.
FILING CLAIM
So now we're getting close
Santa Anita again. My wife ar
family were down in Californi
] think I told you about how n
girl, Meg, took off to dancir
school when she broke up wit
Flack. Well, she turned out to
right clever and I got to hearir
from time to time now she w
getting into this moving pictu
and that.
Personally do not go much f,
Show-acting of any kind but