C R E SCEUS, 2;02V4 



ever trotted— 2 103^, 2 :o6i, 2 :o5. The fractional time 

 of this mile was 30^, i -.oH, i 134, 2 :o5. 



After the race Ketcham said : "Cresceus won, and 

 I leave the public to form its own opinion. All that I 

 can say is that Cresceus outstepped The Abbot from 

 the start. We beat him out on the getaway in the first 

 heat and headed him home to the wire. Cresceus trot- 

 ted a grand race: he knew just what was required of 

 him when he came on the track, and I think his per- 

 formance showed that he did himself justice. Cresceus 

 was ready for the race of his life when he faced the 

 starter, and I was confident he would win. The track 

 was in good condition, and Cresceus had no trouble at 

 all only on the last turn, where I had to hold him a 

 trifle. I think the race has settled the championship 

 honors. I brought Cresceus here to defeat The Abbot, 

 and I wanted to finish up the job as quickly and effect- 

 ually as possible. To have taken my horse back and 

 allowed The Abbot to get inside the flag would have 

 savored of hippodrome racing. As it was, everybody 

 on the grounds went away knowing they had seen a 

 genuine horse race. 



''Many were somewhat disappointed, perhaps, that 

 it ended so suddenly and unexpectedly, but this was 

 much better than a longer race in which there was a 

 truce." 



The winning of the great championship race made 

 Cresceus king indeed, and the gallant stallion won the 

 race in record-breaking time. After that race no man 

 offered to dispute his right to the title. 



135 



