A GREAT HORSE 



about to start on his journey, there was a scrambling 

 on the part of the crowd to secure good points of ob- 

 servation, impossible to describe. Some clung with 

 scant foothold to the railing of the steps, leading into 

 the grand stand; many jumped the picket fence on to 

 the track, and there was mighty shouting of "keep 

 down ;" "get off the track." 



Tim Murnen, the trainer, with the pace-maker, 

 Mike The Tramp, drove up the stretch to the draw- 

 gate to act as prompter. He was turned several 

 lengths above Cresceus and came down behind on a 

 dead run. Cresceus had been breezed past the judges' 

 stand twice at a fairly fast jog, but when he heard the 

 runner thundering behind him he pricked his ears, 

 appeared to lower his head an inch or two despite the 

 check-rein, and as he flashed by the stand was making 

 the speed that took him to the quarter pole in 31 J 

 seconds. 



There was no sign of a mistake in his work and no 

 unnecessary motion or lost force ; every move counted 

 passing the three-eighth pole ; the runner was at Cres- 

 ceus's saddle, but dropped back to his wheel, going 

 past the half-mile stand in 1 103. At the three-quarter, 

 in 1 135^, the runner again went up to the champion 

 as though he was going to go to the front, but again 

 dropped back and remained at Cresceus's wheel until 

 they started through the home-stretch to the wire. 



Half way down the stretch Ketcham took the reins 

 in one hand and with the other began to fan the whip 



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