To  have  won  the  Belmont  Stakes  In  the  second  year
of  his  career  on  the  turf  was  flattering,  and  Saxon's
early  decline  did  not  discourage  Mr.  Lorlllard.     Like
Commodore  Perry  on  Lake  Erie,  who,  when
his  flag-ship  was  disabled,  hoisted  his  flag  on  an-
other ship,  Mr.  Lorlllard  was  ready  with  a  new  cham-
pion of  the  ^'cherry  and  black"  at  Saratoga  when  the
bugle  called  to  the  post  the  candidates  for  the  historic
Travers  Stakes.      This  was  Attlla,  a  rather  handsome
dark  bay  or  brown  colt  by  Australian

fh7T!lvl^At.  ^'"""^  ^^^^""^  ^^^  Lexington,  which  he
tild  and  Acrobat  Purchased  of  Mr.  Charles  Lloyd.  Attlla
had  finished  third  for  the  Nursery  the
year  before,  and  had  won  both  of  his  three-year-old
engagements.  It  was  a  great  gathering  of  "cracks"
for  the  Travers— Acrobat,  Steel  Eyes,  Stampede,  Re-
form, Brigand,  Rutherford,  Grinstead,  Aaron  Penlng-
ton,  and  others,  eleven  In  all.  It  resulted  In  a  furious
finish  between  four— Acrobat,  Attlla,  Brigand  and  Steel
Eyes.  There  was  great  confusion  over  the  result.
Acrobat  and  Attlla  had  finished  together  on  the  outside

1:131


"CHERRY  AND  BLACK"

rail,  while  Steel  Eyes  and  Brigand  finished  on  the  inside,
and  a  majority  of  the  people  thought  Steel  Eyes  had

won.  But  ''the  Ayes  had  it,"  or  rather  Acro-
,    J.  bat  and  Attila,  for  the  judges  announced  it

a  dead-heat  between  them.  Sparling  was
blamed  for  Acrobat's  failure  to  win,  and  Hayward  was
called  to  ride  Acrobat  for  the  "run  off,"  which  Attila
won.  It  was  Attila's  last  race,  for,  like  Saxon,  he  fell
lame;  while  Acrobat,  despite  his  unsound  feet,  became
the  colt  of  the  year.
