Man o’ War, Sande Up, 1920 Miller Stakes

Charles Christian Cook took this winner’s circle shot at Saratoga’s Miller Stakes on August 7, 1920. The Miller Stakes was the only race in which Earl Sande rode Man o’ War. Sande was recruited by owner Samuel D. Riddle after Clarence Kummer sustained a shoulder injury on July 12, 1920.

At the odds of 1-30, yielding 12 and 17 pounds respectively to his two rivals, Donnacona and King Albert, Man o’ War was never extended, winning by six lengths over Donnacona.

The first three statements below, from Earl Sande, speak to the jockey’s perception of his experience aboard Man o’ War; the final excerpt from the New York Times conveys the public’s continued rallying behind Man o’ War. 

 

Cook 434 - Earl Sande Jockey on Man o' War at Saratoga.jpg

"First comes Man o’ War, then the other horses.”

- Earl Sande1

“You’ll never get me on his back again. He damned near pulled my arms out of their sockets.”

 - Earl Sande2

“I never felt anything like that horse in my life. He is a regular machine. He strides further than anything I ever rode and does it so handily that you would not know he was running at all.”

 - Earl Sande, 19203

“Samuel D. Riddle’s Man o’ War had his first outing at Saratoga this afternoon in the Miller Stakes at a mile and three-sixteenths and, while the race proved to be only a wild gallop for him, the presence of the champion attracted a record crowd of 35,000 persons who gave the great three-year-old the most enthusiastic reception he has received anywhere.

"Even though he was under double wraps all the way to win by six lengths from J. W. Loft’s Donnacona and Thomas Manahan’s King Albert, his only rivals, the throng was pleased just to see him in action.”

- New York Times, 19204

 

 

1. C. W. Anderson (1943). Big Red. New York: Macmillan Company, p. 23
2. B. K. Beckwith (1967). Step and Go Together. South Brunswick, New Jersey: A.S. Barnes, p. 59
3. The Sun and New York Herald (August 8, 1920). “‘Greatest Race Horse,’ says Jockey Sande"
4. New York Times (August 8, 1920). “Man o’ War Romps to Easy Victory”