Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-12-20


OF the Southwest; and won the best
purse, in the longest race, from Nash
| vile to New Orleans, where he otter
met and vanquished the stable of Gen
Wade Hampton, of revolutionary me.
mory. 1t is said, by writer in Vol. 4
of the American Turf Register, page
III, that " Walk-in the Water was
perhaps, the most remarkable racehorse
| in the United States, running more
races, at a greater variety Of distances,
and at greater age, than any horse in
the world"
I saw him run four-mile heats over
the Nashville course when nineteen
years old, winning heat and losing
the race by bad riding and want of
condition.
A few days since / called to see Gun
Gle Berry" las we all call Mr.. Williams
and inquired of him how many races he
ran Walk-in-the-W Water, and bow often
he was travelled, by land, from Tennes-
see to New Orleans, via Natchez, Miss.
At the mention of the name of "Old
Walk" Uncle Berry frightened up and
became quite animated, for he was his
pet and favorite of all horses. He said
Walk ran, after he purchasedh him, fifty
five or sixty races, mostly three and four
mile heats;and from eight to fifteen Years
old he travelled him, every year, carry
ing his rider from Gallatin, Tenn, to
Natchez, Miss, and New Orleans, La,
through the swamps of the Chickasaw
and Chocktaw nations; that he was
never sick, lame, missed a feed, nor a
race, and very seldom lost one.
hope we shall long preserve, as
racers and breeders, this type of old
fashioned English and American horse,
and not, adopting the modern English
system of breeding and running, sacri-
flee everything for speed in two and
three year old colts. I say modern
English system, which has been intro
duced there in spite of the remonstrance
of some of the most experienced and
sagaciOus noblenen and gentlemen of
England. 1t was not the system which
produced Childers, Eclipse, Regulus,
Matchem, Marske, Herod, Highfyer.
Sir Peter, and Gimcrack in England,
nor their illustrious descendants, Fear
naught, Shark, Medley, Doomed, Sal
tram, Citizen, etc, which laid the
foundation of American stock, and
proved to be, IN all respects, worthy of
their distinguished ancestors. In what
has England benefited by this modern
system? Has she at this day any
horse equal in speed Ito say nothing of
game to Childors and Eclipse, who, in
the language of John Randolph, "were
the swiftest quadrupeds that ever ap-
peared on the earth" What benefit
do American breeders and racers prom
Use themselves in this new departure?
Is there now in America a horse of
more speed than Balls Florizel, or
Haynie's Maria? [ doubt it exceed
ingly. No quarter horse of their day,
when quarter racing was patrOnized by
the first gentlemen of Maryland, Vir-
ginia, Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennes-
see, and Kentucky was superior to
them in speed. Maria was trained in
the same stable with Saltram lone Of
the best quarter horses of his day, and
was fully his equal in speed. The owner
OF FlOrizel offered to run him against
any horse in the world from six hun
dred yards to four-mile heats. You
truly remark that we are gradually
drifting into the English system. Be
fore we drift further, it may be well to
take our latitude, and see where this
system will carry us. In The Spirit
of Oct. IL is published an account Of
the late fall meeting over the New
market England course, IN which
-year-old colts carried in the stakes
l2l pounds, and FLIES rs pounds,
previous winners carrying from to
pounds extra. In the Cesarewitch
Stake, run on the same course
the day before, the winner, four-year-
old colt, carried l03 pounds, and the
second in the race, a three-year-old colt,
carried 80 pounds. and the third, five
year-old, carried the highest weight,
10 pounds. Now, Mr.. Editor, l have
much respect for the experience, intel
igence, and great practical wisdom of
English statesmen and sportsmen, but
l am unable TO comprehend the philos-
ophy or practical utility thus weight
ing two-year-olds, and favoring three,
four and five year Olds. In the Spirit
of the Sth inst, is published an account
of a meeting of the English Jockey
Club, attended by His Royal Highness
the Prince of Wales, at which a rule
then existing, which prohibited therun-
ming of o-year-olds before the LIST of
May, was repealed. The 1st of May is,
a according to the English rule, the day
on which colts take their age, SO that
now they may run yearling colts and
crowd the young things all the year
round.
At a general meeting of the English
Jockey Club, at Newmarket, last Sep
TENDER (also published in a late number
Of The Spirit, which was attended by
Rous, and large number of
the nobility and leading gentlemen of
the turf, Lord Coventry brought for
ward the motion, of which he had Civ
en- notice, viz: THAT on and after the
lst day Of January, 1874, no horse of |
the age of three years old or upwards
shall run IN any race which iS Of d
shorter distance than one mile. Lord |
Calthrop seconded the motion, which |
Rous and Mr.. Chaplin opposed,
and on a division there appeared for |
the motion two, against it twenty-five; |
twenty" So that according
to the almost unanimous vote of the |
Jockey Club, with Admiral |
Rous at its head, the running of all |
ages from three years old upwards, a
less distance than one mile, is supper |
ted and encouraged. This looks very |
like quarter racing; and l hope no such |
short-windcd, pennyroy&l stock, may |
be sent to improve the stock Of this
country.
1t is stated, in a recent number Of |
The Spirit, Admiral Rous declared |
that no horse without preliminary
as ycarling, can hope for a
chance to win at any age" IL this
means halter-breaking, gently hand
ling, and riding with a light boy, in a
walk, it may be very well. But if it
means, as ! understand, gallopingyear-
lings on the course, or in other words
training them, | consider it cruel and
and Observation-Disclosures.
l have seen OF heard of nothing like 1t,
except the recent account given byyour
S. T. H., of the mode of
breaking young trottcrs in Kentucky;
from which it appears that unweaned
colts are plated, haltered and trottcd by