The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1875-07-01
INSTINCTS OF A RETIRED RACER.

No mistake about that.
INSTINCTS OF A RETIRED RACER.
A FAMOUS sTEEPLE CHAsER's WAY OF SPEND
ING HIS TIME-HE REFUSES TO ASSOCIATE
WITH COMMON HoRsEs-AND KEEPS UP HIS
OLD EXERCIsE.
The Baltimore American is responsible for
the following, which it gives as one of the
most remarkable instances on record of the
instinct of a horse: Immediately after the
last days meeting of the Maryland Jockey
Club at Pimlico this spring, Business, Artist,
George West aud two or three other broken
down racers were put up at auction by their
owner. Mr.. Joseph Donahue. As is generally
the case, however, no one wanted to purchase
them. and, with the exception of Jim Crow,
none were sold. They were taken back
to the stables, and on the follow
ing day George West, the renowned stee-
Powers in Baltimore county, and turned
out on pasture with number of common
work horHes. Strange to say. however, the
old racer rafuses to associate with the COM
mon horses, and will not even remain in the
same part of the field with them except az
certain hours. Every morning and evening
during racers training, he is walked
slowly around in small circle for an hour
or so. These walking circles can be found
near the stables at every race-track, and they
are usually about one hundred feet in diane
ter. On the first morning after old Geo. West
was turned out of the stable at Captain Pow
ers' farm, he waited around the stable doors
for some time, and neighed as If impatient.
The old horse spent the entire first day
WALKING UP AND DOWN
in front of the stables. On the following
morning he was turned out again, and after
standing around the stable some time he
walked of to a distant corner of the field,
where he proceeded to walk around in cir
Gle of about Fl ty or sixty yards. The walk
was kept up for an hour as steadily as he
had ever done it in mis- palmiest training
days. After exercising about an hour tbe
old horse left his walking around and ca
peTed around the field as If delighted. In
the evening it was noticed that shortly be-
fore shutdown he threw up bis head, and
after neighing once or twice, galloped
around the entire field seven or eight times.
He then suddenly stopped and went 10 tue
small circle used by him in the morning,
and walked around il regularly for
about an hour. At the expiration
of that time he went to the stable.
These exescises of walking and gslloping
have been repeated regularly ever since, and
Captain Powers states that the time George
West begins exercising each day does not
vary over bali hour. He was kept in the
stable two days without getting out, but
when turned out on the third he at once be-
gan his walk and kept it up as usual. The
other horses in the field have followed his
example, and now every morning and even
ing seven common horses may be seen NOV
ing regularly around the small circle like a
string of racers, headed by George Wet.
The sight is a novel one, and hundreds of
persons have visited the farm during the
past week to witness it. Beyond the walk
ing, George West does not mix with the
common herd at all. and takes his gsllops
entirely alone. George West is now over
six years old, but there is probably no stee-
ple-chsser now living IN this country that
in his fourto and nth years won as
MANY GALLANT RACES
as he has done. He was sired by Asteroid
out Of that fast old mare. Kats Hayes. He
came into Mr.. Donahue's possession when q
tnree-yesr old, and after running on the flat
for some time with moderate speed, was in
ths fall of the year tried across country. He
was very successful. and in his four-year
old form won no less than eight of the six
teen races he started tor It WAS however,
as tive-year-old that ne became most ia
nous, and with Hugh Gaffney on his back,
was by betting men considered inviucible.
In that year he won no less than eleven races
and lost Two, being beaten only by Bullet
and Limestone. The hard work attending the
training for thirteen races and
winning eleven of them was
too great, and the gallant horse was
brought back to Pimlico last fall in badly
used-up condition. During the winter be
improved greatly, and at one time this
spring it was thought that he would be able
to run again, BUT his legs could not stand
the severity OF the course of training pur-
sued in the D0nahue stable, and he was 70
tired. During his racing days George West
defeated at one time or another all the great
steeplechssers in the country. The most
widely known horses beaten by him were
Duffy, Milesian, Blind Tom, Limestone,
Bullet and Jack the Barber. During one oil
George Vests greatest races his rider fell
of in crossing water pump in the first
half mile of the contest, but the horse kept
on, taking hurdles, bitches and walls in fine
style, and secured a second place after run
ming a mile and half without rider, and
without going of the course. AS be was
not ridden to the string, however, the
judges did not give him place.