, 1877-01-13
THE AMERICAN TR0TTER.

THE AMERICAN TR01IER.
SOMETHING ABOUT LIFE ON
THE ROAD.
hiGHFLYERS THAT GO IN HARNESS.
If there is any one sport that is
essentially more American than an
other, it is that Of trotting horses
against each other or against time,
in harness or under saddle. Wewere
in our infancy when such horses as
Awful, Beppo. Ripton, Confidence
and Dutchman were in their glory.
The latter was great ugly brute
with a hog neck on him and a very
sour looking head, but he could
literally trot for time to come. His
record of three miles in 1921, re-
manned unbeaten for upwards of
twenty years, even though such
cracks" as Lady Sutton, Kentucky
Prince and Flora Temple, all bad
their little shy at it. Prince was the
handsomest horse we ever saw
hitched up until old Mooney drove
out Abe Edgington, the magnificent
gray gelding owned by Leland Stan
ford. Prince was originally
A RUNNING HORSE,
At short distances, and was trans.
formed into a trotter by man nam
ed Brand, who lived at Lexington,
Ky. After Richard Ten Brock got
hold of him, he took the beauti-
full chesnut to New York and match
ed him to go ten milesagainst Hero,
the PAGER, for S., 900. He also made
bet of 50, 600 that between the fifth
and tenth miles, a mile would be
made inside of 2:4O. Prince made
the eighth mile in 2.3SH and the en-
tire ten miles in 28:O8. An equally
clever feat was that of Mr.. Bonner's
mare Princess, at one time owned in
San Francisco. Shetrotted ten-mile
races against Glencoe Chief, each
time pulling skeleton wagon, on
two consecutive days. The first days
race she won in 29:1OA and the Sec
ond days in 29:16Z, and as a high
wind prevailed we thought the Sc
cond race the best.
TRUSTEE
Was a sorrel gelding, got by the i'm
ported running horse of the same
name, who was also the sire of FASH
ion, Revenue, John Black, Djalma
and Reube. He was matched to trot
twenty miles within an hour on
Long Island and was driven by Cor
nelius Bartine. He accomplished
the feat with some seconds to spare
and did not seem much distressed.
The feat was afterwards performed
by Lady Fulton, John Stewart, Cap
tain MCGOWAN and Gipsey Queen at
the East and by Matte Howard in
California. John Stewart did it
twice and the last time pulled q
skeleton wagon. He is now an old
"pelter" in San Francisco livery
stable. Matte Howard was very
small mare, weighing sos pounds
and pulled a driver who
WEIGHED 2O8 POUNDS
In the bare buff. The writer, who
is nobody's ghost, once fooled her a
mile in 2:34H. But we deem all
races of over three miles as acts of
wanton cruelty which should be
provided against by statute. "A
good man is merciful to his beast,
and that is amply proven by the way
in which the Bedouins treat their
animals. It was only in a Christian
country that the noble old Orange
county horse, Conqueror, was driv-
en- to death in a vain attempt to
make 100 miles inside of ten hours,
on bogus (advertised) match, but
really only for the gate-money. II
was disgrace to a civilized era.
These races are rapidly becoming
A THING OF THE PAST.
The most fashionable distance being
at mile heats, three best out of five.
This race gives three intermissions
and is popular with track-keepers
for that reason, as 1t gives more
chances for consumption of fluids.
The mile time is stherefore the stand
ard of speed of the American trot-
ting horse. For years, the 2:26 rec
ord of Lady Suffolk was unbeaten
and when it was beaten Flora Ten
pie whitfield one and half seconds
off of it, reducing it to 2:24H. Prin-
cess dropped under it to 2:23; old
Honest Ance tried it and then Flora
made the great
RACE AT KALAMAZOO,
In which she knocked the black out
OF the 20's and placed the figures at
2:194. Then on came Lady Thorne,
Dexter, Mountain Boy and American
Girl, followed by the Evergreen trot-
ter of the world-Goldsmith Maid.
Side by side with these have been
George Palmer, Gloster, Red Cloud,
Bodine, Rarus, Lulu. Great Eastern,
Smuggler, Camors. Grafton, Sam
Purdy aud Occident, all of which
have been below 2:2O, together with
others that may have escaped our
memory. American Girl, the mare
which fell dead on the track at Ell
| mira Is said to be the only nag that