The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1878-10-12

Rarus, the horse which ecllpsed all previous
feats in trottlng by a record Of 2.134, at Buffalo,
and three successive heats OF 2.15, 2.13t, and
2.133, at Charter Oak Park, Hartford, is now in
his eleventh year, and is the property of r. B.
Conkling, an old resident of Greenporr, Long
Island.
Rarus is a bay horse, about 16 hands high.
The horse possesses a long stride, easy, open gait,
and is what might be styled n natural trotter.
Rarus was born a %trotter, as was Dexter, and no
trouble was experienced in training. Seldom or
never does he break, but moves around the track
with the regularity of clock work. In the case
of trotters descended from good blooded and well
trained parents, even while in the pasture, field
colts are more inclined to trot than gallop, but
Rarus' ancestors, at least on the fathers side,
were not trained ~trotters. In his book entitled
The TrottiDg Horse in America the late
Hiram Woodruff made the statement that the
natural gait of the horse was % trOt, but many
prominent horsemen deny that such is the case,
while others, equally prominent, pin their faith to
the statement made by old Hiram. Be that as
it may, Rarus trotted by the side of his dam
when in the pasture field, at least so say those
who have been acquainted with the animal
almost from the day of his birth. Rarus' pro-
genitor, before he was purchased by Mr.. Conk-
ling, performed the ignoble duty of drawing a
fish cart for a Fulton market fish dealer. The
sum paid for the stallion was some $500, and
Mr.. Conklipg sent the horse to his stock farm at
Greenport. All sporting men, as is natural, be-
lieve that blood will tell, but the case of Rarus is
a glaring exception to the rule. George Wilkes,
of Wilkes SPIRIT of The Times, and Mr.. Conk-
ling, have used every endeavor to trace the pedi-
gree of the stallion, but instead of discovering
that once he was a %trotter, find that he is of
ignoble stock, and his occupation through life
was that of propellIng divers butcher carts for
different owners.
Rarus first appeared on the turf at the Suffolk
county fair, held in Riverhead seven years ago
tins coming fall. There he was entered for the
IS four year old stakes" the prize being a purse
of $50. On this occasion Z. w. Mead drove the
%trotter, and Mead is called by his turf friends the
boy who taught Rarus his steps. In the race at
Riverhead three heats were trotted, all of them
being won by Rarus. The winners best time
was 2.424. After his performance at Riverhead
the colt Rarus did not appear again on the turf
that year, his next appearance being at R9rnelis-
vile, n. Y, in the following spring, when he
was entered in the 2.45 class. Young Mead
handled the ribbons, but was unable to win the
race. In the same year Rarus trotted a mile at
Providence, r. L., in 2.29, and shortly afterward
trotted two races at the Prospect Park course IN
about the same time. j. W. Page had Rarus in
charge during the following year. By hard work
and careful handling Page put Rarus on record
as a horse who could do his mile in ID without
n skip or break. In his third year Rarus was
taken to Philadelphia by Jim Mcmahon, who
used to drive Flora Temple. The horse was en-
tered IN two races, but didn't succeed in getting
a place In either When Rarus returned from
Philadelphia Mr.. Conkling gave Johnny Splan
charge of him, and Splan has handled the horse
ever since.
Two years ago Rarus was able to do a mile in
go, and since that time he has been lessenine
his time until in Buffalo be electrified the trot-
ting world by gaining the record of Obj, which
is three-quarters of a second better than Gold
smith Maids best time. The now famous trot-
ter's strong grip is his excellent averages, and some
of them seem simply unapproachable. \ few
days ago Rarus attempted to beat the average of
3.1S, trotting three heats, but the horse was 50
tired out by his herculean efforts at Buffalo that
he failed. Mr.. C0nkling was recently offered
S65, 900 for Rarus, it is stated, and without a
moments hesitation refused to listen to the prop
osition. The horse has made a fortune for both
his owner and his trainer, and if he does not
meet with any accident Rarus will still further
enrich the two fortunate individuals that are
benefited by his winnings, and most likely beat
bis present record.
Rarus may not fear any rivalry from Gold
smith Maid, as the owner Of the mare, H. Smith,
of New York. has retired her from the turf, and
the Maid is now at his stock farm, near Trenton,
where she will be used for breeding purposes.