Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1879-08-07

The horsemen in this city were very
enthusiastic over the great race and fast
time of Sleepy Tom at the meeting of
the Columbus Driving Park Association.
week before last. AT that time he made
the remarkable time of 2:1415, the fastest
on record. He beat even this at Chicago
by two seconds, and is now considered the
prodigy of the turf. The news of the
race at Chicago was most enthusiastic
ally received in this city, and the great
PAGER is still the subject of comment
among horsemen. They do not know
what to expect next.
The Xenia Torchlight, in its pride for
a Green county horse. has gathered some
valuable facts in regard to Sleepy Tom.
He was fOaled on the 22d day of June,
1868, in the village of Bellbrook, Green
county. His dam was Sam Hazard
mare, and at the birth of Tom was twenty
years of age, being then only used for
breeding purposes. She was formerly
! owned by Vim. Simmerson, who used her
Tor saddle mare, and was a very fine
PAGER. TOMS g. d. was old Pocahontas.
| ana carried Toms sire, old Tom, Rolf
when she made her best time. which was
! 2:l712. Mr.. Isaac Dingler, of Bellbrook.
paid $50 cash for the chance of Tom. and
at the age of three years had him trim
med, and put his son Charley to training
/ him on the river bottom track. much to the
| injury of the horse. His first race was
on the Dayton Fair Grounds, and against
] a brown Gypsy mare; time, 3 :55 The
| best time that Tom ever made while
owned by Mr.. Dingler was at the Pioua
races, his opponents being Sleepy George,
] Nellie Granger, Tom Hendricks and BaV
Sally; time, 2:2215. Tom commenced
/ going blind while Mr.. Dingler was train
| ing him on the Dayton track, in 1874,
caused by too much hard driving, giving
him a severe cold which settled in his
eye. In the fall of 1875 Glenn Beachie, of
Lebanon, took him and had him F'shut
out'' on 2 :4S time. His eyesight at this
! time was almost entirely gone, and Mr..
! Dingler concluded that his speed days
were over and drew him off the track.
| Soon after this he sold him to carriage
! painter by the name of Milliard for 1925
note, approved by Ephraim Bumgardner.
But this man Milliard used him brutally,
| driving him to sleigh, and on one oeca-
sion made him go seventeen miles in sew
| entV minutes, and would have driven
him farther had not the civil authorities
of Spring Valley stopped and arrested
| him for fast driving. AT the latter part
| of the sleighing season Milliard drove
| him to Xenia and traded him to VIM. FL.
| Cory, getting in return a crippled three
| year old colt known as EfGumalaStic
Bill, a shyster watch, and a quart of
shotgun whisky, amounting in all to about
thirty dollars. Mr.. Cory owned the
| lOESO IOT SOnl6 time, Dub QlO not 90 mQc1
| with him. All this time, though, the
| eve of Mr.. Stephen C. Phillips, his pres
ent owner, was upon the horse, and Phil
| lips was often known to declare that he
| would yet possess Sleepy Tom if it took
every cent he could rake and scrape, and
he finally drove soma kind of a bargain
with Cory and came into full possession
of the horse. Phillips set about immed-
lately in giving him complete training,
and though during last years racing he
was not very successful, has produced
horse that is wonder.
The first race in which Tom participant
ed this season was at Jackson, Michigan,
where he entered the track with Sleepy
George, Matte Hunter, Switzer, Rowdy
Boy, Lucy and Sally as competitors, and
carried away the stakes. From Jackson
he next went to East Saginaw, where he
paced six of the fastest heats ever known,
/ competing against the same horses, and
distancing Sleepy George and Switzer.
He won this race by taking the third fifth
and sixth heats-Rowdy Boy taking the
| two first in 2 10 and 2:1612 and Matte
| Hunter the fourth. This is said to be
the greatest race on record for six straight
| heats the slowest time in any heat being
1871. From thence he went to Toledo.
At Toledo he won the two first heats, and
was in fair way to f'scoOp'' in the third,
when Rowdy Boy eOllided with him, and
Tom got his leg fast in the wheel of the
| SuIky drawn by ROwdy Boy, and was
thrown to the ground, and lost the heat,
allowing Sally to come up and take it in
2 :29. By this accident Phillips was thrown
from his sulky and had his hand badly
injured, and the race was postponed until
the next day, when John Splan, driver of
Rarus. put Tom through in 2334, win
ming the heat and race. He was next
taken to Cincinnati, and won in three
straight heats, competing against RoWdy
Boy, Matte Hunter and Switzer. He
next appeared at Louisville, and won in
three straight heats on the Louisville
track, his time being 1615 and IN.
After this hard service he returned to
Xenia and rested a few days before COM
ing to the Columbus races, and his work
at the Fair grounds in this city is known
to all the readers OF this paper. With
the close of the races in this city he had
taken 81, ,400in premiums this season. Mr..
Phillips took Sleepy Tom from this city
to Chicago, and there he has won still
greater laurels. He goes next to CleVe-
land, and the news from that city will be
watched with interest this week. The
races of the Forest City Club begin to-
morrow and continue till Friday. Many
of the horsemen of this city, who have
become so much interested in Sleepy
Tom, expect to go to Cleveland to see
him again on the track. From Cleye-
land Mr.. Phillips goes to Buffalo, where
he will enter Sleepy Tom in the ''free for
alp race-$500 entrance fee, Robert Bon
ner offering $4,000 for the winning
horse.