St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-09-23
I'm Tnterrie,c With Splnn.

Milwaukee Sentinel, Monday, 22d
''We are pushing matters out at the
track,' said John Splan to a Sentinel reporter,
last evening, and if we don't make some of
the fastest miles on Thursday next that ever
were travelled, it won't be our fault. The
principal trouble with the track last week
was that the grass grew SO far out at the
| turns. Of course we had to drive around
the grass and swerve made the course so
much longer. That will be all remedied.
The grass is cut away, and we have sent for
a machine that will scrape the bed Of the
track, and put it in apple-pie trim"
Mr.. Woodmansee, the representative of
Col. Kittson, is as sanguine as either Splan
or Campbell about the result of next Thurs
days performance.
GA record is what we are after,'' said Mr..
Woodmansee, "we are of the opinion that
we will make it in this city,"
In the course of a general conversation
about the records and merits of the various
celebrated flyers, Mr.. Splan said: ''There is
one feature about Johnston that pleases me
greatly and that is his uniformity. You can
always depend on him for a good mile. He
may not lower the record every time he at
tempts it, but he gives the public fine ex-
hibition of speed"
As proving his assertion, Mr.. Splan said
that during the entire season the different
records made by the ''pacer king'' have
always been within radius OF two seconds,
between 2:11 and 2:I3. "And I don't be-
lieve he made break more than twice since
| have been driving him. continued Mr.
| Splan, enthusiastically. Snow, to drive
some horses you might just as well be hand
/ li.1rr air nf no
are continually breaking, but if Johnston
breaks it is an accident. just like an engine
running off the track. 1t is the same way
| with Maud S. and Rarus. They can always
be depended on. Now Rarus, especially,
was model of uniformity. He was always
sure to make good time. Some horses make
a speedy mile to-day, but the next day they
can't come within six or seven seconds of it.
Now Rarus, while l drove him, trotted two
heats at Hartford in 2:13% and
2:134 respectively. He then went TO
Rochester and made q mile in 2:13%.
| From there he went to Buffalo and made
| 2:13i4. The next record was at Cleveland,
| 2:14; the next at Saginaw, 2:14ll. Then he
went to California and trotted two heats In
| IA and AJAX. He also made a mile at
! Minneapolis in 2:14. All those trials fol-
lowing each other, and all within second
| OF his best record, is wonderful work. There
is one fac. about Rarus that may not be gem
orally known, and that is that his record
| over half-mile track still stands
anrivaled. He made a mile over the half
mile track at Toledo in 2:16 and it has never
been equaled, despite the fact that Maud S
| has trotted over half-mile track time and
/ again. In fact all her training was done
over half-mile track, but she hasn'treached
| the record of Rarus.n
! In referring again to the approaching ex-
hibiton at Cold Spring, Mr.. Splan explained
as one reason why he felt confident of bet
ter time than before that he had perfectly
''sized-up" the slow track coming to the
three-quarter post. As was stated in TIE
/ Sentinel, after the race, the horses all lost
| ground on the last quarter. To overcome
this the drivers will travel the first half-mile at
a spcedier clip than was done before. Splan
always carries chronometer in his hand
when driving. His thumb rests upon the
spring and when he gets the word he starts
the watch. During the heat he glauces at it
frequently and knows just as well as the
judges what time he is making. As he drives
under the wire he presses the spring again
! and stops the watch.