St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-12-28
TRAINING YOUNG TROTTERS.
They Must NOs BE Opened Out Too
Often but Given Slow work.

The man who is continually brushing
OUT his baby trotters is fully as destructive
of horse flesh as is his brother trainer who
is cursed with bad temper and grabbed
disposition. This habit of continually
speeding trotters is one which seldom crops
out among the men who sit behind only aged
horses that are fit to endure the hard work
of long campaign, and such men as John
ston, Doble, Splan and Turner seldom
make the mistake of calling too often on
their horses for display of speed. OF
course, their ideas vary somewhat. Doble
does very little speeding in his training Of a
trOtter, and the writer once saw him win a
heat in 2:219 with mare that he had not
previously that season driven mile better
than 2:32, although she had shown him
quarters in 35 seconds. Doble believes i'll
plenty of work at about half speed, and
that his method is success with some
horses cannot be denied. Peter Johnston,
on the other hand, is an advocate Of speed
ing to make speed, and the trotters in his
care get plenty of lively rattles in the early
summer and spring before Peter has made
up his mind as to whether or not they will
do to go campaigning with. Johnston has
no use for crippled or faint-hearted horses,
training has any weak spots they will be
discovered before any money has been
wasted in paying entrance on horse that
is sick and sore when the day for the
race arrives. But, Notwithstanding that he
tests his horses thoroughly, Johnston is not
a man who trains TO excess. He simply
finds out before race what many other
drivers dlscov.A only after great deal de-
ponds on the horse winning. and that his
plan is the best one will hardly be ques-
toned.
JOHN SPLAN DOES NOT.
John Splan does not believe in colt training
at all Except in the case of breeders who have
stock to sell, and then considers it like tear
ing I'D so much silk in order to show the
world that you have some more of the same
kind to sell. With aged horses it is differ
ent. He samples" them thoroughly, but
there is none of that continual logging at a
horse that is so often seen with other men.
ssHalf the trotters are trained too much"
ne saws, and to illustrate his belief in
the statement story may be told.
A non-professional friend of his, liv-
ing in this city, had matched his road horse,
pretty fair trotter, against one owned by
a friend, and came to Splan for advice as to
how his horse should be prepared for the
race.
.sHow shall train him?" he asked.
''Oh. never mind that" was Splan's
answer. 1.-THE other fellow will train
enough for both of you" and his words
proved true, for when the day of the race
came ''the other fellow had trained his
horse so effectively that the animal could
not go little bit.
AS with aged horses so with colts. The
men that do the least training in the way of
speeding are the ones that are the most sue
cessful. This was well illustrated at the
great ST. Louis fair last fall where the COM
petition in the various stakes for trottlng
| colts was of the fiercest description and yet
| the winner in every one of these events was
bred at the same farm-Glenview-and all
but one of them were trained and driven by
| G. j. Fuller, who has for several years had
charge of the education of the youngsters
| there. Nutbreaker, driven by Fuller, won
the stake for two-year-olds, all the heats
being close to 2:30, and his record Of 2:2919,
made at Chicago the previous week. showed
| him to be the best of his age in the land.
Patron, 2:195s, won fye-heat race for
three-year- olds, and Fuller drove and
| trained him; and Elvira, also
DRIVEN BY FULLER
was successful over the other fiye-year-Olds,
although the time was not fast, but her
record of 2:1s1a as four-year-old settles
all question as to her speed. Now Fuller
is a remarkably conservative man on this
question of speeding youngsters, and it is
doubtful if any man in the country is his
superior in the development of baby trot-
tiers. Patron, that is unQuestionably one
of the best three-year-old trotters ever
seen, is one of the products of Fuller
genius. and yet when asked how he had
trained the colt Fuller replied that he gave
him only steady, rating work, with little
brushing out once week. There was
never any attempt during training days to
show fast mile, either for the edification OF
crowd on the quarter stretch or the private
qualification of the owner or driver OF the
colt, and yet when Siverone, another great
three year-old, came at Patron in the third
heat of their race at Lexington, the colt
trotted the mile in 2:1914. and did the last
quarter in S211 seconds 2:1O clip.
Marvin, who has brought out all the ia
nous Young trotters at the Palo Alto farm, is
no advocate of frequent speeding, and does