Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-08-10

ger, who also owned Bassinger, her
claimed sire). Unfortunately, Mr.. Wis
siger is dead, but that such a man as Mr..
Williams, who has been all his life a
trainer, and is yet so occupied, should
claim this as by his own personal knowl-
edge to be true, and having no direct or
indirect interest whatever either for or
against this matter; being a man free
from theories or hobbies, and believing
that trotting breeding is the best for
trotting race horses, and accounting for
the flightiness and hot medicines of the
Belle of Wabash in races, on account of
her running breeding-should say that
she is by Bassinger, when the facts are
otherwise, is hard to believe. And third
The greatest stumbling block to me is
the form of the mare.
She was a black mare, about 16 hands
high, a long, and might be termed a leggy
mare. Her coat of hair was very short
and fine, no hair about her fetlocks, her
feet rather small for her size, and legs
clean and rather deer-like, that is, small
and fine her neck long and slim, and her
head of peculiar fullness and roundness
about the forehead and not very broad,
tapering in from sides and back, almost
making a dish profile, and a fineness of
muzzle, lips and nostrils that | can't i'm
agine as ever belonging to a Morgan or
Copperbottom horse-at least, 1 never
saw such a type belonging to either fam
lily, or any trotting family pure and sim
pie, but have ever seen such forms in
thoroughbreds or their immediate part
bred descendants, and have never seen it
in any other breed of horses. For my
self, | would prefer the pedigree as given
by Mr.. Wallace, and l know that the
pedigree, as given by him, is not without
careful inquiry, and his honest convic-
ton. But to ''err is human" and his in
formant may have mixed up this mare
with some other. At any rate either Mr..
Williams or Mr.. Wallace's informant is
mistaken, and although l have seen Mr..
Williams repeatedly and talked the mat
ter over with him, telling him also about
the new version of the Belle of Wabash's
pedigree, yet he has never been shaken
or varied his story. Then, too, the form
of the mare | have critically examined,
and l may claim much experience in
thoroughbred types of horses, for have
owned them and raced them. All this
makes it almost impossible to consent to
accept, without doubt, the better pedi-
gree if you please, and go against all
evidence as known and seen by myself,
There is, however, one important agree.
ment. that is, that Belle was a mare OF
more than ordinary capacity as a trotter,
and no doubt the most important factor
in this transmitting power of breeding
on with increased momentum is contained
in the pedigree of Clay Pilot, or the Clay
and Pilot cross. both remarkable in theil
prepotency. Yet there is another quality
which experience teaches me is not SC
uniform as the disposition to trOt in the
Claws, and that the dam has a marked
influence on that quality, that is, endur.
ance, game, staying qualities. l may
claim that Beautiful Bells, Alcazar anC
others of the get of Sultan had that quail
ity to a very marked degree, in fact,
never saw the gameness possessed by
Alcazar equalled, for he can trot a sixth
heat faster than a first. In all his races
and some very trying and severe ones
| never saw him scarcely open his nos
trils. For this reason it becomes an in
teresting inquiry where this gamenes,
comes from. That it comes from the
Belle of Wabash is a reasonable certain
ty, for Clay Pilot was noted for hi
speed, but not for his gameness, whereas
Belle of Wabash had the reputation o
no road being too long for her. She
started in a ten mile race with Gyps,
Queen and Capt. MCGOWAN, but wa
withdrawn at the end of the seventh
mile, not by reason of being tired, bu
for the reason that it was dangerous t.
win the race, on account of the rough
element present hat had bet heavily OF
the race.
am a believer in t%rotting pedigrees
and have had no success with high-bret
or thoroughbred crosses, but | know
too, that such is not the universal expe
%rience; for instance, Echo, a son o
Hambletonian, never had any marke,
success, except on r~unning-bred dams
Belle Echo's dam was by Belmont Cali
fornia) Echo's dam was by Jack Haw
kins; Annie Laurie was by Tenbrook,
thoroughbred; Joe HAMILTON and hi
brothers dam were by Belmont (Califor
MAJ /; Gibraltar's dam was by Owe,
Dale.
While l am a believer in trotting ped
grees, on the other hand | remember, toe
that the fastest mare, gelding and stal
lion, are close to the thoroughbred
When the comparison is made betwee
the crossing of the greyhound and tn
pointer, or the fox-hOund and pointer
n