Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1892-02-12
JOSEPH BATTELL,
MidllcburV, VT,
EARLY TENNESSEE TURF HIS
TOBY.
BY ALBION IN THE SPIRIT OF THE TIMES
1877,


BY ALBION IN.THE SPIRIT OF THE TIMES
1877,
GAS horseman. like George Washing |
ton and Thomas Jefferson. he was bold
in the field and the chase, and upon the
turf was far more successful than
either The racing annals of the West
attest his numerous victories. lie own
ed some of the finest horses of his day;
among others. were TruXton, Pacolet,
Greyhound, Doublehead, the Opossum
tilly, and Indian Queen. The celebrity
of these and other distinguished racers
that he owned, spread over the country
like the fame of their owner, and many
were The challenges that he received at
his beautiful home, at the Hermitage,
to match his coursers against the flyers
from other States. His pride and con-
fidence in his orr often impelled him to
accept these challenges; and there is
still a tradition eXtant in his old neigh
borhood, transmitted by the friends of
his earlier years (most, if not all, of
whom are now gone to the bourne of
the dead to their children, that he was
never beaten in match by horse that
was brought from beyond the borders
of his State.
"Of all the horses that won distinction
under his management, TruXton stood
unrivalled in the affections of IA devoted
master. Alexander the Great was not
4 l.. 4,
lus than General jackson was to the
great TrIXtOn. After TruXton had per-
formed prodiges for him upon the turf,
he retired to his harem at the Hermit
tage, where he was well cared for. From
him descended some of the best horses
ever known upon the American turf.
He sustained, perfectly unmpailed with
the public, the generous opinion enter
tanned of him by his more than partial
owner. \ writer of the period says:
Every drop of his blood is to he priced,
wherever it is to be found. As curl
osity in horse literature, we insert the
following as General Jackson's opinion
of his favortc. 1t was written after
lIuAlOl lldN Itllltu HUN llit lull
" 'Truxton is beautiful bay, full of
bone and muscles: was got by the i'm
ported horse Old Diomed, and came out
of the thoroughbred mare Nancy Cole
man, the property of Major John YER
rell, of Virginia. Truxton, however, is
too well known to require minute de-
scription. Ills performances on the
turf have surpassed those of any horse
of his age that has ever been Iun in the
Western country; and indeed it may be
said with confidence that he is equal, if
not superior, to Mr.. Balls Florizel, who
was got by the same Dlomed, and who
now stands unrivalled in Virginia as a
race-horse. TruXton, by old rpOrts-
men and Judges, is admitted to be
amongst the best distance-horses that
ever ran or had to train. His speed is
certainly unknown to all those who have
run against him. He has, on the most
unequal terms, started against the very
best mle-horses in Kentucky and Ten
nessee, and beaten them with great
ease; and in no one instance has ever
run with any horse, when he himself
was in order, but he either could or did
distance him with ease. Although
four-mile heats is the real and true dis
lance for Truxton to run, he has beaten
Mr.. Gordon's fine mile-hoTse Jack OF
Clubs, and Mr.. Cotton's Greyhound
both aged horses, with equal weights OF
one hundred pounds on each, mile heats
And lastly, TO crown the much-doubteC
speed of Truxton with his opponents, h
beat, on only two sound legs, on Apri
3, 1906, over the Glover Bottom course
the celebrated horse Plow Boy, who wa
never before beaten, and beating hin
without the assistance of whip or spur
1t is now no longer for the numerous
concourse of people who were presen
on that day to say whether or not Trux,
ton be the true-bred racer. Truxton'
winnings, from time to time, from TIN
most correct information, amount to a
least $4,000, and his colts are not in
ferior to any on the continent.
(Signed) Andrew jackson.
SIT was to be the fortune of Truxton
however, to be succeeded by horse il
Tennessee who eclipsed his performanc
es, and, indeed, those of all others VIII
had gone before him. This horse wa
Tennessee Oscar; but we will leave tn
history of this wonderful horse to b
told by Colonel Peyton;