The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-12-04
MAUD S. At EIGHTEEN.
The Rare Old Queen of the Turf
Is Still Sound as q
Dollar.
She May Yet Clip a Fraction From
the Trotting Track
Record.
What Mr.. Bonner Thinks She Can Do and
Why He Thinks So-A
goa Clip.
Written for THE HELENA INDEPENDENT

Written for The HELENA INDEPENDENT
y,FHlLE l DO NOT IN ANY WAY
GA3EI2 wish to disparage the performance
O4SXO of Nancy Hanks in obtaining her
unparalleled record of 2:O4." said Mr..
Robert Bonner. at his home, 8 West
Fifty-sixth street, to me last evening, II
believe Maud s., to a bicycle sulky. upon
n modern kite-shsped track, would be the
fastest trotter the world has ever seen, and
in order to test this l hnve determined to
put Maud S. in training, and see if she can
not lower the recori of Nancy Hanks.
IA year ago. as you remember" con-
tinued Mr.. Bonner, II made an offer of So
600 to the owner of a horse who trotted a
mile in 2:05 within two years on any of the
grand circuit tracks from Cleveland to
Hartford. That offer was included in a
letter which L wrote to Gen. b. +. Tracy
just II year ago. | further said. reading
from the letter. "ons gentleman has stated
that will undoubtedly have to pay it." to
which l replied. 1 do not believe Gen.
Tracy himself thinks SO.
In his reply" said Mr.. Bonner, Gen.
Tracy says: I have long believed thrt q
horse would yet appear that would
trot q mile III two minutes,
but | have never set any time
within which | thought that performance
would be made. 1t is not likely that you or
Twill live to see it. although 1 hope We may
The interviewer said you thought an ultl-
mate speed ct the trotting gait was 2:06 or
2:05. | have forgotten which, and | replied
that | believed that would be beaten in five
years. l have never said it would be beaten
IN two years, and notwithstanding Ariou's
great performance. | doubt whether he can
reach that figure, while | am Obliged to ad-
NIT that he may. | do not believe that he
will t OF in 2:05 in the next two years.
when l made the offer of 5000 1 did
not intend 1t as an lnducement to an i'm
proVemenG IN mechanical devices. in
tended it simply rs an incentive to produce
finer stock. | do not believe that Nancy
Hanks ever saw the day that on IA grand cir
cult track before Il regulation sulky, like
that used to July last, she could OF in 2:O9.
may be mistaken. but that ID my belief. |
believe now that we are much more likely
to see two minutes on n kite-shape track,
before a bicycle sulky, than we were Mt the
time | made my offer to See 2:05 before the
sulky used, as | said. to July last.
The bicycle sulky Is acknowledged to
be at least four seconds faster than the old
regulation sulky. and the kite-shape track
is known to be from IA to TIN 90 seconds
faster than the regulation or grand circuit
tracks. Look at the number of hotsss that
have tfotted below 2:2O this year. 1t is I'M
paralleled in the history of the turf. Even
second class horses, when put before a BIZ
cycle sulkY, have been able to knock off
from three to eight seconds from their rec
ords. Ihe track at Terre Haute, on which
Nancy Hanks made her time of 2:O4. owing
to the elasticity of the prairie soil, is at
lenst a minute to a minute and a half faster
than the grand circuit tracks. Taking
Nancy Hanks time of 2:4 and adding a
minimum of five seconds. which il an al