Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1893-05-18
OENNlNG ALLEN.
Mr. w. II. Bliss shows that II orss Doe IS
Not Always Make lis Mark MS


To the Editor OF the Free Press
In your issue of the 2Sth ult, under
"Horse Gossip" is an item in which it is
remarked that "Denning Allen is the sire
of the really first-class race horse, Lord
Clinton (2-10t, but as he has no other trot-
ter or PAGER to his credit and is ~ years
old, he can hardly be clnssed as a successful
SIRE
IL is true that, in recent years. among
progressive breeders of trotting horses, it
hos become the practice to breed favorite
colts 10 selected trotting bred mares at
very early age; and to train the produce as
young as possible. with view to getting
early records; aud the result is that many
young stations, not by any means Gees
sarily great sires, have 2:3O trotters to their
credit while yet comparatively young. 1t is
equally true that in older times when
these tactics had not yet come into vogue,
and at the present time in cases where they
are not adopted, the very best sires usually
have very short, if any, 2;30 list ut the
age OF IS, when Denning Allen had to his
credit Lord Clinton with list OF II trot-
ting victories, go heats in 230 and better,
and race record made in the second heat
Of a race which he won, that was never
equalled By a stallion, and never beaten by
trotter with one heat to his credit in 2:29!;
Ham bletonau, with great opportunities,
had three; Volunteer one; Blue Bull had
two with one heat each; yet these srss can
hardly be olassed as failures. Going back a
little farther, Black Hawk and Mambrino
Chief had each reached his 2ith year before
his first trotter entered the list while old
Abdallah did not live to see his first one,
but If he had, would have been 80 years old.
Now the opportunities of Denning Allen
have been tar less than those of any of the
above sres He has been kept at Little
Rock, where there is no interest in trotting
horses and very little trottng blood to be
found; his stud service las been very limit
ed, and his progeny few, as he has been al
| ways kept and used as driving horse; and
no effort has been made to train his Off
spring, Lord Clinton having been picked up
and trained by lucky accident; and this
great trotter able, without doubt, had he
| been sent against the watch on the day he
made his record, TO have won the trotting
championship of the world, was from a mare
Of no known breeding, very little apparent
merit, and certainly most inferior animal
in appearance.
Taxing these things into consideration the
wonder is, not that Denning Allen should
have but one in the list, but that he should,
against ali circumstances, have got the
champion that lie has. And 1T il
By no means to be assumed that a sire will
not max his mark after 10, it the oppor-
tunity be then first given him. George
| Wilkes made almost his entire success after
he went to Kentucky then II years old.
| Probably no single animal left deeper or
more valuable impress upon the racing
stock OF America, at all gaits, than i'm
ported Diomed-yet he was 90 years old
when imported. Abdallah would have gone
down to an abscure grave and been forgot
ten long ago if he hrd not made the grea
hit in getting Hambletonian, thereby
founding the great family that now bear!
that name; yet he was 20 years old whsr
Hembetonian was begotten. Justin Morgan
got three sons, the first foaled probably
when he was 10 and the last when he wal
81 years old. And it ia the unanimous OPT
Mon of all unbiased horsemen who have
seen Denning Allsn and learned his history
that, brought to the home of his ancestors
and mated with the noble mares of the re-
gion that are near enough of kin to be 0
his type, and not so near as TO transgres
the best canons OF breeding, he will proluc
family that will combine with the highes
speed the high finish, great strength, lofty
carriage and perfect docility that have al
ways characterized the Morgans, and wi
leave name second to no sire OF his elias
that has ever lived. And these gentleme
show their conviction by the fact that no
ono has yet seen him, that had any intentio
of breeding IA trotting colt, that has faile
to book a mare to him.
Middebury, May ., 1893.
: w. ii. BLISS.