Los Angeles herald., 1893-01-15
A QUESTION OF SUPREMACY,
Is the American Horse Better
than His British COngener?
Lexington Compared With De Muth
of Forty Years Later.
The Fallacy of the Time Test in Races
for Running Horses--Ten Brock,
the Watch Breaker, and Dun
lap, the Horse Beater.


over list of old-time horses which, 80
he says, could win every race OF any OF
the late meeting from Monday morning
to Saturday night" In this list Mr..
Cockrill includes Lady Lightfoot, Balls
Florizel, Ariel, Travatha, Jim Bell and
Rodolph in a list with Lexington, Bos-
ton, Reel, George Martin, Brown Dick,
Jack Malone and Miss Foote, some
what singular way of mixing up horses
of the first and second classes. Norfolk
was just about such horse as Lexing-
ton, and could have beaten his time had
opportunity ever offered itself. MIR.
Cockrill omits Hubbard, borBe that
died in California, that was 60 yards
faster in a three mile race than Norfolk,
and 200 yards better than Reel, Brown
Dick or George Martin. Norfolk's race
is :2716-5 :291s while that of Brown
Dick was 5:30--5 :2S. Both were year
olds, Brown Dick carrying SO pounds
and Norfolk 100 in the fall of the year.
Hubbard carried 10Y pounds, being Z
pounds more than Norfolk and 81 pounds
more than Brown Dick, and covered 234
miles in 1857. It would only have
been necessary for him to have done
another quarter mile in 2S1a seconds to
have beaten both the records of Norfolk
and Brown Dick. That Hubbard could
have accomplished the task no one ever
would doubt who saw his insidious,
creeping, fox like gait with which he
would steal along mile better than
l Al with 30 little effort that he did
not look to be running better than l :49.
KY
Just why such horses rs Lady Light
foot, Ball's Florizel and Rodolph should
be given in such company as George
Martin and Reel ia something tn at
passes my comprehension. Reel was
one of the greatest mares ever eaddled
in America, and can recollect hearing
George R. Kenner tell my grandfather
(who commanded a cotton packet be-
tween New York and New Orleans at
the time) his idea about the forthcom-
ing match between Fashion and Pey-
tona. II can't say like her altogether,
Merry. She goes with great long,
rating stride and covers about 81 feet at
a clip, but that doesn't suit me, some
how. You may beat her, for Fashion is
desd game mare. But if we had
either Reel or George Martin we would
beat you. sure !"
''Do you think Reel or George Martin
the equal of Boston? asked my grand
father.
"Yes, on good track and with any
thing less than 120 pounds up. They
are just as game and have a good deal
more speed than he had; and it is speed
that breeds bottom"
x**
Now l am a good deal like Mr.. Ken
ner. I believe that ''speed breeds bot
tom., We have never had race be-
tween horses run in America at two
miles under $3.50, which was the mark
set by McWhirter, the unlucky eon of
Enquirer. In Australia they have COW
cred that distance twice inside of :29,
twice inside of $3.50 and seven times be-
tween 80 and 8 81. Has any horse in
America done two miles in 8 80 or bet
ter? Oh, yes, Ten Broeck, a big year
old horse with ITO pounds up, on pre-
pared track and nothing to interfere
with, did it in 3:27A.
x*x
On the other hand, Dunlap, a 5year-
old horse, and bred very much like Ten
Brock, carried 115 pounds at the same
age, and covered two miles in 3:28k,
beating a field OF 81 horses, at least 20
more horses than Ten Brock ever beat
in one race in his life. Three years
later Carbine luckily of the same age,
for the sake of comparison), put up the
enormous impoet of 145 pounds, and
won in :2814, from field Of 80. which
was more than all the horses that Ten
Brock beat in his whole life. So itwon't
do for Mr.. Cockrill to defide the foreign
importations too much, That tried-and-
found-wanting horses have been foisted
upon American breeders in the past 60
years I am quite willing to admit; and
1 frankly concede that such horses as
Luzborough, Fly-by-Night, Ashtead,
Scythlan, Hillsborough, Mango, lap
idist and Stone Plover could be said to
have "left their country for their coun-
try's good" But / must say that it
General Cockrill is to be taken as ex
cathedra, then some American horses,
such.a as Rodolph, Jim Bell and Balls
Florizel have acquired fame very
cheaply.
Lexington was probably the best
horse ever foaled in America till Long
lcliUW Whb lOhicu, Wlbulu SlSub VI tdC
Athens of Kentucky. Lexington was
horse that could gallop mile in about
:4314, with scale OF weights 10 per
cent below the scale of today; and yet
the above figure was not reached till
Pompey Payne IA selling plater) made
it IL years after Lexington's retire
rnent from the turf. Lexington could
gallop to death any horse of his day, as
easily as Longfellow could, in his era,
defeat everything else when in condi-
tion. Well, Lexington was matched to
run four miles to beat Lecomte's :26.
He had ''straw hat" on his back, 10l
pounds, and won his owners bets in
7:l9A, with the entire track at his dis
posal and neither one of his two "teas-
ers" tArrow and Joe Blackburn) allowed
to lap him, even If they were able to do
so, which 1 shall always doubt. He
could have stalled off four horses of their
caliber as easily as those two.
x~x
Fellowcraft, con of the imported
horse Australian, and by no means the
best of his get, either, beat that quar-
ter second, carrying seven pounds more
weight and in bona fde race against
other horses, with Katie Pease to carry
him away from the start and Wanderer
Zone of Lexington's best sons) to brush
him home through the stretch.
This comparison does not look
very favorable to Lexington. But
there came a still harder blow than
that. Last fall at Morris park four
\ I