The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-05-17
MRS. NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
TRoTTERs AND PAGERS THAT MOLD
VALUABLE RECORDS.


She Received a speedy Finy a. an E--
9nEement Gir and Now owns More
uIah.priced Trotters Than Any other
womnn-Records that She Hopes 20
Break In the Present Season.
Down in the Blue Grass region OF Kentucky
men Of the Old South think there is no comblna-
ton on earth like q pretty woman and n fine
horse. and they've instilled the same doctrine
into the sons of the Now South. Therefore, .
warm welcome will meet Mrs. W. E. u. stokes
when sho goes down to her husbant'd
stock farm on the Winchester Pike, near
Lexington, next fall. to see just what
kind of place Peter Duryea has bought
as q home for her %trotters and PAGERS. Mrs.
Stokes owns moro high-priced trotting horses
than any other woman on earth. Some OF them
hold worlds records, and she claps her little
dimpled hands enthusiastically when she talks
OF them, for no woman ever had akeener appre-
citation OF fine points In q horse.
EAs Rita Hermapdez de Abba Acosta. Mrs.
Stokes was passionatcly fond Of horses, and
was never so happy as when In the saddle. She
was nm expert ~reinswoman too, but was fondeR
of riding than driving. When she and Mr..
Stokes became engaged he bought. aided by the
practical experience and judgment of his
friend, Peter Duryea, a two-year-old nlly, that
he named Miss Rita, for his fancee, and pre-
scented tho animal to her. Miss RITA stands
higher than ever in tho favor Of her pretty
mistress since she became the cham
pion three-year-old PAGER Of the world at Lex
ington last fall. making O g :0oA record. Mira
Stokes also owns Angie d.. 2:07, the champion
pacing mare; the fast Josie b., 2:13h; j. J.
Audubon, 2:l0, the sire Of Miss Rita. and .
number Of one and two year olds. three OF them
by Wilton, 2:l0N. and three by Constantine.
2:12IS. that are unusually promising, and Will
be out this season trying for the big stakes in
which they are engaged. One OF these year
lin2s BY Constantine. out of daughter OF Nam.
brine Patchen. was the highest-priced yearlinR
bought in Kentucky last year. On Mrs. Stokes's
twentieth birthday last autumn Mr.. Stokes gave
her the great four-year-old trotter Benzetta,
2:063I, champion race mare of her age. Mrs.
Stokes believes confidently that Bcnzetta lie the
most likely candidate for the worlds trottin.
record this season.
George Morton, himself a Southerner. with q
Southerner's love for horses, is Mr.. Stokes's
private secretary. When asked about the
horses belonging to Mrs. Stokes he said:
"Orrin A. Hickok. the veteran turfman. has
trained all OF Mrs. Stokes's horses so far, and
those that are not at the stock farm In Ken
lucky are under his care near San Francisco.
where he takes them for the winter. Her horses
have n pretty good time, especially those that
have made records and those in training
for events the first time. AS soon as 1t
begins to grow cold in the East they are
taken to California so as to be able to 20 ON with
their training. and very soon now Hickok will
be bringing them East again, for they are
entered in events In the South and West. This
stock farm where they spend their summer
Mr.. Stokes bought from Bowerman Brothers.
1t contains 200 acres of ground. and he is going
extensively into the breeding Of fast horses.
He will breed nothing but a limited number Of
mares Of the highest standard.
If Mrs. Stokes takes a notion to entertain
some Of her horses at her country place at Long
Branch. which is near the river and one-hale
mile from the ocean. she has stable capacity for
thirty, and the horses, when out of training.
craze in magnificent paddocks' she boasts OF
together make a team that will go a nile in gao
or better; Miss Rita and Josie b. made I
s sGF values sass very Mlsi highly saGyeS Wien Fer hict sap had GSs ssy.
i last f Il. : Mrs s" Stokes ,s Vent ont to % say sood-byt TO
them just before they were shipped 70 AZ.
iPprR we're Tfrfe SHS d" mnsl e" and paced their first
later Miss Rita and Josie p. were sent a mile to-
gether and passed under the wire in 2:l3A.
Although Mrs. Stokes takes n lively interest
in all her horses, she is just, now most interested
in Miss Rita and Benzetta. for she Is firm in The
opinion that at the cnd Of this season she will
own in them the snamp!on PAGER ana tEot tec
Grand Duke Dimitri. uncle of the present Car.
and head OF the imperial stud of Russia. Dur
ing the Worlds Fair Mr.. and Mrs. Stokes enter
tanned Col. Theodore lsmRiloff, who Is man.
nGer of the stud, and this, coupled viii
tile fact that James Stokes, the father
Of w. +. u. stokes. represented the Russian
Government in the United States several years.
brought about an exchange Of cour:esies., The
imperial stud comprises 10000 acres OF land.
divided into n series of separate small stables.
Last summer the Grand Duke sent Mr.. Stokes
two celebrated Orlof horses. Stepniak was one
OF tho horses, and the animal is a pure bred
saddle horse. When he arrived he was II red hay
colt, but has grown wonderfully, Burlatsky IL the
other. He is n bay Orlof trotter without marks.
They were accompanied by pedigrces IN Russian
AS long as that nosscssed by the Car himself.
In Col. IsmailOffs letter to Mr.. Stokes ASKING
him to accept the horses from the Grand Duke.
he gave many valuable suggestions as TO Tho
hest methods to he used in training them. The
full brothers of both won races last year at
Paris and in tho Moscow Derby. Mr.. and Mrs.
Stokes will return home in August. for botn ara
anxious to be on hand when her horses are doing
their best TO merit the great pride that their
mistress feels in them.
After infinite labor and long search Mr.:
Stokes has been able TO trace the pedigree OF
tho famous Phoenix mare, which was q mystery
to hOrscmen for So many years. and he has also
established the pedigree of the stallion j. j.
Audubon, md consequently Miss Ritn has been
registered in the trotting register hack"