The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-07-17

ing In the South has proved to be an
important factor in the campaigning
operations of the Hamlins, their stable
having headed the list of owners every
year since the experiment was hrst
tried.
Probably the elder Hamlin has won
more important races in the Grand cir
cult than any other owner that ever
went down the line with a stable OF
trotters. but his great triumph as a
horseman came to him out at Indepen-
dence. Iowa, in 1890. when he hooked
together two trotters of his W rails
ing. Belle Hamlin n Justina, and,
mounting the skeleton wagon himself.
at IL years of age, drove the two spir-
tied mares a mile In 2:13A. beating the
worlds record for double teams. The
next year Mr.. Hamlin added to the
team another Of his home-bred trot-
tiers, Globe, and at Cleveland Geers drove
the novel three-abreast hitch a mile in
2:14. the first time they turned round
in public. One Of the features OF this
performance lay in the fact that all
three horses were by Hamlin's Almont,
Jr., out of dams by Hamlin's Patchen,
and that they and their dams and the
slres of their dams were raised at VII
lage Farm.
For more than a quarter of a CEN
fury Mr.. Hamlin was the leading spirit
in the management of harness racing
at Buffalo. He owned a majority in
terest In the old Buffalo Driving park,
which was the leading trotting track
of the country as far back as 1867,
when Dexter made his memorable rec
ord of 2:17A there. He was one OF the
| organizers of the National Trotting as
ISOLATION in 1870. and later led the
movement which resulted in the forma-
ton of the Grand circuit.
When Mr.. Hamlin came to New York
the other day on his way home to Bur
| falo after a winter in the South. he
| talked entertainingly to a reporter or
| the Sun about his own n other peo-
pies t~rotters and about his theories Of
breeding the harness horse. He said:
~ bought my first t%rotters in 1857.
The horse world has moved since then,
young man. Just think of IL! At that
time Rysdyk's Hambletonian hadn't
been heard of outside of Orange coun-
ty. The great Hambletonian family.
which now o~vershadows all others
! combined In point of numbers, was not
in existence. The Morgans, now so
nearly extinct, were then perhaps the
leading family, If it a be said that
there were any recognized families or
trotters in those days. The best time
on record was 2:241a, made by Flora
Temple. Ethan Allen held the cham
pionship record for stations with q
| f1dIh VI $50. ANo
ted as fast as 2:30 up to that time, and
I don't suppose q ~3-year-old or a 2
year-old had even beaten 300. Now we
have yearlings hat can beat Flora
Temples time, If we are foolish enough
to train them at that age. L nave seen
a trotter cover the mile in 2:O3A, and 1
myself have raised one that lowered the
worlds record for 3-year-olds to 2:Ossx,
and that trotted in 2:06 as a 4-year-old.
How fast do you think the trot-
ting horse will ultimately go, Mr.. Ham
lin ?" interrupted the reporter.
Don't ask me- to answer that ques-
| tom" was the reply. ut would be a
good deal easier for me to tell you how
fast a locomotive will &c. and I don't
know much about locomotives, either.
But you can figure on that proposition,
while nobody IAN tell much about the
possibilities of speed In the trotting
horse, according to my opinion. sup
pose you had a horse as big as AZote,
and as why and we'll formed and en-
during and full of fight as Dexter or
my old three-mile mare Nightingale
and suppose this horse had the Length
of stride in proportion TO his size as
AIix has, and that he was as rapid
gated as the PAGER Direct, and as easy
going as Fantasy; and suppose he had
the good luck to fall into the hands OF
the best trainer and driver in the world,
and that some day, when both horse
and driver were at their very best, ne
struck a perfect track on a perfect day
and was rated just exactly right, so as
to bring all that he could do at every
stage of the mile without pumping him
at any state: now what do you think
would be the time hung out when he
passed the wire? l can't even guess al
II. But the record would be below two
minutes-maybe a good deal below;
but, mind you. / don attempt to say
how much. uch a horse as that may
come along one of these days. and he
NAV never come, or If he does come he
may not get the opportunity he requires
II takes a hundred things, all perfect
TO make a worlds record; only one u
make a failure"
"Wiu the two-minute trotter carry a
close cross of thoroughbred blood when
he comes?"
II don't know that he will carry a
close cross, but l believe he will have
a strong infusion of thoroughbred blood
either near or remote. Tabulate the
pedigree of almost any one of oui
greatest trotters and o will find with
i'm four or five generations a large pro
portion of the blood of the race horse
II gives the fneness of fibre that we
call quality; in other words, the great
est amount of strength with the Least
amount of bulk, and Ii adds to tht
nerve force and increases the size OF
the blow pipes thus improving tn.
capacity to carry a great flight of speed
over a distance OF ground. one or tht
best illustrations / ever saw of thu
value of thoroughbred blood i'm the trot'
tiers was out at the old Chicago Driv'
ing park nearly 20 years ago. Maud $
was started to beat her record, which
was then 2:11A. The mare was badl,
driven and was still worse trained. Sh'
was in no condition To carry her sDeeC
TO the end Of the mile, and she tireC
very badly in the last quarter. he
muscles not having been properly tonet
up for such an effort. As she turned
n came back to the judges stant
after passing h wire I hurried out oil
the stretch TO see what condition sh'
was in. I found her trembling all owe
and about as leg weary as. any horse
ever saw, but h wasn't breathing
hard enough to blow out a lighte'