Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-08-06
A BLIND TRoTTER.
Sightless Green Horse May Beat the
Record of Cresceus.

Will blind horse yet hold the worlds
trotting record. The famous trotting
driver, Scott Hudson. says so, and
other Kentucky trainers and drivers
who have watched the sensational
black whirlwind, Rhythmic, in his train
ing this year concur in the high opinion
that the sandy-haireo driver of
Audubon Boy fame has PASSED upon the
signtieSS son of Oakland Baron. Hud-
son declared before leaving Lexington
that he would drive the horse in 2O4 in
Il race before the close of the season,
and that in 1868, Rhythmic would rob
Cresceus of his crown. There is no
more interesting history connected with
any horse now prOminentin the trotting
world than that Of the winner of the
classic nj. & M. in 1902.
Rhythmic is a Kentucky production
out and out, as his sire and dam were
both bred in that state and all hail
from the one section, Bourbon county.
He was broken as Il two-year-old, but
after showing his ability to trot fast
even at that tender age, was attacked
with pink eye. 1t was a long siege be-
fore he recovered, and then his sight
was affected He had not gone totally
blind at the age of 3, when Doug
Thomas began to drive him on his half
mile track near Paris. He could dis
Germ objects dimly and this made him
sensitive and an unusually dangerous
colt to handle. Thomas finally drove
him a mile in ZIP to cart, as he was
always afraid to trust himself behind
Rhythmic with n sulky. Shortly after
this performance the colt became
frightened and ran away with Thomas,
finally turning over the cart in StOner
Creek. Neither trainer nor horse was
injured, Thomas, however, had enough
of the black horse and Jesse Turney,
his owner, turned him over to James
Hukill to handle the rest of the season.
Hukill never asked anything fast of
him, making no efforts to fit him for
racing last year.
This season Turney made arrange
nents with Scott Hudson TO take the
horse, which, in the meantime, had be-
come almost totally blind. He can just
distinguish between light and dark,
end notes the difference when lantern
is brought into his stall at night, al
though he cannot locate its direction.
When Hudson began to drive Rhythmic
this season the great horse had little
confidence in himself, and the noted
driver hooked a third line to his rig
gings, with guide strap at his chin.
He drove him only a few days in this
manner, as Rhythmic soon learned the
drivers voice, and now word from
Hudson is law to the blind horse.
Hudson has yet to drive Rhythmic to q
break. After seeing the great horse
work the first quarter at the Kentucky
Trotting Horse Breeders Association
track in OBJ, J. l.. Druien, the wealthy
Bardstown owner, who has Onward
Silver. Chase, and other great horses
in training. offered $4,000 for Rhythmic
but. acting on Hudson's advice, Turney
declined the tender.
Rhythmic is q natural trotter ana re-
ouires but little extra rigging. He
wears quarter boots and shin boots be-
hind. and a three-ounce toe weight. AS
an indication of his remarkable brush,
it is only necessary to say that
Rhvthmic trotted the last eighth of a
slow mile in Lexington in 0.141s, 1.o6
rait Hudson has confidence that
Rhythmic will sweep the country with
an unbeaten record, winding up the
season by placing his name in the list
Of winners of the classic Pennsylvania
Being of Oakland Baron, a son OF
Baron Wilkes, and out of Duchess, py
Stra thmore, Rhythmic is bred in the
same line as Moko. l.. Y. Hardness
famous sire of the double Futurlty
winner. Fereno, 2.10%, as Moko is by
Karen Wilkes. out of Strathmore
mare. Rhythmics dam, Duchess, now
dead. was good race mare, gong INTO
the stud with a record of 2.2Oh2. Her
foal. year older than Rhythmic.
known as Fair Promise, is credited
with having paced trial mile in 2.l2b2.
but the blind horse is all that she mas
left 10 the turf which has shown any
high class trotting instinct