The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-09-13
IS A LARGE WINNER
Blind Horse rhythmic Has Captured
More Than $4,000 in Purses
This Year.
Sensational Trotter's Dam Was
Forced Upon Jesse Turney to
Satisfy an Old Debt.

From the nature of his inflrmity,
coupled with his remarkable success in
grand circuit races, the blind horse Rytll
mic has been one of the most talked about
performers on the track this year. The
total of his winnings up to date amounts
to more than $4,000, and there are few
horses which will be over the $4,000 mark
at the close of the season.
Various reasons have been offered for
Rythmic's crushing defeat at Providence,
when he was dstanced in the second day
of long-draWnOut race, after having
won two heats. One ingenious young man
suggests that the extra strain upon the
blind horses nerves caused by the effort
to hear the horses around him, and the
fear of colliding with an animal which he
cannot see, uses up his brain force and
makes an animal thus afflicted unable to
stand the wear of a long race.
A more reasonable explanation is that 1t
takes more than one season to thoroughly
season horse for the hard work. of a six
or eight-heat race. Cresceus, it is true,
won a two-day eight-head race as a
3-year-old, trotting the last three heats,
on the second day, in 2:12A, 2:11A, and
2:11A, but this performance was some
thing phenomenal, and horse may be q
first-class performer without having
either the speed or the endurance of the
champion.
1t is the rarest thing in the world for a
sensational performer to flash down the
grand circuit without putting into cir
culation a number of stories as to acct
dents which placed him In his owners
hands or which almost prevented him
from ever seeing a race course. And this
is the story of how Jesse Turney Of Paris,
KY, got the blind wonder, Rhythmic, in
exchange for a mule and a debt. Turney
is not a hOrseman in the ordinary sense
of the word, his business being dealing in
mules on a large scale. He had a friend
named Redmond who owed him $500
Redmond was unable to pay, and one day
said to Turney: IT don't know when
am going to be able to give you the money
I owe. have a good Strathn1ore mare
over here, and I will send her over to youl
place and we will call the debt square,
Turney demurred at first, but as an &C.
commodation accepted the mare. TurneJ
had an elephant on his hands in the mare
and at length determined to ask Warner
Stoner to~permit him to breed her tt
Oakland Baron. Il know you are no
standing this horse" said Turney, "bu
| as an accomm odation to me, let me sent
! over this mare, and if the mare proves il
| foal you can come over, to my place AM
| pick out the best mule you see.' TIL
| colt which is now Rhythmic was a scraW
| ney, Unlocking fellow, and Stoner claimed
! the mule somewhat shamefacedly. Il
! trade is trade with me- said Turney
.you can walk into that bunch Of II
mules and pick out the one you like.
! So Stoner got mule worth in the neigh
/ borhood of 5000 for the season to Oakland
Baron, so that the blind trotter cost Mr.
| Turney something like $70o:'the day N
was foaled. No one will say, however
that the investment has been a bad one..