The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-07-21
TWO MINUTE HORSE
Speedy Lou Dillon Is Threatening
the Crown of the Mighty
Cresceus.
Many Noted Trainers Believe She
Will Lower the Worlds Rec
ord This Year.

+, The sensational mile in 2:O3h trotted at
Cleveland last Saturday by Lou Dillon
strengthens the belief that she is the horse
destined to wrest the crown Of the trot-
ting turf from Cresceus. < The two-minute
trotter certainly never looked closer than
now.
The phenomenal little mare broke the
worlds record for horses of her sex under
adverse conditions. On the stretch she
had to face strong wind, yet she stepped
the third quarter in 81 seconds.
To beat the mark of Cresceus. Lou Dill
lon must step ins20:02, or, in other words,
must clip off a. second and a half from
her present record. That she will do so
is the opinion Of such famous trainers
as Geers, McHenry, Dobie, and Splan,
not to mention Willard Sanders, who is
handling the little wonder. @
The mares development has been Of
such characte that she has reached her
prime without the strain of race She
has been handled by Sanders for a year
and a half, has been shipped from Cali
fornia to every one of the big tracks in the
east, and has been trained Systematically
and carefully, thoroly educated, seasoned
and acclimated without being injured,
overworked or made track sour"
Mr.. Pierce, the owner of the mare, de-
clined to start her last year, wishing to
reserve her for the big stakes Of 1908.
Had she been entered in these events, she
undoubtedly would have had most Of
them at her mercy, but, coming into the
hands of G. K. G. Billings, that gentle
man decided to keep her for a matinee
horse. When the little mare lowered the
wagon record to 2:04A, however, Mr., Bill
lings heard the championship bee buzzing,
and turned Dillon over to Sanders again
for campaign against the sulky records.
If the horse shows but a 1.-THE of the
Improvement that may be expected, she
should trot very close to the two minute
| mark. OF course each successive frac-
ton Of a second becomes much harder to
clip than the preceding one, but it must
be remembered that Lou Dillon has never
started in a race, and has never started
against the watch except four times, all
her other work being confined to Informal
trials. Possibly she has not, been really
her life. Her trainer says that she has
never made break nor shown a DISPOSE
ton to do so.
Cresceus took record Of 2:04 as a g.
year-old. The succeeding season he
clipped one second and three quarters
off this mark Lou Dillon, being mare
and a. smaller horse, cannot be expected
to show the stamina exhibited by Cres-
ceus but neither has she been subjected
to the work which Cresceus had In his
early years. The great stallion was CAM
paigned hard for four seasons, yet the
| last of the four was the best. Even9if Lou
Dillon fails to better Cresceus' mark this
season, she may be expected, If not over
taxed, to go much faster next year.
| A mistake has been made by a number
Of writer's in saying that Lou Dillon's
2:031s is the second or third fastest mile
ever trotted Cresceus trotted three bet
ter heats, 2:02A at the Glenville track,
Cleveland, July 26, 1901; 2:02A at the
Columbus Driving park, Columbus, Aug.
! 2, 1901; 2:03A, at Brighton Beach, New
York, Aug. 10, 1901 (the last mile, In a
match race with The Abbott. The Abbot
a year before Cresceus became king,
trotted in 2:03A. Lou Dillon's mile Is con
sequently the fifth fastest ever trotted
altho 1t does make her the third fastest
trotter the world has seen.