The Topeka state journal., 1903-02-02
The Career of Idolita, Sold for
$1,000, Is Marvel.
Few Young Stations in America
Have Been So Fortunate.
SENSATIONAL AT THREE
Won $4,000 New England Fu-
turity Easily at Boston.
Eight Days Later Won $4,000
Futurity at Dubuque.

New York, Feb. 2.-The big sale in
Madison Square Garden. New York. was
the event of last week in the harness
horse world On the whole it was very
successful and some unexpectedly good
prices were realized. The top figure was
$11,1O0 for Idolita (2:os1z), paid by ex-
Fire Commissioner J. J. Scanneu of
New York. the owner of The Abbot
(2;0Sl4), which gelding cost him s26, 500
in the same sale ring IN November, 1900.
At the time of this latter sale many
people inclined to the belief that The
Abbot was not really sold. Scannen
had never before been prominent as an
owner of fast trotters. The Hamlins,
who were selling, had been known to
bid in horses before. And besides the
gelding was at once given back to them
to manage and to Geers to train. Under
the circumstances it is not strange that
a large number of critics maintained
that, were the truth known, The Abbot
still belonged to the Hamlins. However,
time has proved the suspicion unfound-
ed, and today no doubt remains that the
sale was bona fide Ever since then
Scannen has been dipping more deeply
into the trotting game.
Besides owning a racing stable he
some time ago decided that he also
wanted to breed race horses, and bought
a farm at Fishkiu Landing, the
Hudson which he has been improving
and transforming into a breeding estab-
liShment of class IdoIita has undOubt-
edly been purchased to head the stud
there, and the purchase is certainly a
good one.
Few young stations in America have
had such careers as Idolita. He is now
Z years old and was bred al the far
famed Palo Alto farm in California.
The public first heard of him in the
early spring of his 2-year-old form,
when sensational stories of his wonder
/ ful speed made their way east. A few
months later the colt himself was
! brought east to be sold at auction at
/ Cleveland. At that time Superintend-
ent Covey of Palo Alto told me that
/ report had in no wise exaggerated
Idolita's speed; that for his age and
training he had shown faster than
anything ever before produced at Palo
Alto This meant something wonder
/ tul, considering the long list of record
/ breakers that had been bred there.
] 1dOlita was engaged in all the big
futurities, and when he was led into
/ the ring to be sold several wealthy
! financiers wanted MIN. He was finally
4 bid UP to s4,700 and bought by Frank
Jones of New Hampshire.
AS a 2-year-old Idolita was not
lucky. Owing to a severe attack Of
distemper he was able to start but
once, bur he made good handsomely
/ then by beating a fast field with ease.
4 In his 3-year-old form he sprang into
/ aIOnalism from the beginning His
/ first start was in the New England
$4,000 Futurity at Readville. Boston,
which he won easily in 2:l6&, 2:1514,
2:15aa.
His next race was the richest event
of the year. the $4,000 Futurity. given
/ by the Horse Review of Chicago, and
trotted at Dubuque, Iowa 1t was de-
cided but eight days after the Boston
race, but IdOlita stood the long journey
of 400 miles in intensely hot weather
well. and went to the post in such rare
form that he beat a formidable field of
eleven in the extremely fast time Of
4 2:121&. 2:141s, PA.
1t was the intention to start Idolita
but once more that season after this
race-in the Kentucky Futurity. For
this classic event he at once became a
tremendous favOrite and remained so
almost to the hour of going to the post,
when the specta cular Thomas W. Law
son, who had just bought Boralma ex-
pressly to win the race, began pouring
his money into the ring in a way never
! before witnessed in Kentucky, the
weight of it at last making a BOralma
/ heavy favorite.
/ The race of itself was perhaps the most
I remarkable ever trotted in a Futurity
/ event. Idolita won the first heat easily
in 2:l312. BOralma tenth and last on
break. IdOlita won the second heat in
IL dLL6i d udi0 uSHtt Dtidiiild dSdili
on a break and seventh. Tt was at this
juncture of the race that a Chicago
man, who had telegraphed friend at
Lexington to play $500 on Boralma for
him. received a dispatch in answer say
ing that Idolita had won two heats and
it was idle to bet against him.
In the third heat Idolita led until a
few strides from the wire. where Boral-
ma, who had at last decided to trOt. and
was fresh. came from behind with a
meteoric burst of speed and won the
heat in 2:13. Eventually Boralma drag
ged off the race in the sixth heat, in
which Idolita, who had actually been
trOtted to q standstill, was distanced.
The affair was sensational throughout,
and a good deal of hard feeling ensued.
The Idolita party always claimed that
: their colt had been beaten by a com
, bination, and it is known fact that
after the race Lawson made presents"
amounting to several thousands of dol
lars to the drivers of the colts that car
ried Idolita the heart breaking pace in
the early heats, while Boralma was do
ing the song and dance act and barely
beating the red flag. March, Idolita' S
driver also said afterward that he had
expected no such hard race, and had
overindulged the colt between it and his