The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-01-28


/ Fidden quarter races and played profes-
Sl0nal baseball in Michigan before ne took
up billiards and made himself best in the
WCrld at that game. Since the days when
ne was pacing sensation Planet has
beeIl on the road, faithful and reliable
NIUE IelloW am told, but now probably
with speed dulled beyond the point where
he can make satisfactory showing, he
gees 70 the auctions TO find new home.
Elastlc Pointer has been a hobby Of
/ NICK HuDInger, the starch manufac-
Iurer or New Haven. Conn, for halr-
dcZen years. The stallion was originally
called Maury Pointer. He is a full broth
er OF star Pointer, the first PAGER to beat
two minutes. Dave McCIary who drove
Star Pointer to his mark, bought Maury
Pointer when the latter was 4-year-old.
ana with seasons work showed 2:0g
with him, the mile making possible a sale
to Hubinger, who changed the stations
name. That any other PAGER could keep
up with Elastic Pointer for a quarter or
| a mile when he was at his best a few
seasons ago is doubtful. He won the
Chamber Of Commerce stake at Detroit,
going some of his miles better than 2:0e.
! and again being beaten in 2:12 by Pan
Michael, that has since then developed
speed enough to take a race record OF
2:o3 over the slow Oakley Park track al
/ Cincinnati
The reason why Elastic Pointer could
lose heats that were about seven seconds
slower than he could pace other miles
the same day was because he is a terrific
puller when scoring. and even If alone
! GU the track he wants to go away from
/
on the other end Of the lines has 10
wOman's job at any stage. When the
! field would turn for the word in the De
t"oit race Elastic Pointer would skim
away from the other PAGERS az if they
were fence posts set extra deep in the
| ground, and he had so much the best OF
them in speed-which is the first requisite
! of a successful race horse-that the spec
| tatOrs wondered how they ever caught
/ him after the starter said Go" But
the trouble was that Elastic Pointer Ia
/ oh rcr,iG Inc Tohu
/ the arms of that husky young man were
! limp, and his eyes bulging out. In order
TO stop the PAGER. anywhere short Of the
/ half mile pole Hussey would have to hOiu
him for all he was worth, and a few
trips around the first turn under such
! circumstances would take the gimp our
pulling his mighti5st Elastic Pointer
would go to the eighth pole in IA or bet
/ ter every time, and Hubinger, who was
I in a good position TO catch the PAGER,
said he made one of the trips in :12$z.
For the last two years Elastic Pointer
has not been raced and as Hubinger mas
more horses than he knows what 10 do
with. he is sending the stallion to the
| al ctions Elastic Pointer is a much bet
ter looking horse than his brother, Star
Pointer, and On general principles would
seem to be the making of q good sire, as
Star Pointer has a lot of fast sons ana
daughters and his blood is breeding on
well in the second generation, which Is
more than can be said OF some staIiOhS
about which much fuss is made.
! The trotters Fantasy and Billy Buck
are both graduates from the Geers school,
and they proved themselves two or Ms
most distinguished pupils. IL was WnlIe
/ Geers was training for the village, r ara
/ that Fantasy came up from the colt barn
TO join his string. she being at that time
! & green 2-year-Old.
/ She was a big lathy filly, none too
breezy looking at the best but she had
sI.eedr and the way that lsnky miss could
step it off after Geers once had her bal
anced was a caution. 1t was no tune az
all until she was a 2:20 trotter, and as
remember it she did not lose a race that
season, taking a record well below 20.
AS a 3-year-Old she was undisputed queen
among trotteTs Of her age ana closed inc
year with a worlds record, 2:OS%, 10 hcF
cTedit-and it still stands.
After that Fantasy went on heF con-
Quering way, eventually retiring Win q
record Of POS and the reputation OF BENG
a little soft if pinched at the right time
Sloppy Weather was her TURF NICK
name, and there were some critics tha-
did not like her but, taken all IN all. she
was one of the most remarkable trotteIs
ever produced. c. ]. Hamlin, VINO orcn
the mare, was never tired OF singing her
like most distinguished horses. Fantasy
had some brothers and sisters that never
amounted to much IN the uotllng IN.
When the Hamlin horses were sold aIbr
the death of the head of the house, Fan
tasy went with the rest. and now she ~
to be put on the market once mort ILlls
time in her old age, a time Wnen a morse
of ner achievements and cal1ber ousnt 70
be enjoying a good home with the assuI
ance that it will not get cross Word
as long as it lives.
Billy Buck first came into nouce dow
south, where he won q lot OF races gIiS.
s1,nomer getting a record of about 2;lO-
T1fp that fall Geers went into the south
ern country on some business, ana Wni .
there was asked TO take look at~blily
Ruck He did so, liked the morse a4ld
a. the invitation of the owner got up ana
drove Billy Buck a mile over the BlFm-
irehann track Before doing TINS, now
ever, it was necessary 20 sloe t 1it e ~
ter as he had been turned out Ior Ins
winter some time previous Thad ne was
in order for topnotch mile was not pos
s:ble, so Geers went nto aiTng eaS "tbe
silent man." Billy Buck stepped IL OH IL
2.13H and never took a long preaLh. A.
the wire he was going faster tnan at az
other part of the mile, ana tnat TOO
Gaars he was a great horse. Before many
DAYS he had bought Billy Buck, and Tee
next summer made pracucaliy a SleAi
sweep of the big purses IN the stano CIT
cnit to which ne was eligible, winning
shade over $4,000. . -,
About the only race OF consequence IN
horse lost that year oe1GIe ms IaIrse.less
r. E. Smathers. who had hlgh CLASS
stable Of harness horses. that year,
bought Billy Buck before the race Ios .
long price bet enough to win him Out,
and then saw him beaten. That, now
ever. is Smathers' luck. He did exactly
the same thing a season or t7Vo, laterl IN
the $1,000 Adassa chusetts stake at BostoA-
h,Ivine DR. Strong during the race IN or
Ger to get his own driver up, only TO see
ConsUela S beat him.
When Geers had Billy Buck the hoTse
was lame all the latter part OF the year
and his final appearance, at -aeinpnls.
was a pitjful one. He was started IN
dash of a mile and a hair, ana nls pISS S
tige made him sell favorite over the field,
Lame as dog. he strugGled on 2, in nope tEe+
led from wire to wire In the home
stretch Geers touched the old fellow low up
with the whip. and Buck tried hard 70
resnond hut the best he could do with
the game" leg was. TO put up a seraIn-
Bile that was as far from his real trottins
gait as could be imagined. Matinee rae
ing and road work has been Billy -Bucks
portion for the last two years. and nov,
like many another good old has-been, he
viii stand with dreoped head before ttls
aYction block while the man with the
nhoroe-arh voice tries to get as many
hundreds for him as he would have
brought thousands when at his best.