The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1906-11-23
DAN HAS WONDERFUL YEAR.
Famous PAGER Startles the Southern
Horsemen.

| After season of wonderful perform
, ances on Northern harness turf, Dan
Patch, the greatest of modern PAGERS, is
electrifying Southern followers of the
sport by some remarkable work on the
tracks south of the Mason and Dixon
| line. The great stallion has been smash
ing records so long that turf critics are
beginning to wonder when and where
he will stop. Year after year the great
brown horse comes out and instead of
going back in his performances he reels
off miles and half miles on good tracks
and bad in a manner that is little short
of marvellous.
His best performance of the year was
his remarkable mile at the Hamline
track, where he ate up the distance in
LBS. While he had paced several re-
cord breaking miles, before the Hamline
meeting, he seemed to grow better after
the setting of his latter mark and there
were few tracks that he paced on in the
North after that that he did not shatter
their records. Now his efforts are con
fined to the South, where, despite rain
and poor. tracks, he continues to startle
the Southern gentry in the same reck-
less manner that he did in the North.
His first stunt was to pace mile over
a slow half mile track at Fort Worth,
Tex, in 2:02R. This was truly won
derful mile and the mark will probably
stand for years to come as the fastest
ever paced in Texas unless he breaks it
himself. His next performance of note
was at Birmingham, Ala, where he pac
ed mile in l:59H on a track which
was like a sponge from the constant
rainfall. This mile was one of the best
he ever paced when all the conditions
are considered. His owner will take the
wonderful stallion all over the South
and many more astonishing records will
be heard before the horse is put in
winter quarters.
The recent death of the great sire, AL
cantra, 2:23, at Loveland, Ohio, removes
one of the grandest horses in the harm
ess horse world. Alcantra was a great
race horse, a great sire and founder of a
family that is breeding on and on, his
daughters having produced some of our
greatest race horses, while his sons are
string equally as fast and game race
horses. Alcantra was foaled in the year
1870, and was at the line of his death
over thirty years old, remarkable age.
He left 800 direct descendants with
standard records from l:50A to 2:3O,
another remarkable fact. AS a race
horse he started but six times, but low
cred the worlds record for a four-y year
old stallion trotter, and was considered
one of the most promising trotters that
wore harness. However, he went lame,
was sold for $4,000 and began his stud
career, which made him one of the great
est progenitors the light harness turf
has ever known. In 1889, Alcantra was
sold for the immense sum of SIS 900 but
falling into hands which did not adver-
tise him, and went through several sales,
to finally become the property of E. W..
Conant six years ago, and at Loveland
he has spent his declining years. AS a
sire Alcantra ranks sixth greatest, l5S
of his sons and daughters having secur-
ed standard records. His fastest was
the pacing stallion Sir Alcantra, 2:05A
undoubtedly close to minute PAGER
with professional training and good care.
The list of new 2:lO trotters is a long
one, and it now stands at thirty, and
may reach beyond that figure when the
reports from the Southern meetings are
given out.
Six stations trotted in 2:l0 or better
this year, as follows: Lord Roberts,
2:O7A Guy Axworthy (4). 2:0SA; AL
ton, 2:O9A; Solan Grattan, 1902; Cor
onada, 2:O9A, and Gulvalle's Directum
az, ,2:09A, and as whole they are
all fine types of the great American
trotter.
There is no doubt of the fact the trot-
ter is going forward, and breeding on,
and increasing in numbers as the years
go by.
Remarkable as the statement may
seem, it is a fact, that the trotter is
gradually increasing in number. At
first glance this may seem unreasonable,
but I am willing to go on record with
the prediction that the next year book
will show that more trotters than pac-
ers took part in races during 1906.
AS a straw showing this increase in
the trotters, it has been noted that l47
trotters took part in the races at the
Lexington meeting, while only liz
PAGERS performed. True, there were
eighteen trotting races on the program,
and fourteen pacing races, but eliminat-
ing four of the trotting races, it still
shows larger number of trotters than
PAGERS.
Good horses are sometimes perma-
nently disabled by the action of care
less or .too wise" grooms. During the
Lexington meeting, the great trotter,
| LII i