The Washington times., 1908-08-09

the week az Kalamazoo. Mich.
The beautiful prairie town sprang ipto
worldwide fame Just forty-nine years
ago, when the bay bob-taiied mare
Flora Temple trotted a mile in race
in the then unprecedented time Of 2:1sA-
It was the day OF the high-wheels
straight-axle sullCy; a day when tracks
were almost as crude as country roads
There were then no neatly thrown up
turns for horses to negotiate, for the
king OF track makers-Seth Grifhn-was
/ then in his teens. and little dreamed OF
/ the fame ne was afterWard TO attain.
The art OF shoeing the trotting horse
/ was as crude as the tracks over which
| they performed The "two-minute har-
ness was the thought Of nearly half
OF n century later. and there existed
nowhere IN the civilized world a tTot-
ting breed Of horse as the term Is now
understood. Flora Temple-then the
acknowledged queen Of the turf-had
not one drop OF trotting blood in her
veins. so far az men knew.
Skech of Flofa Temple
Foaled in about 1916. the property OF
Mr.. Tracy. Of Oneida county, n. 2.
her owner locked her tail with his
pocket ionine before she was an hour
old. In eolor a blood bay, and only
about i41k hands high. her breedy ap-
Learance early attracted the attention
q horsemen. Her sire. Kentucky Hun
ter, was nearly. II, not quite, thorough
! bred. and her DAM Madam Temple,
probably also carried quite a good deal
OF running blood in her veins, with a
pacing strain far back IN her pedigree
Mr.. Tracy. her breeder. was a farmer.
and as Flora was small (Weighing not
over 80 pounds. and willful in the
bargain. he sold her for slS when four
years old 10 W. II. COngdon. OF Smyrna.
Chenango county. N. Y. Later she fell
into the hands OF Richardson & Kelly
for $3.50. Twice more she changed
hands. until. finally. she fell into the
hands OF a man who knew horse when
he saw One-Jonathan Vieiee, OF Wash
fngton Hollow. n. z. Vielee kept her
Just two weeks when Flora became the
property OF the then well-known horse
man. George z. Perrin. Of New York
city
Perrin was a lnorseman from Horse
Vile, and he soon transformed the eT-
ratio, mixed gated. rip-i-ty. ciip-i-ty
little mare into what IN time became
the greatest trotting machine the turf
had ever seen up to her days. For Ten
years she ruled the trotting turf. and
met and conquered the best horses raced
against her Though small, she was
equal 20 weight, whether 10 sulky, wag-
on. or under saddle. and retired sound
after racing IN every city OF consequence
ssaHs G
Flora Temples turf history in brief
Beginning of Great Family.
In her race at Kalamazoo. in which
she beat all previous records. there was
a medium-sized bay mare called Prin-
cess that was destined also 70 make
turf history. Next to Flora she was the
greatest race mare Of her time, and,
next to George NJ. Patchen. had given
Flora the hardest run for her money.
Later on, when her racing days were
over. she was bred TO Hambletonian 10
then Just beginning % achieve fame as
a slre-the produce being Happy Me-
dunn. now considered one OF the best
sons Of HambletOnssn and known as
the sire OF Nancy Hanks. 2:o4. the first
horse TO trot 10 50 low mark
The Happy Medium blood is breeding
on and on-producing extreme speed
from whatsoever blood Il Is blended.
while that OF Flora Temple has faded
from the face Of the earth. and has
had no more beneficial results on the
breed OF the modern trott'sig horse than
II it were composed Of so much saw
dust To enter into the why's and where
Il
take more space than can be spared
from these columns
But two events were pulled on ct
Kalamazoo last week worthy Of more
than a passing notice-so used has the
public become to turf sensations The
horse loving public Is daily demanding
more speed. and still more speed, and
unless records are daily broken there
is a tendency on the part OF the spec
tators TO become bIase. Those who have
followed the chestnut gelding, Jack Ley
burn. from the day he reached Pough-
keepsie. I'D q the date he landed at
Terra Haute. had reason to expect
that he would fairly smother anything
| IN his class. over the Indiana track, IN
the 2-Os trot he established two world
| records. negotiating the first mile IN
=. a.
| third mile IN 2:04z4-an average Of 2:06
| The three heats are the fastest ever
| trotted by geIding. Senator James
p. McNichoI, Of Philadelphia, owns
| this trotting wonder and purchased him
a few months ago from John Madden
for the sum Of $1,000 when his record
was 2:Osk.
Sterling McKinney's Fine Race.
Nevertheless. at Kalamazoo. Monday
last, he VAS beaten by the green trnt-
ting stallion. Sterling Mckinney, after
winning the first heat in s;o7sl. GeerH
was UP behind the bay. son OF the
great Mckinney Che only sire with
thirteen in the 2I0 lisO. and the grand
old man proceeded TO step him in the
second heat In the fast time OF 2:o62z
repeating him in 2;072s. and 2:O77.
The miles stepped by the California
stallion are the fastest trOtted up to
date by a virtually green young horse
and makes Sterling Mckinney one OF
| the sensation Of sensational year in
| the matter Of extreme speed and race
horse ability. Finishing behind the Nc
Kinney horse and Leyburn were such
| speed marvels as Nahma, May Earl.