The star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1908-1909, 1909-02-19
The HARVESTER
WILL Be RACED
AGAIN NEXT YEAR
Geers Expects Son of Walnut
Hall TO Be CHAM
pion.
HORSEMAN SAYS HE WILL
GET STALLION RECORD
AS 4-Year.Old Horse Is Booked
for More Sensational
Performances.
BY WALTER E. ERLER.

@t1@hH
1t has been definitely decided to race The
Harvester, 2:0S&, the coming season. Ed
Geers, his trainer, makes no secret Of his
belief that the four-year-old stallion record
placed at 2:0514 by the mighty Directum,
son Of Walnut Hail. When August Wilhelm.
of Milwaukee,, paid 5000 for the practi-
cally unbroken three-year-old at the mid
pdsaSI, sale last year ma many bg d, OF f. the q ~ sup
pressing the opinion that the millionaire
had purchased what Thomas w. Lawson
would 9gh term a highly polished gold brick.
highly bred and showed q world of speed
at the halter, it was true, but had never
been trained, and the price surely looked
high. There was more adverse criticism
when the announcement was made that Mr..
Wilhelm had sent the colt to Geerss stable
at Memphis to be prepared for bis %futurity
Geers had a reputation with aged horses,
the critics argued, but he would not be sue
'cessful with a colt. citing the fact that he
had never won any of the large futurities.
The colt was called The Harvester. and in
the light of his performances never was a
horse more appropriately named. He caught
cold on the way TO Memphis, aud for a
few weeks was off. He rounded 10 all
right, however, and took to his work like
a veteran campaigner.
NO fast miles were attempted with him,
his work being confined to plenty of slow
miles, with occasionally a brush for an
eighth. Before he left Memphis he had not
been asked to beat 2:40.
! The horse was brought along slowly by
Geers, but at Detroit he was let down for
a mile in 2:iO12 with the last quarter in .jlta
seconds. IRON this time on every man con-
nected with the Geers outfit sHorc by the
son of Walnut Hall. He is the making of
a champion, and no one was slow to recoc-
nize the fact.
On the morning of the great American
Derby at Readvilie, Geers again asked the
question of The Harvester, and the colt
responded with a mile right at 2:l2, aud in
4 nrnVtn1G liz uyQC mr. n Ill nff- At III
finish.
At Hartford he stepped in 2:1114. and
everybody, who saw him work made Up
their minds at once that he was of real
%futurity calibre. His first engagement was
In the stake for three-year-olds at Syra-
cuse, and here be met a high class lot of
Youngsters which included such good ones
as Thistle Down and Electric Todd. The
Harvester was in front all the way In both
beats and Won from Electric Todd in 2:l04
ana 2;lih In such easy fashion as TO con-
Nluce close observers that a mile in 2:o9s
was too easy for him.
The real test of the great colt came the
following week at Columbus, where he met
Justo, who had taken a record of 2:i0Il
early IN the season; The Leading Lady,
winner of the Horse Breeders Futnrity..
and several other fast colts, and for the
extended, defeating The Leading Lady the
first heat, In a close finish in 2:09A, but
came back and won the second easily in
the same time. The following week be
had no trouble in defeating practically the
same field for the Horse Review stake in
2;lO1A, 211H and 2:11.
the rich Kentucky Futurity, the classic
event. of the Kentucky Horse Breeders
ASSOCIATION, and next to the American
T@rottins Derby the most valuable harness
met about the same field with the same
result, for the son of Walnut Hall wns
never in danger at any stage of the race,
2:l0%, 2:OS$4. the final beat being the fast
est third heat ever trotted by a 3-year-ojd.
This was the last appearance of The Har-
kentucky Stake the second week of the
Lexington meeting, but it was thought
best not to start him and take the chance
OF marking him out of the 200 class.
Good Judges were of the opinion that he
could have equaled or beaten the worlds
record, 2:O6li, made by General Watts. had
ne 6een started to see how fast he could
The Harvester is an ideal Individual in
every respect. having none of the looks of
a colt, but of a mature horse. He wears
few boots, aud these he does not appear
TO need. as he goes clean all around. He
wears eight ounce shoes forward and FIVE
behind and no weights. He is sixteen
hands tall, beautiful brown color, plenty
OF action, very pronounced behind, but is
one of the most impressive horses in mo-
ton which the turf has seen in many
years. '
In all his races he has never made n
preak or did a thing which he should not
20, and In his 4-year-old form it would
appear to be reasonable to expect that be
Will approach and possibly beat the worlds
record for that age. held by that iron
horse. Directum. 2:05k.
The Harvester is bred for a champion
His sire is that game race horse, Walnut
Hall, 2:0Si4. who drove Hawthorne to her
record of a:06l4, a son of Conductor. 2.141..
ana Maggie Geaser, by Red Wilkes. yiy-
ing him the Wilkes and Electioneer cross
on his sire's side. His dam is Notelet.
oy Moko the Great. sire of futuritv win,
ners,. giving MIN the Wilkes. Mambrino
Patchen cross through Baron Wilkes
through Moko. His second dam is Tablet
o producer by Cuyler. son OF Hambletonian
~, third dam Prefix Ga producer). by pan
coast, 2:21s4. fourth dam Galatea by Mes
senger Duroe, fifth dam TIyacinth "a nro-
ducer). by Volunteer, 50, and sixth dam tho
great brood mare Clara by Teeley's Ameri-
can Star, IL, INC