Norwich bulletin., 1910-01-26
NATIVE BELLIES
 WONDERFUL WORK.
This Trottinss FiIIy With Hamburg
 Belle Furnishes Lots of Turf His tory. b

The round up of the year upon the 1 light harness turf is decidedly satis-
 factory The season has been one of prosperity, while in point of sensa-
 tionalism the performances which took place probably surpassed those Of any year since 1903, the ever memorable one in which Lou Dillon burst upon 1 the world
 The bright stars of 1909 have been the trotting mare and lilly. Hamburg l Belle and Native Belle. The former, race in POI If and POI 3-4, so far sur- passed all previous performances of | that description as to make it impos-
 slble to compare them with hers. New CT before had a mile been trotted in a
 race below 2.03 1-4; while the best one ever made against time fin the open" was 2-01- Many horsemen consider. the feat of Hamburg Belle the most wonderful in the entire history of trot- ting, and the amazement which it pro- duced is attested by her sale the same
 day for $50e00, by far the largest price ever paid for a trotting mare. Her subsequent lamentable death has only served to heighten the interest in her and make the year. upon her account, unforgetable.
 Native Belle's achievment of lower ing the worlds record for 2 year olds from 2-10 3-4 to 2.07 3-4, doing it in the second heat of race, and thereby ecHpsing mark that stood for Is years, perhaps means more than Hamburg Belle'S attainment. It is recognized by the most advanced students of trotting evolution that the future of the breed lies with the colt trotters. and their progress will be the most reliable index of the intrinsic improve ment that is taking place. Upon this account Native Belle's name now blazes in the trotting Armament like beacon light. It is possible that she is as far ahead of her time as her pre- decessor, Arion, was of his; in which event the year 1909 will long mark an of mo I7aT
 Another great performance tending to prove the rapid advancement of the inherent speed of the breed of trot9 ters furnished during the year 1909 was that of the yearling lilly Miss Stokes. she reducing the worlds rec ord for her age from 223 to 2.19-1-4. Taken in connection with the record of Native Belle her feat has afforded anything else of the past decade bar ring, possibly, the year old record of Gen. Watts. 2.O6 3-4, which that colt made in 1907.
 Two other trotters stand out above the rest and help to make the year one of f/sensationalisnl. These are Uh- Ian, POP 1-2, and Penisa Maid, 2.04 If. The former by forcing Hamburg Belle to her record of POI IA and subse- cuently defeating her. has made him self a candidate for the two minute honors and is generally recognized as the one supremely great aged per fomer now living. Penisa Maid, ris- ing from nowhere to the altitude of the greatest stake winner of the year, at it's close holding all the class trot- ters at her mercy, has written her name in luminous letters across the years chronicles and she, too, must be reckoned a two minute possibility.
 The one event of the year on the pacing side that ranks with the feats Of the trotters was that of Minor Heir who eqUalled. the worlds pacing rec ord of 1.59 IA "in the open" and once again proved himself a genuine p1e nomenon-but as a whole the season lacked sadly in brilliancy from the ''side WheeP' angle. Values during the year remained remarkably strong. nd only as evidenced by the sale of Ham burg Bele for $50,OO0 and that of Eh- Ian for s35,000, but by the unusual success of the great auctions.