The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-11-27
HOrsemen Were Able to
Pick the 1913 Winners

ana AQulNn being sons OF, Htngen
(2:06A). the sire Of Uhlin (1:5s), the
worlds champion trotter. Bergen. a
5-year-old, had been trained and rae
ed some as a 2 and 3-year-old and
then laid over He went to Mr.. Geers
a year g this fall. after having
spent the summer doing stud duty at
Harry E. Hopper's big breeding farm
out at Indianola, near Des Moines. It
was not long before the trainer be-
came deeply impressed with his new
pupil, and he soon made no secret Of
the fact that he expected Bergen to be
Of the best stake trotters that he
had ever campaigned.
Bergen began his seasons work at
Lansing. Mich. where he won q purse
ace in impressive fashion and credit
able tirne-but this was his sole and
only victory. Right on its heels he
developed a mysterious lameness.
which led to his becoming very erratic
and unreliable. He won a. heat in a
$4,000 stake at Kalamazoo, Mich. in
2:06 ga in a way that made him look
like a great trotter, but in the subse-
quent heats he broke disastrously. In
several other races about this time he
did still worse. the distance flag falling
in his face. Finally 1t was decided to
A"J w Wy eLA10 SCo u 1l0 WVulO uOL re-
turn to form. His trouble was battling
in it's nature. One Of his hind legs
was so affected as to make him of
and on very lame. while he also suf-
fered intense pain in that member. But
1t was impossible to locate or diagnose
the difficulty. as there was no swelling
or fever to be found.
After his lay-up Bergen raced a
number of times later in the season
and on two occasions. while not win.
ming. showed extremely we'll. Mr..
Geers, It is reported. still considers
him a great trotter. and believes that.
had he remained sound, he. and not
his near relative. Baden. would have
been tho best stake-winning horse of
1912.
The failure Of Bergen left .Geers
with u good second string for the trot.
ting stakes in the Illinois mare, Dorsh
Medium. owned by her breeder. Lu
Green. Jr.. or Indianola, this state,
and right we'll did. she perform after
stepping into the breach. Baden and
Esther w. outclassed her just a trifie,
but she forced them to the limits time
and again. and when she found a bit
easier game was almost always a win
ner. winding up with a record of 2:O6
IA and a splendid victory in the clas-
sic Walnut Hall cup ace at Lexington.
Eva Cord was another of the Geers
stake trotters. She had been held
over for nearly two years and much
was expected of her. but while she
proved a high-class mare, able to trot
right around the 2:0S notch week aft
er week, that was not good enough to
beat 2:05 and 2:O6 horses, and she had
to be content with picking up purses
here and there. Moreover, she is a
mare with a peculiar characteristic
she never shows her best form until
late in the fall. Then, just as the
campaign is in its last stages, she is
getting at z edge.
With his stake PAGER Akar Geers
had even worse luck than with his
trotter Bergen. Akar was not a new
member of his stable. for he had pre-
viously spent a long term there and
had been raced a few times on the
grand circuit. The son of Aquilin had.
In fact. been staked ''along the line"
In 1911. but a bad foot had kept him
from doing any real good. However,
when sound he had shown superbly,
hence Gcers was anxious to give him
another trial. But he only got to one
race in 1912 before he gave way and
soon had to be n home for the rest
Of the season. What in any event he
would have been ;tblc to do against
such a phenomenal performer as Joe
Patchen H.. had he stood up" Ia a
doubtful matter. But. as there was
no other PAGER on the circuit within
gunshot of Patchen In real class. Akar
would almost certainly have gotten
second honors at least. which would
have made him IL profitable horse.