Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1912-10-18
BY WALTER &. ERLER

Not since the glorious advent OF
the bay gelding Wilkes Heart, 2:O614'
in 1907, has New Jersey been repre-
sented IN grand circuit tracks by
superlatively great trotter until the
present season, when the brown stall
lion Baden, 2:05A, marched down the
big line.
Not unlike the campaign of Wilkes
Heart the ASK of the brown stallion
has been a severe one. He has been
called upon to defeat some very high
class trotters.
This, too, was the case with Wilkes
Heart, both horses being driven by
n young and inexperienced driver
While both STEELE and Rodney
appeared to be equal to the job,
there were things happening at each
meeting they visited, intended to
handicap their chances yet they had
the speed which was more than "a
match for their contemporaries wits.
1t is, however, quite safe to pre-
sumo hal If the brown horse had
been in the stable of Mr.. Geers, Billy
Andrews or Lon Mcdonald he would
have won some of the races in which
he met disaster.
1t Is not the writer's purpose to de-
tract one iota from the credit of A.
s. Rodney. Under the circumstances
he has doubtless done far better with
the brown horse than many other
older reinsmen might have done, yet
the things he had to learn and which
experience only could teach him acted
as a handicap to his horse.
His march from Lansing to Lex
ington, however, has been a sensa-
tlonal one. He has beaten every
horse that has beaten him and COM
pleted his campaign by winning two
| classics, the Pennsylvania and the
Castleton cup race at the Lexington
meeting. In these two races he met
and defeated the very best trotters
of the year, and while he did not re-
duce his record at Lexington, as had
been expected, he trotted 1ast enough
TO win, and in his last race, the Cas-
Teton cup event. he stepped five
strenuous heats, winning the first,
second and fifth. and was the sharp
est kind of a contender in the fourth,
in which he finished second to that
speed marvel Esther w.
None but the gamest could or would
have won such a race. and it was,
indeed, a fitting climax TO the brill
liant campaign the son of Bingara
has made.
The Pessimist at Work.
Notwithstanding, however, the gal
liant and victorious march the brown
horse has mace the pessimist is al
ready at work in an endeavor to rob
him of a part of the glory by advanc-
ing the argument that he has not
been up against as much quality as
were some of the former big stake
winners.
| hope that these poor, misguided
individuals do not cite the case of
the unbeaten r. T. c.. who in a man.
ner swept the big stakes last year,
Who did II. T. c. beat? His greatest
contenders were Chatty Direct and
Lewis Forest. The former concluded
the season with a record Of 2:09h
and the latter went into winter quar-
tiers with a record of 2:06A, which
was a faster record by half a second
than r. T. C. himself had taken.
The big horse held all these kind of
competitors safe and everybody knew
ii, yet when in h free-for-all trot at
Lexington there was an opportunity
to demonstrate whether or not Il. T.
c. could beat a field of high-class
horses of demonstrated ability he was
left reposing in a box stall, while his
stable companion, Charley Mitchell.
who was al the time also owned by
Louis Neidhardt. owner of Baden. was
sent out to battle with the giants, to