The New York herald., 1921-06-26
BATTING SECRETARY
HAS ITS COMEBACKS
Shock for Editor Who Ques-
toned w. II. Gocher's Story
of Old Pilot.


Trotting Association has come - be
favorite pastime of the trade papers of
the trotting turf, and if it were conduct
ed with anything like decent regard
for the principles of fair play 1t might
be said to constitute an established
branch of the harness racing sport.
Ever since the astute Thomas j. Vail
first held the office. nearly half GEN.
tury ago. the Secretary has been a
standing target for the turf press. though
never to such an extent as in the last
few years.
w. II. Gocher. the present incumbent.
has more than once demonstrated his
ability to take care of himself in any
kind of a controversy, but never, per-
haps, more clearly than in answering an
attack growing out of his recent letter
to THE New YORK HERALD concerning
the early history of Old Pilot. the flrst
trotting sire Of note in Kentucky. The
Trotter and PAGER having charged him
with spreading propaganda designed to
discredit the accepted pedigree of Peter
the Great. :07A. the veteran secretary
addressed the following letter to Its edi-
tor, S. S. Toman, which indicates that
Mr.. Gocher knew what he was talking
about concerning the greatest living
trottine sire as well as Old Pilot:
While reading your issue of June 16
was reminded of the old saying, A
little knowledge is a dangerous thing
The statement that Peter the Great
has two crosses of Pilot blood is cor
rect. 1t was made by Gurney C. Cue
of THE New YORK HERALD, not by the
writer. BY examining his pedigree.
you will find that Pilot Medium. the
sire of Peter the Great, Is out Of
Tackey. daughter of Pilot, Jr. Grand
Sentinel the sire of his dam. is out Of
Maid Of Lexington. She was got by
Mambrino Pilot. son of Mambrino
Chief. and Juliet. by Pilot. Jr.
II would also add that the pedigree
OF Shadow. the grandam Of Peter the
Great as accepted by John H. Wallace,
who controlled the American Trotting
Register when the mare was registered,
is incorrect This pedigree appears In
Volume 8 as follows:
Shadow, black mare, foaled 1870,
got by DR.. Greenfield's pacing horse Sad
dlerville; dam Swallow by Joe Hooker,
son of Mambrino Chief; grandam by
the Sam Johnson horse that was foaled
| In Tennessee and burned before his speed
was developed
This mare also appears In Volume z
Of the American Trotting Register as
follows:
| O. CnaUOW, DlHCk IHdIe, lOdItu 1otV py
| Saddlerville (Octoroon) dam Swallow
| by Joe Hooker, &C.
''The late May Overton of Nashville.
Tenn, personally investigated the pedi-
| gree of this mare. The following is
taken from his report: In 1874 S. A.
Browne, who at that time resided at
! Pentwa ter. Mich, was at Nashville,
Tenn. While there he saw four-year-
old filly named Lady Duncan trot a
mile in 2:33. He purchased her and took
her to Michigan. In 1875 he started her
in four races. She was distanced at
Grand Rapids and unplaced at Battle
| Creek and in two races at Saginaw.
Mr.. Browne changed this mares
name to Shadow and registered her as
stated above. Shadow was bred by DR..
Greenfield of Guthrie. Ky. She was
foaled in 1870, her sire being a horse
known as Octoroon. Her dam was named
! Dixie, not Swallow, as stated In the
Register. Dixie was bred by Benjamin
Gill, who in 1913 was still living at
Clarksville. Tenn.
"Dixie was sired by black saddle
horse called Creole which was owned
by Colonel Sam Johnson of Clarksville.
Tenn Creole was foaled in 1852. His
dam was brought to Tennessee by a SOL
dier in Scott's Louisiana Cavalry. This
command was organized In the fall of
1861 and left Louisiana by steamer In
October. 1t landed at Memphis and
marched to Bowling Green or RUSSELL
vile, Ky.
"In February, 1862. It was ordered to
support Fort Donaldson. Grant took
the fort before they arrived. The COM
pany bivouacked on the old fair grounds
at Clarksville, Tenn. At that time
soldier in the command had a bay mare
! a., haa IN faa1
to a blacksmith. who lived near the fair
grounds. This mare foaled a black colt
1t was purchased in 1865 as three
year-old by Col. Sam Johnson. This
horse was called Creole. He was used
as saddle horse
: "Creole sired Dixie, which In time be-
came the property of DIR. Greenfield Of
Guthrie, Ky. He mated her In 1853
with Octoroon and got the black filly
Lady Duncan. afterward known as
Shadow The sire of Crsole was black
dock tailed pacing horse that was taken
to Louisiana from Lyons, n. Y, by John
Aikenhead. He was known as the AK
enhead horse. Nothing definite has benn
learned from Lyons aside from the fact
that there is chance of the horse being
by Henry Clay or one of his sons.
I'm the spring OF 1919 Frank r.. Best.
the registrar of the American Trotting
Register, went TO Tennessee and Ala
bama to make an inquiry In regard to
the pedigree of the dam OF Peter the
Great. He did not. however. go to
louisiana From what he learned In
Tennessee he stated that there was one
cross in the pedigree that did not belong
there In other words, that the Joe
Hooker cross should be cut out.
"The dates on which the different
horses In this pedigree were foaled also
shows that the Joe Hooker cross is I'M
possible. The Sam johnson horse. also
known as Creole, was foaled in 1882. He
could not have been used In the stud
before 1Se4. when he was n two-year-
old. This would bring his first crop OF
foals In 1865. The earliest date that a
filly from that crop could have been
bred to Joe Hooker would have been In
1867. In order to do that It was neces-
sary to ship the fiiiy from Clarlsvilie.
Tenn. to Lexington. KY, where Joe
Hooker was foaled and remained until
he died, July 8. 1875. II this mating was
made. and Il is very doubtful, the foal
would be dropped In 1868 and would,
therefore, be only one year old when DR..
Greenfield bred the dam OF Swallow to
Octoroon
"In regard TO the Kellogg sales. II you
will turn to the files OF The Turf. Field
aud Farm, Spirit of tho Times or Neto
York Sportsman you will find that Peter
c. Kellogg & Co. held sales for a num-
ber of years at the American Institute
on Third avenue and also at the Ameri-
can Horse Exchange Mt Fiftieth street