The New York herald., 1922-07-16
AXWORTHY FAMILY
LEAD IN COLT RACES
Far Outnumber All Others
Together in Grand Circuit
This Season.
GREAT PETER oUTDoNE
Dominant Sire Line of Future
May Shift Back to Family
| of George Wilkes.
BY GURNEY c. CUE.


BY GURNEY c. CUE.
Descendants of Axworthy, 2:15h,
ard particularly of his great son, Guy
Axworthy 2:0S%. are making harness
racing history of the first Importance
this year In colt races of tho Grand
Circuit. At Cleveland. In the first clash
OF the season for three-year-olds. there
were nine starters, all but one of which
are engaged in the Kentucky Futurity
and other rich prizes for trotters Of this
age. Among these high class colts and
flllies we're seven that traced to AK
worthy and no less than six that
traced to Guy Axworthy In the direct
male line. At Toledo last week there
were again nine starters in the race
for three-year-olds. and again six di-
rect descendants of Guy Axworthy an
swered the bell, while eight Of the nine
carried the blood of Axworthy. In each
race they topped the summary and took
three Of the four divisions Of the money.
1t was such a showing az Peter the
Great at the height of his supremacy
as sire perhaps never surpassed, and
it raises the question as to whether
the dominant sire line of the future will
yet shift back to George Wilkes, Q :22.
through this great-grandson of the old
champion of trotting stations and trot-
ting sires.
Colt trotters como by light of In
heritance from this wonderful family,
and the sire of colt trotters is unde-
niably the sire Of the future, for next
to nobody is nowadays breeding harness
horses except to race, and the profitable
and interesting time to race them Is
when they are two or three years old.
George Wilkes himself was precocious
trotter in his day, sixty years ago. but
1t was not until his crooked leg son,
William l.. got the curby hooked colt
Axtell that thhe characteristic became
very prominent in this particular line
of descent. Axtell. as all horsemen are
aware amazed the trotting world by
making q record of :12 to high wheel
sulky rs a three-year--old, when his
performance was not only unequaled by
one Of his ago but by a stallion Of any
ago: and this notwithstanding tho fact
that he was reared in northern Iowa
wo great lines met when Margue-
rite. by Kentucky Prince, out OF Young
Daisy, by Strideaway, was mated with
Axtell and produced Axworthy. A. b.
Darling of the Fifth Avenue Hotel. who
bred the colt. had owned his ancestors
in the direct maternal line for three
generations, and he never ceased to
sing the praises of the foundations
mare. Old Daisy. a queen Of the Bloom
ingdale road in her day, as one Of the
greatest trotters he had known. Her
daughter, Young Daisy, was another
like her, and also a great producer OF
speed. as was her own daughter Mar
guerite. AZ
Axworthy was beaten Just head by
Oakland Baron in 2:161z at two years
old. and he earned q record of 2:151a as
three-year-old. but his legs gave way
in training and Mr.. Darling sold him at
auction for about 800 to John II. Shuts
of Partville Farm, In Brooklyn. John
II. Young, who developed most of AK
tells colt trotters. proclaimed him the
best one of them all, and tho way in
which he transmitted extreme speed
warrants the belief that he was all
Young thought him to be. and possibly
a good deal more, had his legs stood up
for full development.
II was while owned by Mr. Shuts
that .Axworthy was mated with the
great young mare, Lillian Wilkes,
2:17%, distinguished as tho only trot.
ter that ever won a heat from Sunol.
2:0SN. Like Axworthy, Lillian gained
her record as q three-year-old and
a mark as she was capable Of making.
That she was by long odds the best
trotter got by Guy Wilkes, :15A, is
generally recognized. Right here II is
worthy of note that her sire was a
full brother to AxtellPs sire, William
i. True to his inheritance, Guy AK
worthy was q colt trotter. having made
his record of 2:0s% as a 4-year-old
after starting Off with q mark Of 2 :23 y
at two years old. He, too. went wrong
in training before reaching his limit
but unlike his sire, grandsire and
great-grandsire he had the best Of legs
in shape and quality. and his offspring
are rarely open to criticism in this re-
spect. The 3-year-olds by him now rae
ing are the second crop Of his offsprins
foaled in Kentucky after the late Har-
ry s. Hardness bought him for 100000
TO head the Walnut Hall stud. As he
IS only twenty years old there should
be several crops yet to come.
Lee Worthy. the winner of the race
for 3-year-olds at Toledo In .09 and
3:0sN. is owred by the veteran Phil
adelphia breeder and turfman, Frank III
Ellis, who has been identified with har-
ness racing for fifty years. This speedy
youngster is closely inbred to Axwor-
thy, his sire being Leo Axworthy
1:5eL, son of Guy Axworthy. while hi
darn Is Emma Smith. 2:16. by Morgan
Axworthy. 2 1T, son Of Axworthy. Lee
Worthy made q record OF o :21 In hiI
2-year-old form He is only one Of four
s-year-olds from which Mr.. Ellis maJ
choose his Kentucky Futurity starter
Three OF these are by Lee Axworthy
Ben White, who drove their sire to his
record. is training them all for the
$4,000 race at Lexington.
II was n gala week for the owner o.
Ice Worthy when his bay filly Jear
Revere on Friday won the first Crane
Circuit race OF the season for two-year
old trotters, making n record Of 2 IL u
This daughter OF Guy Axworthy ant
Eolga. 2:041a, fs one OF Mr.. Ellis's owf
breeding. Her dam won the Kentucky
F,uturity for two-year-olds In 1915, trot
ting In :o7M in the race. and comint
back the next season to win the Ken
lucky Fruturity for three-year-oIds II
2:04h. volga, as everybody knows. is 9
sister TO Peter volo, 2 :O2. and Tho Grea'
voio, 2 :05%. She is only nine years ole
and already In the dam of Miss VIII
loughby, 2 :05 as three-year old. Jear
Revere is her second foal. She has q
yearfing. Little Rivers. also by Guy Ak
worthy, that trotted quarter In 0 :3t
the day she was twelve months old, ant