Democratic Sentinel, Volume 4, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 November 1880 — FAST FLYERS. [ARTICLE]

FAST FLYERS.

Mem* En*ll*h Befleciion* on American Trotting. [London Telegraph.] Vast as is the amount of money represented by the thoroughbred stock purchased from us by our transatlantic kinsmen, it is not a little remarkable that no galloping thoroughbred, however great his excellence, has ever been appraised at so high a figure as a peerless trotter. Ask any Englishman of sporting tastes which is the most valuable horse in the world, and without hesitation the answer would be “ Isonomy.” Shortly after the unparalleled performance of the son of Sterling and Isola Bella iu the Manchester cup of this year, Mr. Gretton, the owner of Isonomy, is reported to have fixed £25,000 as the price at which he would sell him. But the largest sum ever actually bid for an English horse was £15,000, which Mr. Houldswurth refused for Springfield, and the largest sum that was ever actually paid was £14,000, given by the Duke of Westminster for Doncaster. It is evident fr< >m an occurance which has just taken place that as regards the prices at which horses are salable in the two countries, Englishmen, with all their wealth, are far behind their American brethern. Upon the 18th of September Mr. W. H. Vanderbilt’s suburb trotting mare, Maud S., accomplished a full mile at the Jockey (Hub park, Chicago, in the unprecedented time of 2:10{. The first quarter-mile was done iu 0:34, the half-mile in 1:04j, the three-quarters in 1:36, and the last quarter in The performance is without parallel upon the trotting turf, and is additionally meritorious from the fact that it was achieved iu the teeth of a strong wind. On the 27ih of September St. Julien, “the California prodigy,” trotted his mile at Hartford, Conn., in 2:11L and thus it will be seen that Maud S. has outstripped him I>y half a second. Let it not be imagined for a moment that there is any possibility of a mistake in discriminating between these narrow segments of time. The speed of a superlative trotter is gauged by a score or more of stop-watches, each of which is regulated and adjusted with the greatest nicety, and many of which are in the hands of men who have backed time. The trotting associations of several large cities offer large prizes for animals which can trot their mile within a certain stated period, and we may be certain that many a jealous eye was bent upon the Chicago performance of Maud S., eager to dispute the “record,” were it possible to do so. But the excitement provoked by this wonderful achievement may be estimated when we add that Mr. W. H. Vanderbilt, who is now in this country with the intention of sailing for New York in the White Star steamship Brittannie, two years ago gave .$20,01)0, or £4,000, for Maud S. when she was four years old, and that since her performance at Chicago he is said to have been offered .“SIOO,OOO, or £20,000, for his matchless mare, who is now six years old. It will awaken little surprise that Mr. Vanderbilt, who is currently reported by his compatriots to be the wealthiest man in the world, should have refused this amazing offer, and within a few weeks he will probably be seen driving Maud S. in his buggy along the Bloomingdale road, on the outskirts of New York, with the proud consciousness that lie lias between the shafts the most valuable quadruped on earth.

The onward career of the American trotter during the present century may be pointed at w’ith legitimate pride by the sporting citizens of the western republic. While in England we have stood still as regards the speed of our galloping thoroughbreds, the Americans have simultaneously strtick off at least forty seconds from the time in which their best roadsters can accomplish a mile at the trot. It w’ould be unjust to deny that the. trotter is altogeter an American creation and that immense sums of money, guided with singular skill, patience and ingenuity, have been expended in bringing them to perfection.