148 RACEALONG 



purchased Harry Wilkes and sold him to James 

 Temple. The latter sold the gelding to Sire Bros. 

 When Harry Wilkes turned for the word in 1887 he 

 was their property. His first engagement was at San 

 Francisco where on April 2 he was booked to beat 

 2:14%. It was planned to make the trial in the 

 second heat. Before the horse started a local inventor 

 bolted a timing device to the shaft of the sulky. It 

 was adjusted so that the driver could start and stop 

 it with his foot. Van Ness tried it and in order to 

 make a good showing let Harry Wilkes step along. 

 The result was a mile in 2:13i/2> much to the sur- 

 prise of those who bet on time. 



All of Harry Wilke's starts in 1887 were specials. 

 He defeated Gossip Jr. at Philadelphia, Johnston at 

 Detroit, and Rosalind Wilkes at Dallas. Patron de- 

 feated him at Cleveland in 2:14i/2> Prince Wilkes at 

 St. Louis, and Johnston in feature events at Spring- 

 field, Mass. and at the Minnesota State Fair. 



Harry Wilkes was not started in 1888, at the close 

 of which Frank Van Ness retired from the sulky 

 and went over to the runners. The following year 

 John Turner trained Harry Wilkes and the other 

 horses owned by Sire Bros. Harry Wilkes won from 

 Gene Smith at Rochester, Oliver K. and Gene Smith 

 at Boston, and again from Gene Smith at New York. 

 Belle Hamhn defeated him at Buffalo. Gene Smith 

 also defeated him at Poughkeepsie and Hartford 

 where he won two heats in 2:1514 and 2:16%. His 

 last bid as a race horse was made at Lexington 

 where he took the word in the free for fall with Jack 



