The Two-minute Horses of 1903 33 



Chief; second dam Contention by Allie West, 

 2.25, by Almont, son of Alexander's Abdallah 

 and Sally Anderson by Mambrino Chief. Fanny, 

 dam of Allie West, was also by Mambrino Chief. 

 Nancy Whitman, dam of Robert McGregor, was 

 by Seely's American Star, and Mabel is the dam 

 of the famous campaign trotter, Nightingale, 2.10^. 

 Cresceus carries foundation blood, but not so 

 profusely as Major Delmar, and it was on Friday, 

 July 26, 1901, at Cleveland, that he dethroned 

 The Abbot by trotting to a record of 2.O2f. The 

 stallion was accompanied by a running horse 

 during the first half of his journey and by two 

 runners during the last half. There was no pace- 

 maker in front. At Columbus, August 2, 1901, 

 Cresceus reduced his record to 2.02^, and he 

 failed to beat this performance in 1902. Octo- 

 ber 19, 1903, the startling report was telegraphed 

 from Wichita, Kansas, that Cresceus had trotted 

 in i-59f. The accuracy of the timing was ques- 

 tioned, and under date of January 14, 1904, the 

 president of the American Trotting Register 

 Association wrote me : " The Cresceus perform- 

 ance at Wichita is held up in the court of the 

 American Trotting Association and will not be 

 decided until May next, consequently the record 



