84 LIFE WITH THE TROTTERS. 



After we were over the hill I set Rarus going, and he slowly 

 closed on Great Eastern. Two hundred yards from the wire 

 he had him beaten by a neck. Feek drew his whip and 

 began to drive. Eastern responded very gamely, and went 

 a hundred yards with Rarus, but from that point out he 

 slowed a little, and, as my horse kept up his even clip, we 

 were first to the wire by a head, in 2:21^. The fourth heat 

 Rarus won easily by two lengths, in 2:23, and then the race 

 was put over until the following day. 



Although the time of these heats does not in these days 

 appear fast, yet when one takes into consideration the season 

 of year, the condition the track was in from rain, and the 

 further fact that, at that time, the fastest mile that had been 

 made by any horse over Fleetwood in a race was 2:19|, it will 

 be seen that Great Eastern's 2:20J was certainly a first-class 

 IDcrformance. Rarus did not seem to be much distressed 

 after the race, cooled out nicely, took his feed well, and in 

 every way showed me that the struggle had done him no 

 harm. About the hotels and pool-rooms that night there 

 was a great deal of gossip over the race. Rarus had rather 

 surprised the people. While he had been winning his 

 races through the circuit, he had not met a horse that was 

 considered first class. The manner, therefore, in which he 

 handled Great Eastern and FuUerton was a revelation to 

 the public. Of course, as is always the case on race-tracks, 

 there were some people looking for an excuse when an 

 unexpected horse wins. Some of them said that Fullerton 

 was not himself, and others asserted that Feek had not 

 driven Great Eastern very hard, but from where I sat in 

 the race, I concluded that Rarus had beaten them both on 

 their merits, and felt certain that he would win again the 

 next day. Tliat evening Dunn Walton came to me and 

 asked if I would price the horse to him for a gentleman 

 who wanted to buy. In our talk, he insinuated that Rarus 

 had won because Fullerton and Great Eastern killed each 

 other, while my horse was laid up. I told him that if he 

 felt that way I would not price the horse to him that even- 



