52 THE GENERAL. 



won the first heat by a nose in 2:143/4. At Rochester 

 the Thorndale gelding won a heat, but Turner was not 

 ready. His day came at Hartford, where Clingstone 

 was foaled and developed and where every man, 

 woman and child believed that no man had a horse 

 that could take the measure of "the demon trotter." 

 In the first heat of the race Thorne made a break inside 

 the distance and Clingstone won in 2:17 amid cheers 

 that could be heard to the top of Talcott Mountain. 

 On the next trip Clingstone was carried to a break 

 before he reached the quarter pole and Saunders' effort 

 to close the gap took all the trot out of him, Thorne 

 winning that heat as he pleased in 2:17, and the next 

 two without being extended in 2:21^4, 2:21. 



Turner had another gala day at Hartford in 1888 

 when he stripped Spofford for the Charter Oak Stake. 

 During the winter months of that year a couple of gen- 

 tlemen, neither of whom were very fond of the "Gen- 

 eral," made an effort to have the training quarters of 

 the Kentucky Prince gelding transferred from Penn- 

 sylvania to Ohio. J. B. Houston, the owner of the 

 horse, was interviewed and all kinds of pulls and com- 

 binations rung in to get the black gelding from under 

 the Philadelphia man's eye. As the horse had paid 

 his way under Turner's management Mr. Houston de- 

 cided not to make a change and eventually told Turner 

 of the move. It made him very bitter, as he had 

 worked for two years with Spofford in the hope of 

 catching him right and making a killing, and as luck 

 would have it the day came that season. 



In July, when the time came to "pop the question" 

 to Spofford, Turner found that he was very fast, far 

 and away beyond the record with which he retired 



