A GREAT HORSE 



an instant, but with a little encouragement from the 

 runners and Ketcham's reassuring voice, he was 

 quickly the demon trotter of old. After passing the 

 three-quarters the hardest trial was to come, as he had 

 to face the wind. He trotted down the stretch with- 

 out a sign of weakening ; with his ears listening to the 

 cheers of the crowd, he came like the wind. 



At the draw-gate, for the first time Ketcham tapped 

 him lightly with the whip, and he seemed to jump 

 forward. It was seen that he would break the record, 

 and the only question was by how much. 



The crowd rose and kept time by the jumps of the 

 runners. It was now up to the final stride, and it was 

 all over before the crowd knew it. He finished strong, 

 and many watches in the grand stand caught it bet- 

 ter than 2 :o4. It was some time before the time was 

 announced, and when Judge Barnard shouted : "Cres- 

 ceus broke the stallion record, he stepping the mile in 

 2 104," the crowd could not hold itself. The horse and 

 driver were surrounded by an immense crowd, all 

 eager to shake hands with Ketcham, and then to have 

 a good look at the champion. 



It was a wonderful performance, the last quarter 

 being stepped in 31 seconds, an extremely fast quarter 

 considering the conditions. The fractional time of this 

 record-breaking mile was as follows : 131 J, i :oij, 1 133, 

 2 104. The mile once more proved the superiority of 

 Cresceus to Directum beyond all argument this with- 

 out disrespect to the latter as one of the most extraor- 



94 



