158 THE TWO-MINUTE PACERS 



his speed was such that at North Randall the Indiana pacer 

 was carried so fast, parts of both miles, that they were 

 paced in l:58l/{> and 2:00. That year Directum I paced 

 a mile in 1 iSSy^ at Hartford, defeated Peter Stevens in a 

 match at Allentown, Pa., and then, at Syracuse, N. Y., paced 

 his most sensational mile, in the open, in 1 iSG'Y^. 



His work in 1916 consisted in some record making 

 efforts which resulted in new records at odd distances from a 

 half-mile to a mile and one eighth, and these records have 

 already been given in this chapter. 



Few pacers of better gait than Directum I have ever been 

 seen. He wore knee, ankle and quarter boots forward and 

 light scalpers behind, and it follows that they were necessary 

 but he was by no means hard on them, hence it is safe to 

 assume that they were largely used to guard against mishap. 

 His shoes were as light as they could be made. 



His "stealing" way of going, especially when racing 

 alongside the high-striding William, gave one the impression 

 of a swallow in easy flight and if there is anything in the idea 

 that the gait of no lost motion is the best, certainly the way 

 Directum I went at speed would seem to bear it out. There 

 has lived no other pacer that could go a piece of the way as 

 fast as he and he seldom turned that he did not show it. 

 And again let us quote from the admirer whose views on 

 another phase of Directum I have already been presented. 

 He says: "Directum was faster than William for a burst." 

 He is writing of the time when both horses appeared to be 

 at their best. And there is no doubt that he is right. There 

 are few men who saw Directum I race who will not testify 

 that for pure speed we have never had his like. His records 

 show that he could sustain it for long flights, too, but not the 

 rate he so frequently showed when called upon, for that 

 would not be expected of any horse, even one so great as 

 Directum I. In other words, for a short distance, he seemed 

 to possess the speed of a quarter horse. 



Directum I was bred by Jas. Butler at his East View 

 Stock Farm in New York, and was by Directum Kelly out of 

 Izetta R. by Pactolus. He was owned after 1914 by the late 

 M. E. Sturgis who also, at one time, owned Dan Patch. 



