HANOVER BERTHA (2.2).

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 293, 11 December 1929, Page 17

HANOVER BERTHA (2.2).

TWO-YEAR-OLD'S WONDERFUL ' TIME. CREATES WORLD'S RECORD. . Horsemen aware that after the close of the Lexington meeting a number of stables remained there for the purpose of starting horses for among these latter being Hanover's Bertha (2.0, 2.3 i), felt certain in advance that, . given favourable conditions, the filly would establish a new championship mark for two-year-olds (says the "Horse Review"). This opinion was abundantly verified when the daughter of Peter Volo (2.2) and Miss Bertha Dillon (2.2*), on Tuesday, the loth, trotted a mile in 2.2 flat, thereby shaving off three-quarters of a second from the record established by her wonderful rival, Main McElwyn (2.22), eight days before, when he defeated her in the Lexington Stake during the second week of the Kentucky Breeders' meeting. She went to the quarter in 301s, to the half in 1.1, to the three-quarters in 1.31£ and home in 2.2. Both the first and the last half were trotted exactly alike, in 1.1, while the middle half was trotted in I.o|. The quarters, separately, were: First 30Js, second 30Js, third 30(s, fourth 3025.

The evenness of the rating and the bedutiful manner in which the filly comported herself deepens the profound impression winch her performance created. Horsemen recall that no thr.ee-year-old has trotted below 2.2| this season, and no four-year-old below 2.2|, and, comparing these sets of figures, they realise that something wonderful beyond precedent has occurred.

At the beginning of the season the two-year-old record stood at 2.4, and was of six years' standing, Mr. McElwyn having placed it there back in 1923, while in 1927 Fireglow had just equalled it. Very few critics expected to see it lowered this season, for the two colts named were held to be spsed marvels such as appear only at rare intervals. Yet we have seen that mark beaten not once, but four times, and two full seconds taken off it! ■ .. ' ••

Never before has the world's two-year-old record been lowered as many as four times in one season since it was placed below 2.30. In 1877 So So and Orient, between them, made four reductions, but when they were done the mark stood at 2.31 only. In 1891 Arion made three reductions, but in his era 2.10 was as yet unachieved —though the fact that he went in 2.10J to a high-wheel sulky made" his performance equal to several seconds faster time under modern conditions. The Hanover Shoe Farms are to be most heartily congratulated on the performance of their marvellous filly, which is all the more notable because of the fact that, she was virtually out of commission for weeks in mid-season and the task of bringing her back to. form not only, but ol sliaping her for recordbreaking, a doubly difficult one.