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RECORD OF A KENTUCKY DERBY WINNER Donau the son of Woolsthorpe and Al Lone that won the Kentucky Derby of 1910 In the colors of William Gerst of Nashville Tonn went into re ¬ tirement for the winter at the close of racing on the Kentucky circuit with the record of having won 20loG for Mr Gerst during his four seasons in training Donau must be credited with having made a fairly good showing during the past two years in spite of having developed an unruly disposition but for which his record would undoubtedly be decidedly better than it is isDonau Donau was raced so frequently as a twoyearold that those who believe that thoroughbreds should he raced sparingly if at all as twoyearolds were severe in their criticism of his trainer for sending him to the post so often in his first season of racing When he won the Wakefield Stakes at the Empire City track Yonkers N Y July 22 1000 he was running for the twentyninth time and arguments for and against the racing of twoyearolds until midsummer waxed warm Some maintained that if Donau had not been raced so early and so frequently he might have developed into a great horse at ma ¬ turity Others held that his record refuted the theory that it lessens the vitality of youngsters to race them early Donau had then been averaging five races a month During the Empire City meet ¬ ing in question lie ran four races in eight days He had been racing over all sorts of tracks from coast to coast and when lie won the Wakefield Stakes lie actually appeared as if in need of work A sturdjr sort of a horse surely surelyIt It was after he won the Kentucky Derby thit Donau developed a stubbornness that was wellnight the despair of George Hani into whose charge he passed during the latter part of his twoyearold season He gave the starters of the trajcka over which he raced all kinds of trouble at the barrier and there were times when he would absolutely re ¬ fuse to do anything at all Once he created mucii merriment by lying down on the track when an assistant starter went after him with a whip The man could not induce him to arise He was gelded In the hope that iiis track manners would be thereby improved but the hope was not realized All sorts of experiments were tried with him but nonir of them produced any lasting results although his bv bavior this season seemed to be a bit better thnn hitherto hithertoThomas Thomas Piatt who has an establishment near Lexington Ky now owns Al Lone the dam of Donau While Woolsthorpe and Al Lone were the property of Col Milton Young and he was the breeder of Donau said Mr Piatt in discussing Donau I kept the mare at my place for him and shared in the profits of her produce Donau was foaled on my farm and I had him until he was sold to William Gerst as a yearling at Sheepshead Bay September 1 1008 At that age Douan was a veritable bull dog He was strong courageous and determined He was not a savage coltv but he was not one of the kind that would stand petting He did not like to have the other colts about him and would use his heels whenever they came near hi ml Ordinarily when I wean my colts I pnt two in a staH but I could not do it with Donau He had to have a stall to himself himselfAl Al Lone is a lopeared bay marc by imported Al ¬ bert out of Fronie Louise by Glengarry and she through Rose Clark Kitty Clark and Miss Ob ¬ stinate the fifth dam of Donau traces back to the Layton Barb mare the taproot of family No 4 in the Bruce Lowe figure system Al Lone while not a mare of stake quality was a servicable sell ¬ ing plater and was raced for six years by A F Dayton D J Ilonan John Dowd and others at St Louis Chicago New Orleans and other tracks In those six years she was started 128 times won sixteen races was second thirteen times third twentyfive times and unplaced seventyfour times While still racing in the spring of 1001 as a seven yearold she was mated for the first time with Banquo II and foaled in the spring of 1002 a chest ¬ nut filly named Mae Erwin that never raced She was not bred in 1002 and that fall Col Milton Young Ixmght her and transferred her to Mc Grathiana Stud mating her in the spring of 1903 with Inspector B Tlie result of this union was Tres Joli Tlie next year she produced All Alone by Cesarion There was no foal in 1906 Donau came in 1007 from a mating with Woolstborpe In 1008 her foal was the bay filly Pickaninny a useful sprinter Her foal vf 1909 was Wooltex which sold recently for a fancy price after having been developed as a jumper Her 1910 foal was smothered to death when it was a few days old It is quite notable that all of the produce of Al Lone to race have brackets to their credit creditDonau Donau cost William Gerst only350 as a yearling What an excellent investment he was is shown by the following tabulation of his record to date dateDonau Donau b g 1907 by Woolsthorpe Al Lose Year Age Sts 1st 2d 3d Unp Won 190 2 41 15 14 0980 1910 3 10 4 0 1 5 7186 1911 4 30 fi 3 8 13 2701 1912 5 30 5 7 9 3289 3289Totals Totals 4 Ill 30 18 SO 33 20136
