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HOW HIS NIBS WAS TRAINED TO RACE Practically Never Prepared by Any Accepted Method but Work Given Him Just Suited Him; By Ed Cole. New York, September 8. The two recent victories of the horse. His Nibs, brings the colors of G. F. Johnson, the lather of Fred Johnson, again into prominence. While the "yellow and black spots" may now be termed his colors, they are not the old Johnson colors, but those of his second son G. F. Johnson, who is not in the best of health. Mr. Johnson had His Nibs on his New Jersey farm, with some other stock, and he was doing so well that lie decided to let old "Dad" Prior look after him. "Six weeks ago," said Mr. Johnson, "that old horse was on the farm living the life of a gentleman. He was brought up here and I told the little negro, who had him in charge while I was at Saratoga, to Just gallop him along miles in about fifty, with an occasional opener of a quarter or a half mile just to get his racing legs used to it. Why that horse practically has never been trained by any accepted method, but whatever work ho had seems to have just suited him. I didnt think he had a chance in the world to win his race on Tuesday, neither did any of the astute dockers, or he would not have gone to the post at 20 to 1. Who would ever have thought a horse could have run a mile better than 1:39 with such mild training treatment V It only goes to show how differently some horses must be trained to others. "I thought he would be ready for a stiff work or two when I got back from Saratoga and we might get a cheap race out of him. He agreeably disappointed me by winning1 the first crack out of the box and came back again Thursday and took down another purse. Old man Prior is as1 proud as a dog with two tails and I am too, for that matter, for a horse that I thought little of is turning out to be some race horse. It looks to me that the first study of a horse, is to try and find out just how it should be trained and if you happen to strike the right sort of .treatment, it is as much luck as good judgment. That is the reason horses win races when least expected by their trainers, likewise lose races when expected to win, which is frequently the case. Training is an art, but theres much luck attached to it too. If I had told anybody just what work His Nibs had had and, added, that I expected him to run a mile better than 1:39, they would have thought me crazy and, by jove, I might have thought so myself." ONE OF THE VETERANS OF TURF. Mr. Johnson is one of the veterans of the turf, having raced horses in the early "eighties" and is still a daily visitor at the local tracks, though about four score years have passed since lie shook his swaddling clothes. Age is beginning to tell its tale, but tlie exercise he gets in tjtepping around a race course, the fresli atmosphere and the sociable surroundings, have done much to make him weather lifes storms. Mr. Johnson is a great advocate of racing for the preservation of body and mind, when indulged in a sportsmans way. Like the late James R. Keene, Mr. Johnson declares racing will put at least ten years on the life of a person and, maybe twenty, besides tlie amusement and thrills one gets, added to the satisfaction of seeing a horse win bred on the old farm, which could be termed "extreme delight." Another instance of the likes and dislikes of horses for certain tracks, can be cited in the cases of Deckmate and Viewpoint, two horses from Sam Hildreths barn. At Saratoga the former could hardly get ont of its own way, while Viewpoint showed an inclination to tire perceptibly after going about seven-eighths. At Belmont Park both horses ran differently, winning races in the most workmanlike manner. Belmont course is where they received their schooling, they know the course and evidently appreciate the going. Viewpoint ran like a stake horse, finishing resolutely, notwithstanding the distance was generally thought to be too far for him, in view of his Saratoga showing. Deckmate and Viewpoint are two decided instances of changes of .form, due to the different construction of the two tracks. There will be more before the Belmont season closes. Viewpoint may turn out to be a really good horse, his race being decidedly the best from a time and weight-carrying standpoint, of tlie first five days of the meeting. Hildreth evidently thinks pretty well of him, as he protected him for ,205.
