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OLD ROSEBUD FRANK WEIR Seme Intimate Details Concerning One cf Americas Most Popular Race Horses Trainer Frank Weir skilled conditioner of race horses is best and most popularly known in connection with the racing of Old Rosebud and his remarkable comebacks after having apparently broken down sev ¬ eral times Here is what trainer Weir once said of his great favorite Old Rosebud is the kind of horse that one sees once in a lifetime and then he fails to appear in the lives of some men He is certainly the fastest horse I ever trained If he had been sound there is no telling how fast he would have run a inile His drawbacks have been physical physicalWhen When I brought him a twoyearold to Saratoga in 1913 McTaggart who had been riding Stromboli a winner on the Long Is ¬ land tracks said Dont bet too much on Old Rosebud to beat Stromboli for Mr Bel monts gelding can fly flyThat That is how the jockeys regarded Strom boll But I opened their eyes one morning when I gave Old Buddy a trial Tom Healey trainer for R T Wilson told me that threeeighths in 36 seconds was the best any youngster had traveled traveledThe The Saratoga track was then slow about three seconds slower to the mile than it was in 1017 I brought out Old Rosebud and with the boy holding his head he worked threeeighths in oo Say that fairly took Healeys breath away He was so impressed with it that he stood and looked at Old Rosebud for fifteen minutes Two days later Old Rosebud beat Stromboli so far that he was lost in the dust dustOld Old Rosebud pulled up lame that year but I never told anybody about it and it was never mentioned in print That winter I thought it advisable to sell him I owned a life interest in him and suggested to Colonel Applegate that if we could get 25030 for him it would be a good sale But by an error the story was printed that we had refused 30000 for him and this killed off other offers About this time Hodge was showing some fast trials and everybody was talking about him as the Kentucky Derby winner winnerWell Well Im glad we didnt sell for Old Bud ¬ dy won the Derby beating Hodge easily Ho showed how fast he is by running the mile and a quarter in 2 03 the fastest time ever made for the Derby When he broke down at Belmont Park his career seemed at an an end It was a bad rupture ruptureI I fired him and turned him out Next year I took him up and examined him He was still bowed I fired him again with the irons and again turned him out Nature I said will do more for him than the irons Time will strengthen the tendons Nearly three years of rest did the trick and he came j back in 1917 and won 31720 I I
