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" i REFLECTIONS by nelson dunstan NEW YORK, N. Y., May 14.— According to Life Magazine — and a set of impressive photographs seemingly proves the claim — Native Dancer has a stride of 29 feet. So far as we know, that makes him the longest-striding thoroughbred in modern racing. In the cases of some famous horses through the years, the stride has been measured, but we believe in earlier years they depended more on measuring the hoof marks on the track than on actual photographs, which were not as advanced as they now are. We know that measurements were taken of the strides of Man o War and Phar Lap, but Native Dancer has a longer stride than either of those great champions of another day. There can be no disputing the photographs of the Vanderbilt horse that were made at the Churchill Downs track. Behind the horse they placed a calibrated board marked from five to 45 feet. In the first picture the left front foot of the Vanderbilt racer is on a direct line with the 10-foot marker. In the second photo he is running at top speed, with all four feet off the ground. In the third photo the same left foot is touching the ground close to the 40-foot marker. Thus, by simple calculation, the stride is measured at 29 feet, and this in itself is evidence that he is one of the longest-striding horses ever known to the thoroughbred world. AAA Eric Guerin, Native Dancers regular jockey, is credited with saying, "When he breaks into his stride, hes like no other horse Ive ever ridden. I suddenly have two horses under me instead of one." The photographs and Guerins statement started us on some research to find if other horses had a stride of 29 feet or more. Whirlaway was one that immediately came to mind, and Exterminator was another, but we could find no record of either one. Native Dancer Longest Striding Racer Photos Show Span of Twenty-Nine Feet Man o War One Foot Short of Gray Colt Phar Laps Stride Shorter Than Thought Both were powerful runners, with a terrific covering of ground in their charge through the stretch. Present day fans may not recall the brilliant Ladkin, but in those days it was often said that his stride was even greater than that of Man o War. Just when the test of "Big Reds" stride was made, we are unable to say, but for the last 20 years it has been claimed that it was 28 feet, one foot less than the photographic measurements of Native Dancer. Whether a test was ever made of Citations stride, we cannot say, but in the American Racing Manual it is shown that when he made the mile record of 1:33%, he was traveling at the rate of 56.41 feet per second. That, in itself, would give evideince that he was a horse who spanned considerable ground in one full stride. AAA The average thoroughbred is credited with a stride of 23 to 24 feet when running at full speed. This is longer that that of trotters and pacers. A long-striding trotter will cover 18 to 19 feet per stride, and the famed pacer, Dan Patch, was measured, when in top flight, at 21 feet. These tests, we understand, were made in the usual manner, from a point when one foot leaves the ground to the point where the same foot touches again. Horses are like people in that no two walk or run in exactly the same manner. A small horse may stride as far as a larger animal. The stride lengthens or shortens according to the speed. Englishmen were amazed when Billy Barton went over there after a successful flat career in this country, and, as a steeplechaser, he had a terrific stride. He could take the jumps in a manner which carried him to second position in the Grand National Steeplechase at Aintree. Over there they judged his stride to be about 26 feet, but some veterans of the chase argued that no horse who could cover that much ground could "fly" at the fences in the way Billy did. Billy Barton must be classed with the big horses, but Broomstick, veterans tells us, was a horse who could stride with the best of them, and he was not only small, but a fine weight carrier. AAA Horses with long strides are usually found among the stayers, and two examples were the famed Australian champions, Phar Lap and Bernborough. When we were on the Coast some years ago, A. Romano invited us to see moving pictures of some of Bernboroughs races, and we were amazed by the way in which this horse would suddenly lengthen stride when turning it on. We asked Romano if measurements were made of his stride, and he told us that one of his men told him it was 26 feet. The ill-fated Phar Lap raced only once on thi- continuent and that was in the Agua Caliente Handicap. Shortly after that race we received a letter from Townsend B. Martin, owner of Bolingbroke and other good horses. He was present the day Phar Lap ran in Mexico, and he wrote us that he had never seen such a long-striding horse. Phar Lap was one of the great stayers of the land "down under," and we make note of the fact that in "Phar Lap, a Study in Conformation and Staying Power," Dr. Stewart McKay said: "While many people though that Phar Lap has a stride of from 29 to 30 feet, we were amazed to find that when galloping at full speed, it was only 25 feet. One has only to glance at his hind leg muscles to get the key to so much of his success." Dr. McKay was one of the best-informed men in Australia, and his book, "The Staying Power of the Race Horse" was dedicated to Continued on Page Thirty-Nine _ I r a j it t J J J 1 J [ | , ; i j | ! ! . j I ! , 1 , REFLECTIONS By NELSON DUNSTAN Continued from Page Forty-Eight Phar Lap, whom he considered the greatest racer the world has even known. AAA There can be no doubt that photography and the use of the calibrated beard gives us far better measurements of a stride than was the case in the days of Man o War. If Native Dancer actually strides 29 feet, is some five feet longer than that of the average thoroughbred. One has only to look at Native Dancers powerful hind leg muscles to realize that he has terrific driving power, and that is probably part of the reason for his winning 11 straight races before his defeat in the Kentucky Derby. While reams have been written about his pedigree and the fact that is was "suspect" so far as stamina was concerned, the Ken- tucky Derby was a feather in his cap in that he negotiated one and one-quarter miles at top speed, and was closing like a bullet on Dark Star. Life Magazine foot- notes say: "In another of his huge strides he might have won." If Life made that two or three strides, we would be inclined to agree. But the fact remains that there is a finish pole, and the race ended right there. Eric Guerin gave some people a belly laugh when, after the race, he was credited with saying: "I dont think my horse liked the track." Imagine a horse running one and one-quarter miles like a wild horse, to be beaten a head in 2:02 not liking the track? Regardless of all that, Native Dancer does have a tremendous ground-devouring stride.
