4

continued from one '1:

Back Stretch

(or mail. the other for the occas- ional passengers who lacked other means of locomotion and who were sturdy enough to stand the dirty. bouelarring ride.

"The tiny passenger section was occupied that morning by two males. One was an Indian. He boarded the car with a stick slung over his right shoulder. Attached to the end of the stick was a red bandana in which was apparently wrapped his worldly belonllllllh The Indian sat down in the seat -to

ant. He might possibly have en- 'gaged the other passenger in con-

the head trainer for one of the finest sportsmen harness racing has ever known. the eminent gen- tleman from "California. MI'- 50 Camp. Mr. Camp spends liberally for yearlings and will buy aged performers if "his boy" VIII!!! hem. Camp and O'Brien have been satisfied with the ar- rangement since the word "go" was given three years back and in 1054 they hit harnessed oil. In 1064. the cotton man from Califor- nia and the shy kid from Canada registered a harness racing first that had eluded others in thesport for a century. generally speaking. and for more than a decade in specific terms. Camp owns and QjBrien trained and drove the first 2-year-old harness horse to go a mile in two minutes in a race That horse is the trotter Scott Frost a bay son of Hoot Mon-Nora

. . K L - if ' Here's a closeup of one of harness raclng'e top tennis: ,tralner-

driver Joe O'Brien at the

Versation and thus achieved some stature for posterity as a witness to the thoughts and feelings of a young man embarking on a way of life. The other passenger was. on that day. no more prosperous than the Indian and possibly much less affluent. He was 18 years of age and had yet to feel the touch of a razor on his fuzzy chin. Every- thing he owned was either on his back or in a small black carpet bag which he clung to tightly. In his pocket was lodged the magnif- icent sum of 32. all that remained of the money he had saved and. in part. borrowed. in order to make ' the trip.

"A few hours later. while the Indian still snored loudly. the train wheezed into a whistle stop called River Hebert. The young boy with the fuzzy chin piled off en- thusiastically. He had expected to be greeted by his new employer. Jut the station. such as it was. was deserted. The boy made in- quiries. He was directed to a house at the top of a hill threeimiles dhtant. He clutched his carpet'bag to him and trudged through the snow and mud to the indicated abode. A housekee directed him to the second floor where the mes- ter lay abed. ill. The man in the bed looked at the newcomer. "You don't look near as old as I expect- ed." he snorted. He paused for a few contemplative seconds. "You don't look near as big as I expect- od either." He cleared his throat. "But you're here." he said. "an m might as well get to work. horses are down thatawsy." he indicated with a wave of a hand toward a bedroom window and on through it to a barn which a u the side of the hill.-

rinirr nannnss oiacnvd ion

"Joseph Cyril O'Brien, who stood I'd" in his hob-nailed boots and who weighed 100 pounds give or take a few ounces either way cleared the biggest lump in the world from his throat and said. 'Yes. sir.' And then he turned and ran out of the ,room before the man in the bed. William T. Latte. a well-known Nova Scotla horse- man. could change his mind. Lit- tle Joe had come a long way for this. his first harness racing job. and he wasn't about to lose it be-

bis term of employment act- ually began. Little Joe is still re- ferred to by that sobriquet occas- hsiallv. but ahide from that there

is little to link him with River

Hebert. Nova scotia. Canada. and the March morning in 1936 that set off the chain reaction that has now been heard round the harness rac- i world. Two inches have been ed to his altitude and some- like 85 additional pounds to his slight frame. But it is In book and in the know- ledge of g and driving tech- niques tha Joe O'Brien has come of age. He couldn't exactly buy the railroad that carried him to River Hebert that day but he could make a nice down payment on it and, if he really wanted it. there's a man in California who'd probably buy It for him.

"In 1954 he earned 8.'I0'I.777.20. second best in the nation. and won Ill races to rank third nationally t that category. Both were new personal he for the canny Cs- iiadian. In addition he was the leading Grand Circuit driver both h money and races won. marking for the first time he had ever ech- elther honor. He collected

left and owner Sol Camp.

and an instrument of speed still to be tapped. How fast he really is. or how much he will eventually trot. is held aloof from more mor- tals who are denied access to the future.

"Although it is nice that it hap- pened; it would not have required a Scott Frost to cement the ar- rival of Joe O'Brien as one of the all-time greats of his profession. As a driver, he gained his fame long before Scott Frost was foaled. 0n bush race tracks and in the big leagues his reputation as a man capable of extracting the last ounce of speed from a horse and of waiting until the last split sec- ond before calllng it. precededhim from place to place. As a trainer. he wrote his name in the skies as the boy who took Dudey Patch. a broken down 11-year-old and made him into a Canadian champion; as the man who kept Scotch Victor. a horse always on the verge of un- soundness going year after year and knocking off the big ones with him when least expected; and as the guy who brought lame and ailing Meadow Pace back to the races on a prayer this year and uncorked a batch of two-minute miles. the first pair in his first start of the season. Truly. Joe O'Brien has arrived and equally truly. he and the Camp horses are powers to be reckoned with in the years that are yet to come.

BROTHER yKILLED

"But before he was deposited. or. more properly. propelled him- self, into his present exalted role. Joe O'Brien travelled a rocky race

ack road that saw him spend a years in the minor leagues before the call of the big time reached him. Those years. begin- ning in 1936. and actually. pre- ceded 'by years on the farm at home. were valuable ones though. for arriving at the top; without them he would have been ill-equip- ped to make the decisions. both in training and driving. that are now required of him. O'Brien was born June 25. l9l7. at Aiberton. Prince Edward Island. Canada. the sixth child and fifth son of Harry and Jennie Foley O'Brien. both of whom are still living. Joe O'Brien was born into a harness racing family and destiny had him mark- ed as the best of a fine brood. One! brother. Ray. is currently a trainer-driver in Canada. Another brother. Claude. has assisted Joe on the Camp job and does some driving of his own in the Mari- tlmes although his primary occu- pation is with a telephone com- pany. Another brother, Lloyd. whom Joe rates as much the best horsemen in his family. was. un- fortunately. killed in an accident near Foxboro a few years back. The remaining brother Bin. is the only one who didn't take up her- ness racing. He is a steel worker in New Jersey. '

"The O'Briens came by their their love of harness racing natur- ally. Their dad was and still is. one of the finest and most res, '

horsemen in the Marltimes. Harry 0'Brien's father. who emi- grated from Ireland. owned the blggest farm on the west end of Prince Edward island. He also owned the finest horses. farm and road animals. in that section. Joe O'Brlen's grandfather did not, however. race horses and when. one day a fine trotler he owned was challenged by a neighbor and his mount. it was Joe's dad. then a stripling. who sneaked out into the barn. hitched up his father's horse and won "the race. upon which a lot of money had been 'lf I'd lost the race, I'd robably have had ,my end cked'.,Joe's dad told him years later. 'But I won it father didn't scold "me at ell'. When he came of age and married. Joe's Dad was presented by his father

Prince Edward Island. One of the fh-st things to build a race track on the farm. Then he began pure breed ing. tralnin and

with a farm located at Elmadals, I003 Berry O'Brien did was t

racing his owii'

sold a horse he could usually come out with one s.week or two later that could beat the other for

I fun. Before he was old enough to

climb into a sulky himself. Joe was maklnl the rounds of the Alberton track in his father's lap and he still. recalls the first time his dad nodded his head and told him to log one hlrnself. Joe guess- es that he must have been all of seven years old and he remembers out it wasn't many years after that that.he was putting a wire strip across the sultry stirrup to compensate for the disadvantage of having a six foot tall father who really stretched out into the stir- rups.

FIRST HORSE AT 14

"When he got to be ten or so. Joe had graduated to the role of full fledged second ;trainer. or third or fourth depending on how many of the O'Brien boys were working on a particular day. and took one horse'of a pslr.whlle his dad lhandled the other. 'Dnd never told me that I looked like I might be a driver'. he says. 'but I knew that I wanted to be one and. be- lieve me. nothing else ever crossed my mind'. When he was 14 Joe got his first horse. He is not cer- tain now as to "its identity. It was called either Mickey Mouse or Ace Bailey. At any rate, Joe remem- bers that his dad purchased him for 340 from a neighbor who was tired of having the animal kick him out of the road wagon. Joe was given the task of breaking and gentllng the pacer and then was given permission by his father to take him around to the matinee and race him. Joe did and won with him several times. once in 2.18 which was a pretty rapid rate for young O'Brien and his steed.

"At one time or another, every young man has to make a fateful decision. Joe made his in the win- ter of 1936. the year after he was graduated in his school. His mother wanted Joe to attend col- lege and study veterinary medicine and while the son admits now that he probably should have done so, he was hell bent for racing horses and college. even veterinary col- lege, would only have slowed down his pace. In the fall of 1935. Wil- liam 'T. Latte, the River Hebert man who has been mentioned ear- lier in this story, wrote a letter to the elder O'Brien asking if he or one of his sons would be interest- ed ln training his horses. Harry O'Brien replied that no thank you there were no O'Brlens available. He recommended another horse- man living nearby who was un- able to accept the job. Joe O'- Brien gave the situation 'a lot of thought and then. without consult ing his father or mother. sat down and wrote a letter to Mr. Latta applying for the job. He conven- iently neglected to state his age. rambling on generally to the ef- fect that he was one of Harry's boys and quite a horseman. The letter turned the trick. A few weeks later the return mail con- firmed that Joe had landed the post.

"It was an apprehensive Joe O'- Brien who appronched his dad the next day and advised him that he was going to work for Mr. Latin. What Mr. O'Brien said. much of it to do with his son's ability or. rather. lack of it. was 'empered at the conclusion of the neves-to- be-forgotten interview by his final words which. to Joe's way of thinking. but his dad's unofficial stamp of approval on the project'-

'How you fixed for money?'g'IIll-

dad inquired. Truth to be known; Joe was pretty badly fixed.” He had exactly 35 to his name but he sure wasn't going to let his father use that as a point in rebuttal. 'Fine'. he lied. 'got all I need'. The 85. as it turns out. was just enough to get Joe from Alberton. which place he left bright and early the next morning. to Summerslde. some 50 miles distant. and the home of brother Claude who was much more sympathetic and who staked his brother the rest of the journey. The way from Summer side led to Northumberland Straits which separate Prince Edward Is- land from Nova scotla and thence to River Hebert. the arrival at which place h s been previously chronicled. Th distance from starting point was something like 250 miles. To Joe. he admits now. it seemed like a thousand.

DIRECT L.

"When Joe left I..etia's bedroom that March morning in went to the stables and looked over his charges. There were a half dozen horses. only one of which had ever, been broken. All were by Bill L.. med after the owner. and carried such names as Direct L.. Aaron L.. Happy L.. Buzz L.. etc. Joe walked down the row of stalls. behind the horses; and stoppen when he approached Direct L.. a huge stallion. Direct L. immediately lashed out with his hind feet and missed his new trainer by a yard. So Joe reversed his field and approached from the front. This time Direct L. struck out with his fore feet and missed by a foot. I'm a little guy. Joe said to himself, and he thinks he can bully me. I'll try some strat- egy. So he walked up to the end of the barn and came marching beck down the row pounding his hob-nailed boots down hard on the floor boards and hollering at the top of his lungs. This was to have impressed the horse that a big man was on the job. nobody to fool with. Direct I... missed by only six inches. -

"Joe gulped and made another b decision. lie either had to o

the job. that the horses'were too he had to master Direct

1936 he III

to Mr. Latte he couldn't hsnde '

.”stiII'duii'. Jslnuas-y 1955

cluded the two top,fi-ee fhr alters in the Maritime; They were re- ported to have trained in'2.08 Joe”

he could go in 2.14 if pres-' sed! His 'chancee weren'l.coII5llI- cred bright. when tliejield went away. Joe ucked.beck into last place. confen totwait for the final drive and-then settle for all .he could get back of the Big Two. As they went down .the katretch the second time. Joe ked uv front and saw th two big boys licking and driv g. I-le elf had a lapfui of horse" so he se sail with what we must visualize now.

coznlled as such then. one-ofuthose typical O'Brien finishes. Latifl his mother was to tell. him that-.she knew it was her Joe when the radio announcer. who was beam- ing the big :race to all parts of the Maritimes, cried out in surprise; "A big bay horse with a white face and a little fellow driving is really moving on the outside. He's 7111. he's tith, he's 5th. he's 4th, he's 3rd. he's 2nd. and by gosh. he's gonna win it."

I FIRST PUBLIC ' STABLE

"Mr. Lalta was in the stands that day. the first time he had seen Aaron L. race. With him were Wel- lington MacNeill, a Prince Ed- ward Island horse dealer. and Dr. J. A. Maclsaac. a Cape Breton vet. MacNeill had a watch. Latte did not. MacNeill caught the time: 2.11969 Before it could be announ- ced from the stand. MacNeill asked Latte what he would take for the horse and when the owner said 31.500. MacNeill handed him the cash. When the time was announ- ced. Latta tried to invalidate the sale but failed. -MacNeill sold half of Aaron L. to Maclsaac and asked Joe to go to work for him. Joe said he would provided MacNeill bought Direct L. as well. MacNeill had trouble with Latin at first on that one but finally got the job done for 31,000. Again Maclssac was made a partner. That winter Joe returned to Alberton and tried to talk his dad into buying Happy L. the next in line from the dam of Direct L. and Aaron L. Dad de- clined and Joe still likes to re- mind hlm asioually that Happy L. later took a re 0rd of 2.019: in the United'Statqs. hus it came to pass that Joe O'Brien. with Direct L. and Aaron L. as his nucleus. opened his first public stable. He got 310 a week for each of those two horses and the following sum- mer, which was 1937, picked up a few others here and there. Young unrien was on his way.

"Joe confined himself to Canada in 1937 and made his first invasion of the U. S. in the fall of 1938 when he raced with moderate suc- cess at the overcoat meetings in Maine. He campaigned success- fully in Canada in 1939 and had his horses in trucks ready to go to Maine when war broke out. That kept him at home for the next eight years. In retrospect. it is probably the best thing that ever happened to the young Canadian. His driving ability was such that it alone probably would have land- ed him on the American scene five or more years before be ac- tually dld. And it p)-obably would have found him woefully impre- pared as a big time trainer. He might have been forced back in- to Canada and uatlonalnblivlon. But what the war did was to give O'Brien a long period of time to learn training tactics and skills and to improve his already red hot driving. What he learned about rigging and shoeing horses in the period from 1940 through 1949 was monumental.

WAR YEARS

"Like all Canadians. O'Brien headed for the enlisirnent office when war come. He was accepted and” assigned to the Cavalry. But it as soon determined that he was physically unfit. by reason of one leg being shorter than the other. and he was discharged. So O'Brien took a Job in a New Glasgow. Nova scotia. munitions factory at night and raced horses in the day time. He also took a bride. This impor- tant event occurred on April 8th. 1942, when he married Betty Flood. whom he had met two years earl- ier when he was in Charlottetown. P. E. I. Betty O'Brien has since been her husband's constant com- penion. She is both intelligent and attractive and has played a tre- mendously important role in Joe"; e.

Through the war years. Joe con- tinued to learn about horses. It was during this period that he had the great Dudey Patch, his first world's champion. Dudey Patch came to Joe as an ll-yearold with s repu- lation as a quitter. Joe didn't think he was. He prescribed kindness in large does and it proved the pro- per treatment. At Dufferin Park in the fall of 1942. Joe and Dudey Went five eiizhts of a mile in l.l09t, a world record that still stands. Dudey was a community-owned proposition. the property of the Dudey Patch Club of New Glas- gow: Dudey Patch took a record of 2.06 and was eventually barred because of his great speed. Dudey is also onelof the reasons that Joe seldom goes for s time trial record with a top horse. After Dudey's racing days had been ended by de- mand of the opposition. Joe agreed one day against his better judg- ment to send Dudey against the fence in an exhibition. Dudey. who loved competition only, made glx breaks and paced his mile in 2.25. Joe was more than a trifle embar- rassed and has never forgotten it.

In the early forties. it was noth. for; 0Brien to sweep the card in Maritimes. He won as many as eleven dashes in one day and on several occa: ons swept a three race card of three heats to a race, In 1046 Joe expanded his stable and inherited the Ohio pacer Tlp Abbe. lie removed the hobbies and check and sent out a real race 50l'l!- fl"-D Abbe raced to a mark of 2.05.?" 0..Brign.ngfi;g-uyag now in 3; 0 0 C: was time for hzm to strike out agaialon the trail tint had been cnlaod by war, He was recognised la the leading driver in the Msrltirnes. perhaps the greatest that had ever perform- tiiere. en: I?:gVChl:Hghl ya;--., . a won I list: Console he

although it certainly was not...t',e-

We Guardian

47 heats with such animals as go, My Partner, -Mac Flngo.