Tom Bowling was a great horse from the 1870's. He won the Travers Stakes by 10 lengths with a rope still dangling from his neck.
That margin of victory was a Travers record that wasn't broken until 94-years later. He was such a bad actor at the start of races, that a handler (with the aid of a rope) would have to keep him facing the right direction at the start.
More than 30-years after his final race, a few old-timers still considered him the best ever. The following is from a DRF column in the summer of 1906...
