THE HORSE. 733 



of $8,000. Mr. Welch owned her up to the time of her death of old age, which occurred 

 Dec. 21, 1877, aged nearly 33 years. 



American Grirl. This noted animal was a bay, about sixteen hands high, was foaled 

 in 1862, by an unknown mare who was bought for forty dollars from a team in Virginia. 

 She was sired by Amos Clay and bred by Mr. Philip Travis of Westchester County, New 

 York. 



Mr. Travis gave the filly to his sons; and they, not seeing her value, sold her for a small 

 sum to a Mr. Odell, who, after testing her value as a roadster, and finding her speedy, disposed 

 of her to Messrs. Travis and Mason, brick-makers, near Peekskill. 



The mare now received her name, &quot;American Girl,&quot; and was put in training for the 

 trotting-course with a horse known as J. J. Bradley, in the first of which she was to go in 

 wagon, he in harness; in the second, both were to go in harness. The first race occurred on 

 the 15th of November, 1867, and was well contested by American Girl, now five years old, 

 but was won by the horse. The second race, being on even terms, was never trotted, the 

 owner of the gelding paying forfeit. 



American Girl was now sold to Mr. William Lovell, and was placed in the hands of 

 John Lovett as trainer, and on the 4th of June, 1868, she beat Goldsmith Maid at Pough- 

 keepsie, after a desperate race of six heats, the first of a series of races in which these 

 renowned mares were rival contestants. In one of the heats of this race, American Girl 

 trotted in 2:28. She showed also that she had remarkable courage and resolution. 



Losing in the next race at Narragansett Park, Mr. Lovell selected for her a new driver 

 and trainer, Mr. Hiram Howe. Soon after, there was another trot between American Girl 

 and Goldsmith Maid, in which the former defeated the latter after a contest of six heats, the 

 best time being 2:25. American Girl trotted in five other races during the season, winning 

 twice and losing three races. She, however, gained a record of 2:24. After three defeats 

 in the following season, she was placed in the hands of Roden, a man of excellent capacity. 



Roden began with her on the 29th of May, 1869, at the Prospect Park course, and had to 

 compete against a large and very strong field, consisting of Lucy, Bashaw, Jr., Goldsmith 

 Maid, Rhode Island, and George Wilkes. In this race she won in three straight heats 

 2:23^, 2:23, 2:21. 



This was not only a grand triumph for her, but also shows how much depends upon a 

 driver of the right kind and capacity. This was the first time that this remarkable mare, now 

 in her seventh year, had been properly handled ; hence, the result. 



In the six ensuing races of the season, she won in every instance; and in one of these 

 races (notably that on the 26th of June) at Narragansett Park, placed herself second on the 

 roll with Dexter, by beating Lady Thorn, Goldsmith Maid, Lucy, and George Palmer, in 

 three straight heats, and also getting a record of 2:19. 



But at Suffolk Park, Philadelphia, American Girl met Goldsmith Maid for the sixth time 

 and was beaten. Following this defeat, another driver took her in charge, but, as will be 

 seen, he was the wrong man in the wrong place; for in the balance of the season he won but 

 three races, while he lost seven. In his hands also, in 1870, she won seven races and lost 

 in nine. In 1870 American Girl did not beat Goldsmith Maid once, but was beaten by the 

 latter seven times. During the season of 1871, she won in six races; none of them very 

 fast, and lost in seven, being beaten six times by Goldsmith Maid. 



In 1872, she was placed in the hands of Mr. Mace, and began the season by winning 

 the first three races. In the third race, American Girl met and defeated Goldsmith Maid, 

 Lucy, and Henry, in three heats the second heat being trotted in 2 : 1 9. During this year, 

 she won in all eight races, and in one of them with Lucy, in which she lost, made the time 

 of 2:17^. The following year she won five races. In 1874, she won in nine races, the best 

 and crowning one in her career being at Albany, when she made the time of 2:20^, 2:16J, 



