1M THE CHANGE COUNTY 



Though his name has been made illustrious chiefly by the 

 performances of his trotting descendants, he was also the 

 sire of some of the best running horses of his day. The most 

 famous on the turf of his immediate thoroughbred descend- 

 dants were Potomac, Fair Kachel, Miller's Damsel (dam of 

 American Eclipse), Bright Phoebus, Hambletonian, Sir Solo- 

 mon, and Sir Harry. The celebrated four-mile racer, Ariel, 

 had Messenger in her pedigree four times in five genera- 

 tions. 



In his day trotting was not much in fashion, as we have 

 shown, and nothing is known of the trotting speed of this 

 great fountain-head of trotters, nor were any of his sons or 

 daughters ever trained to that gait It was the second gener- 

 ation of his descendants, the grand-colts of Messenger, and 

 mostly those produced by a cross with the common stock of 

 the country, that attracted attention by their trotting speed. 

 This fact is easily explained. The thoroughbreds of his get 

 were trained to running, and were not used as road horses, 

 or some of them would probably have surpassed any of his 

 half-bred descendants in trotting. But even his own half- 

 bred colts made no mark as trotters, though some of them 

 became celebrated as the sires of trotters. This is somewhat 

 remarkable; but we should bear in mind that public atten- 

 tion had not then been given to that gait, good roads and 

 light vehicles were not so common, and the next generation 

 being more numerous, the probabilities were greater that 

 this remarkable quality of the family should not remain un- 

 discovered. 



The sons of Messenger to which nearly all the fast trotters 

 of the present day trace their pedigree were Plato, Engineer, 

 Commander, Why-Not, Mount Holly, Mambrino, and Hamble- 

 tonian. 



Mambrino, named after the sire of Messenger, was 

 thoroughbred, a bright bay, 16 hands high, long bodied, and, 

 like his sire, upright in the shoulders. He was not only a 

 large but also a coarse horse, badly string-halted. He had a 

 free, rapid, swinging walk, a slashing trot, and running speed 

 of the first order. He was the sire of Betsy Baker, one of 

 the first eminent American trotters, of AbdaUah, from whom 

 are descended many of the fastest, including the get of Bys- 

 dyk's Hambletonian, who was sired by AbdaUah, and of 

 Mambrino Paymaster, from wliom are descended Mambrino 

 Chief and all his get, including Lady Thorn, Mambrino Pilot, 

 Bay Chief, &c. 



Next in celebrity is Hambletonian, also thoroughbred. 



