STUD BOOK. 



He was a dark bay, 15 hands 1 inch, beautifully molded, and 

 without a single weak point He was the sire of Topgallant, 

 "Whalebone, Sir Peter, Trouble, and Shakspeare; all ranked 

 among the best of the early American trotters. 



Abdallah was a grandson of Messenger, and deserves 

 especial mention in this connection because so many trotters 

 of celebrity are descended through him. He was foaled in 

 1826, the property of Mr. John Treadwell, of Jamaica, L. L 

 His sire was Mambrino, and his dam a daughter of Messen- 

 ger, called Amazonia. Thus Abdallah was closely inbred. 

 He was a bay, and inherited much of the plainness of his sire; 

 but also inherited the trotting quality of Messenger in great 

 degree. He was trained at four years old, and was con- 

 sidered the fastest young horse of his day. In the spring of 

 1840 he was sold to Mr. John W. Hunt, of Lexington, Ky. ; 

 but, on account of the great value of his stock, he was bought 

 back the next year, at a high price, and died in 1852. Beside 

 being a progenitor, through his son, Rysdyk's Hambletonian, 

 of that numerous and highly-distinguished family of trotters 

 of which Dexter, George Wilkes,.and Mountain Boy are the 

 most eminent representatives, he is equally remarkable for 

 the number of mares of his get from whom very fast trotters 

 have been bred. To say that a horse is " out of an Abdallah 

 mare," is pedigree enough on that side with most horsemen. 



Of the other sons of Messenger it iz not necessary to speak 

 at length, though we find many horses of the present day 

 descended from them, and inheriting the Messenger charac- 

 teristics. l When the pedigree of any fast trotter can be 

 traced far "enough, it rarely happens that Messenger is not 

 found in it. Many horses that show good trotting speed, 

 and are considered by their breeders and owners to be noth- 

 ing but common stock, are found to be descended from 

 Messenger, when intelligent investigation reveals their pedi- 

 grees. 



Another imported horse that added something to the 

 trotting quality of our stock was Bellf ounder, a stallion foaled 

 about 1817, and brought from England to Boston in 1823, by 

 Mr. James Boot Many distinguished trotters are in part 

 descended from some of the many thoroughbreds that have 

 been imported from England at various tunes, and, indeed, 

 our most celebrated horses have a strong infusion of that 

 blood, derived from other sources than Messenger. Conced- 

 ing the value of good thoroughbred crosses in giving spirit 

 and endurance to trotting horses, and admitting that Diomed, 

 Whip, Trustee, Glencoe, Margrave, and other imported 



