THE THOROUGHBRED IN AMERICA 67 



Harper's Longfellow, by imported Leamington, 

 dam Nantura (the dam, also, of Fanny Holton, 

 Ten Broeck's dam). The two met at Long 

 Branch for the Monmouth Cup, two miles and 

 a half, in July, 1872. Longfellow won so easily 

 that it was difficult to believe that Harry Bassett 

 was at his best. And he was not, for two weeks 

 later at Saratoga, for the Saratoga Cup, two miles 

 and a quarter, Bassett won. One of Longfellow's 

 plates (shoes) became twisted after he had gone 

 a mile and a half, and for the remaining distance 

 the horse had the entire use of only three feet. 

 They never met again. In the stud Longfellow 

 was a great success, and Bassett practically a 

 failure. The whole country watched for intelli- 

 gence of these two races, and they proved con- 

 clusively that the old-time sporting blood of the 

 people was as rich as it had been in the earlier 

 years. 



By this time the four-mile heat races, indeed, 

 any kind of heat races, were becoming unpopular 

 with the managers of the turf, and both breeders 

 and trainers were called upon to- turn out horses 

 that could go shorter distances at an increased 



