44 RACEALONG 



In breeding nothing is done by chance. Great 

 horses are not made to order. They come at intervals. 

 Nature is largely responsible for these marvels but 

 they are doled out with a sparing hand. This makes 

 breeding an uncertainity even with those who believe 

 that the family is greater than the individual. 



The careers and breeding of the stallions which 

 became fixtures in the history of the trotting turf 

 shows that no one could foretell which horses would 

 become the leaders in getting speed. Hambletonian 

 carried more lines to imported Messenger than any 

 of his contemporaries. He was a success from the 

 start. Alexander's Abdallah, one of his greatest sons, 

 was got when he was a two-year-old. 



Nature in a perverse mood made Messenger Duroc, 

 a son of Hambletonian that carried more lines to 

 Messenger than any of his get, a failure. Others 

 from mares whose breeding was unknown or with 

 but one or two crosses of racing blood became the 

 leading stallions of their day. 



The breeding of the dams of Alexander's Abdallah 

 and George Wilkes was never established. Green 

 Mountain Maid, the dam of Electioneer, was by 

 Henry Clay out of Shanghai Mary whose breeding 

 was unknown although there is a chance that she 

 was by Iron's Cadmus. Happy Medium, the fourth 

 member of the Hambletonian big four, was out of 

 Princess. She had a record of 2:30 and carried a line 

 to Messenger. 



The success of these horses when compared with 

 others that had three or four crosses of recognized 



