TROTTING HORSES. 83 



fered from a " game " leg, and yet he has never 

 flinched or faltered. Considering his half-thorough- 

 bred origin, he is a little phlegmatic ; it takes severe 

 work to " warm him up," and he is apt to lose the 

 first heat or two in a race. " Palo Alto," writes Mr. 

 Marvin, " requires constant and vigorous driving, but 

 there is a point beyond which it is dangerous to go." 

 Sunol, his half-sister, has not yet been tested in a long 

 race, but she has shown an extraordinary capacity 

 of sustaining speed for a mile. Of all the famous 

 trotters Sunol appears to have the least pleasant 

 disposition; she is too intelligent to be positively 

 vicious, but she is irritable, and perhaps a little 

 spiteful. It is said that she has an especial dislike 

 for her trainer and driver, Mr. Marvin, and that 

 she shows this feeling unmistakably whenever he 

 comes near her. Nevertheless, the two seem to un- 

 derstand each other perfectly. " SunoPs redeeming 

 feature," says a California writer, "is her affection 

 for her groom." 1 



Another half-brother of Sunol, the young Arion, 2 is 

 commonly regarded as the greatest trotter yet pro- 

 duced. Arion is a small bay horse, not particularly 

 beautiful or striking in appearance, except in one re- 

 spect. His hind legs, and especially the hocks, are 

 enormously large and muscular. To this peculiarity, 

 no doubt, he owes his extreme speed. His disposi- 

 tion is superlatively good, and he is said to be full of 



1 Sunol is by Electioneer. Her dam was by General Benton. 

 Sunol's grandam was Waxy, a thoroughbred daughter of Lexing- 

 ton, just mentioned. 



2 By Electioneer. His dam is Manette, by Nutwood. Arion 's 

 two-year-old record, as already stated, is 2.1 Of. 



