AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 545 



17i s., 2 m. 18| s., and 2 m. 18f s. to beat him ; but at Poughkeepsie 

 he regained his laurels, defeating Lucille Golddust and Nettie after 

 a hard-fought race of five heats. At Hartford, Long Branch, Fleet- 

 wood Park, and Cleveland, llarus beat him, and he went into win- 

 ter quarters quite under a cloud. In 1878 he went through the 

 Michigan Circuit with success, was beaten by Great Eastern at 

 Toledo in slow time, and entered the Grand Circuit at Cleveland, 

 July 25, where he beat Proteine, Great Eastern, Nettie, and Cozette 

 in the wonderful time of 2 m. 17} s., 2 m. 15| s. and 2 m. 15.V s., 

 and at Bufialo, Rochester, Utica, and Hartford, he was alike 

 triumphant, and at Minneapolis, September 6, he attained the 

 height of his glory by trotting a mile in 2 m. 14f s. At Kansas 

 City, September 20, he beat Great Eastern in straight heats, and 

 in the following week at Quincy, 111., he beat him and Scott's 

 Thomas. At St. Louis, October 3, he trotted against time in 2 m. 

 15i s., 2 m. 15 s., and 2 m. 15t s. At Chicago, October 10, a 

 handicap was devised, Hopeful to go in harness against Rarus to 

 wagon and Great Eastern under the saddle. The little gray geld- 

 ing won in 2 m. 175 s., 2 m. 17 s., and 2 m. 16 s., and two days 

 after at the same meeting trotted against time, to wagon, in 2 m. 

 I65 s., 2 m. 17 s., and 2 m. 17 s., which is the best wagon time on 

 record. He wound up this memorable year at Albany, N. Y., 

 winning the special purse, best time 2 m. 20|^ s. He wintered at 

 Point Breeze Park, Philadelphia, and came out in fine fettle for 

 the season of 1879, At Suffolk Park, May 16, he trotted against 

 time in 2 m. 18 s., wonderful time for so early in the season. 

 Over the Ambler half-mile track. May 22, he trotted in 2 m. 19f 

 s., 2 m. 19 s., and 2 m. 22 i s., the three fastest heats ever trotted 

 over a half-mile track in Pennsylvania. At Belmont the following 

 week he trotted against time in 2 m. 21 s., 2 m 174 s., and 2 m. 

 17i s., and then, taking Horace Greeley's famous advice to " go 

 West," he started for Chicago, stopping at Butler and Bradford, 

 in the western part of Pennsylvania, at which he trotted in 2 m. 

 181 s. and 2 m. 19f s. respectively, winning good purses at both 

 places. At Chicago his good fortune left him, and in his endeavor 

 to beat Goldsmith Maid's famous record, 2 ni. 18| s. was the best 

 he could accomplish. From this time until late in the fall he was 

 out of condition and unable to do anything worthy of his fame. 

 Rarus beat him easily at Chicago, Cleveland, and Utica in straight 

 heats. But the gray wns recovering some of his old form, and 

 an immense crowd assembled at Hartford to see the meeting between 

 the two flyers; but Rarus was sold to Mr. Bonner just before the 

 race and did not make his appearance, and in order that the spec- 

 tators might not be disappointed, a race was improvised with the 

 wonderful blind pacer Sleepy Tom, who had paced a mile at Chicago, 



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