xm 



Messenger' 3 Son, Topgallant. — His won ierful Endurance. — My Uncle 

 George Woodruff. — Topgallant's Race when Twentj'-two Years Old. — 

 His Race when Twenty-four Years Old. — Three-mile Heats. — His Race 

 of Three-mile Heats the next Week. 



I SHALL now proceed to say sometbing about one of tbe 

 most remarkable trotting horses that this country ever 

 produced. He was in fact, in some respects, the most 

 extraordinary trotter that ever came under my observation. 

 In the capital points of longevity and endurance, I never 

 knew quite his equal, all things taken into account. Whei 

 I say longevity, I mean length of days while serviceable at 

 a trotter, and able to meet and beat, very often, the best of 

 his time. I do not mean vegetating about, half dead at the 

 root and rotten at the trunk, as many of the horses spoken 

 of for their longevity have been. It will be remembered 

 that in the early part of this work, while speaking of the 

 best method to be adopted in tlie raising of colts and the 

 treatment of young horses, I declared my conviction, that, to 

 a certain extent, early maturity and early hard work in 

 training and racing were nearly always followed by pre- 

 mature decay. I have also spoken of the iron constitutions 

 and uncommon durability in point of time, as well as endur- 

 ance in going a distance by reason of natural stoutness, 

 which were inherited in a remarkable degree by most of 

 those closely descended from the famous horse imported 

 Messenger. That horse I never saw, for he died about 

 seven years before I was born ; but, with one of his best 

 eons I had no little acquaintance. 



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