324 THE TROTTING-IIOnSE OF AMERICA 



up to one of her rapid bursts of speed, she headed the 

 stallion at the score, and got the word to her advantage. 

 She seemed determined, now that she was ahead, to keep 

 there ; and by very fast and resolute trotting, she dropped 

 him behind, so that she led four lengths at the quarter. 

 At the half-mile, in lia. lis., he got closer to her, and lu; 

 gained slovrly on the ',ower turn. In the stretch he was 

 near enough to her to be dangerous ; and, as she made a 

 skip, it looked so. But James caught her again at tiie in- 

 stant of time, and on she came. In the endeavor to col- 

 lar her the stallion broke, tired, and Flora won by three 

 lengths in 2m. 22 |s. 



In the third heat they got away together at a great rate, 

 and the stallion soon broke. lie lost four lengths by it. 

 On the second quarter they trotted very fast, — about 

 thirty-four seconds being the time. At the half-mile, she 

 was leading three lengths and a half. On the lower turn, 

 he got closer, and they came up the stretch with little day- 

 light between ; but before they got home, he broke, and she 

 won in 2m. 23Js., by four lengths. This was very great 

 trotting; and though Patchen was surely being defeated, 

 and was the worse off the further he went, he certainly 

 made a good, game fight for it. In the last heat, Flora led 

 all the way, except for a stride or two at the start, and this 

 she won in 2m. 2o2s. Take away their own race in June, 

 and this in August was tlie best that had ever been wit- 

 nessed on the Union Course. Patchen never made such 

 anothor in harness ; and, as he went on with her in lier 

 customary tour that fall, slie took more and more of the 

 steel out of him, just as she had formerly done out of 

 Princess and all the others that ventured on a long cam- 

 paign against her. 



After this race Flora went to Fonda, and beat j3rown 

 Dick, mile heats, three in five, in harness, in tliree heats. 

 On the 28th of the same month she met Geo. M. Patchen 

 at Poston, at the Franklin Course, for a purse of $1,500, 



