CHAPTEE XYII. 



THE CHAMPIONS. 



In this family we have elements of blood for trotting purposes 

 equaled perhaps only by two or three lines from imported Messenger. 

 While Harris' Hambletonian and Judson's came from Bishop's Ham- 

 bletonian, and Witherell, Warrior and State of Maine came from 

 Winthrop Messenger, Mambrino gave us Abdallah and Almack, 

 both bred by Mr. John Tredwell, and from his two matched road 

 mares, Amazonia and Sophonisba. This latter mare was by a grand- 

 son of imported Baronet. She produced Almack in 1823, the same 

 year that her mate produced Abdallah. Almack has not left the 

 reputation of being a great trotting sire, yet if he had not lived in 

 the days of Abdallah he might have been so accovmted. He gave 

 us, as stated in the preceding chapter, Gipsy, the dam of Jupiter. 



GRINNELIi's CHAMPI0]Sr. 



In 1843, Champion, the son of Almack, a chestnut horse, was 

 foaled on Long Island. His dam was Spirit by Engineer, and his 

 grandam was by American Eclipse. Such is the pedigree as given in 

 the Trotting Register, but it is not stated what Engineer was the sire 

 of Champion's dam. If it was Engineer, son of Messenger, it will occur 

 to the reader that he must have been a pretty old horse to have been mated 

 with a daughter of American Eclipse. But if it was Engineer second, 

 son of first Engineer, it would better comport with the dates and the 

 locality. The turf journals have not given much light as to the 

 early history of this family, but the owner of the first Champion, 

 Mr. William R. Grinnell, is still living in the central part of the State 

 of New York, on or near Cayuga Lake. Mr. Grinnell bought 

 Champion when he was three years old, and he has ever since been 

 called Grinnell's Champion. 



A correspondent of Wallace's Monthly^ has given the public a 



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