LIFE \V[Tir THE TKOTTKIJS. 219 



result. First mid foremost, of course, is the kind of a horse 

 you have; second, the condition that he is in; third, the 

 track. At the time of tlie Cleveland trial there had been 

 more or less rain, and the weather was very unsettled for 

 two or three days. This I consider a vital element in mak- 

 ing a great performance. Unsettled weather not only inter- 

 feres with the regular training, which it did in this case, but 

 the atmosphere is apt to be in a state tliat also has more 

 effect on the track than people imagine. When in the be«t 

 of condition the Cleveland track, to my mind, is the fastest 

 one I have ever seen. On this particular day, the track, 

 from recent rains, while it looked good from the stand, was 

 inclined to be cuppy and moist, and there were several 

 places that cupped out under the mare's feet, and I noticed 

 that when she struck them they retarded her progress 

 quite X)erceptibly. In talking the matter over afterward 

 with Bair and telling him what my impressions were, he 

 agreed with me, and stated one instance in particular, Avhere 

 she turned in at the head of the stretch. I simply tell this 

 to give mj'' views of the case from w^here I sat, and as I was 

 very close to the mare think perhaps I was in a good posi- 

 tion to be able to judge of it as well as anyone except Mr. 

 Bair. 



This mare came honestly !)y her speed at the trot. In 

 the first place, her sire, Harold, is an inbred Hambletonian, 

 being by Rysdylv s Haral)letonian, and out of a mare by Ab- 

 dallah, that was the sire of Hambl^^tonian. This concentra- 

 tion of blood that has founded the most remarkable trotting 

 family in the world gave Harold a manifest advantage as a 

 sire, and time • as shown that when he has been mated with 

 mares oi the Pilot Jr. family, of which the dam of ^Maud S. 

 is a member, his success in the production of a high rate of 

 speed and the ability to carry it the mile has been most 

 marked. The fact that the dams of the two fastest trotters 

 in the v/orld, Maud S. and Jay-Eye-See, are daughters of 

 Pilot Jr., and that the granddams are of the Boston family 

 of thoroughbreds must not be overlooked. To say that Maud 



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