smuggler's first victory. 45 



that he was going to make Smuggler trot faster. I 

 had been trying to reduce weight, but the blacksmith 

 decided that in the other direction lay success, so he 

 put a twenty-five-ounce shoe on each fore foot and a 

 fourteen-ounce shoe on each hind foot, thus doubling 

 the weight of the hind shoes. On top of this he pre- 

 scribed six -ounce toe -weights. Then, according to 

 this eminent "harmonious blacksmith," Smuggler was 

 rigged to smash records. He explained that the extra 

 weight behind would improve his hock action, of which 

 he had little. Well, we tried him in this rig, and his 

 speed would not have seemed indecorous at a funeral. 

 We were then on the eve of a race, and with the horse 

 anchored in every leg, the prospects were not cheery. 

 But I "returned to first principles," threw away the 

 Springfield patent, and put back the old shoes. Soon 

 ^'Eichard was himself again," and on the 18th he won 

 his first race, in the second, fifth and sixth heats, beat- 

 ing the favorite, Welleslej^ Boy, and a large field, 

 among which were Commodore Perr}^, H. C. Hill, and 

 others of note in their day. Speaking of this race, Mr. 

 George Wilkes said, in the Sjnrit : " The speed and 

 gameness of this horse are something wonderful ; in 

 each of his heats he seemed totally incapable of doing 

 any fast work until he had accomplished half the dis- 

 tance; then would come his time, as, with a gait the 

 very perfection of motion, so easily and apparently 

 without effort did he move along, he would cut down 

 his field and win his heats." 



Smuggler next started at Mystic Park, Boston, on 

 September 2d, where he was defeated by Lucille Gold- 

 dust, though he won the fastest heat of the race — the 



