THE BELLE HAMLIX EACE. 145 



Kow Lowland Girl gave it up, but Belle kept up the 

 clip fast and hot, and at the three-quarters, in 1:42|, 

 ^xe were lapped. In the stretch I called on Manzanita, 

 and after trotting head-and-head for nearly a furlong 

 with Belle Hamlin, the latter '' cracked," and Man- 

 zanita won in 2:16^, lowering the four-year-old record 

 by one and one-half seconds and trotting the last quar- 

 ter in thirty-three and one half seconds — a 2:14 gait. 

 The next heat Belle Hamlin was laid up, and Lowland 

 Girl and Longfellow Whip undertook to entertain me 

 during the journey, my mare winning in 2:19^. Man- 

 zanita broke at the first turn in the next heat, and I 

 laid her up, Belle Hamlin Avinning from Spofford in 

 2:1 8|^. A number of the drivers now began getting in 

 fine work on the score, the judges failing to show 

 ability to control them ; and finally Colonel Edwards 

 let us go, with Belle Hamlin well in the lead and Man- 

 zanita away back of the field. I again saw it useless 

 to move for the heat, and Belle was never headed, win- 

 ning in 2:19. The race was then postponed until the 

 next day. The most shameful scoring was permitted 

 by the judges in the deciding heat, and when the}^ were 

 finally sent off at the tu^enty -fourth score Belle Hamlin 

 was in front, and none of us could ever catch her. She 

 won in 2:1 S^. The Sjjirit correspondent, in comment- 

 ing upon this heat, said : " Manzanita never had a fair 

 show to get at her (Belle Hamlin), but it would have 

 been in vain, anyway. AY hen she has a couple more 

 years on her head she can, if right, give Belle Hamlin 

 or any other in her class a red-hot race." 



These two races against aged horses convinced me 

 that we had a gem of the first water in Manzanita^ 



