EDWIN THORNE AND MAMBRINO CHIEF 



" 1858 : Mambrino Chief is in the highest repute. 

 I fear his wind is irreparably injured. It is my opin- 

 ion that you of the North will hereafter come to 

 Kentucky for fast horses. " 



" 1859: The old horse has been amiss all season, 

 owing to too much having been required of him." 



The introduction of the foundation sire, Mam- 

 brino Chief, to the historical groves of Ashland, the 

 old home of the great orator and stateman, Henry 

 Clay, created some friction, but the results were far 

 better than anticipated. Pilot Jr., the rival of Mam- 

 brino Chief, also founded a family of trotters. 



It was at the request of John Smith of Cincinnati 

 that O. W. Dimmick went to Lexington to drive 

 Pilot Jr. in the match against Mambrino Chief, but 

 the Pilot Jr. party paid forfeit before his arrival. I 

 find in one of my old notebooks the brief report of 

 a talk with Dimmick: 



"When all right, Pilot Jr. could trot in 2.35 or 

 2.36. He was quite unruly at times. When I worked 

 him at Mobile, he cut his quarters. We did not 

 know anything about boots in those days." 



Pilot Jr. was the age of Mambrino Chief, each 

 having been born in 1844. Mambrino Chief was 

 the larger horse, and his success was greater in Ken- 

 tucky than Pilot Jr., although the latter, going to 

 Woodburn in 1858, had the advantage of excellent 

 mares. Neither was a reliable horse in a track 

 contest. 



The deepest of shadows was gathering over the 



59 



