J. MALCOLM FORBES AND FORBES FARM 



The answer was that the colt would not be sold 

 for less than $125,000. Mr. Forbes went imme- 

 diately to Washington and claimed the colt, with 

 the proviso that he should be allowed to go to Cali- 

 fornia and look Arion over before paying the money. 

 This reasonable privilege was accorded by Senator 

 Stanford, and Mr. Forbes took the train for San 

 Francisco, carefully examined Arion at Palo Alto, 

 and made out a check for $125,000 to the order of 

 Leland Stanford. The sensational sale was pub- 

 lished throughout the world, and there was over- 

 whelming desire to study the conformation of Arion 

 when he was transferred from Palo Alto to Forbes 

 Farm. His stud fee for 1892 was fixed at $2500, and 

 it was eagerly paid, Mr. Allen being one of the first 

 to engage a mare to the young stallion. This was 

 Elista, a daughter of Green Mountain Maid, dam of 

 Electioneer, sire of Arion. 



It was at the Lexington meeting in October, 1891, 

 that a quiet-appearing gentleman opened negotia- 

 tions for the purchase of Nancy Hanks, a bay mare 

 then five years old, by Happy Medium, dam Nancy 

 Lee by Dictator, and who had trotted, September 30 

 that year, to a record of 2.09. Sunol, who was of 

 the same age, was then owned by Robert Bonner, and 

 the previous season, when each was four years old, 

 there had been much discussion in the public prints 

 about the relative speed of the two mares. It was 

 well known that Mr. Bonner never matched his 

 horses, but, as Sunol's racing qualities were controlled 



273 



