Boston the King 235 



Minge, Gohanna, Upton Heath, Nick Biddle, Alp, 

 and Bayard. The track was excessively deep, 

 and Boston won the three-mile heats straight out 

 without a semblance of a struggle. 



It was in the following spring that Boston came 

 under the immediate eye of Colonel Johnson 

 and had his first real opportunity to distinguish 

 himself. Colonel Johnson at that time had in 

 his stable Atalanta, Lady Clifden, Mary Blunt, 

 and Argyle. All these were famous racing ani- 

 mals at two-mile, three-mile, and four-mile heats. 

 Because they had already made reputation for 

 themselves, Boston was compelled to take second 

 place to them, but he was not long in showing 

 that he was an animal of such capacity that 

 championship belonged to him. 



The first essay that he made in the spring of 

 1837 was over the National Course at Washington, 

 when he distanced four of the five animals that 

 started against him. For some reason, he was 

 not permitted to go to the post again until the 

 fall. But in October, on the same National 

 Course, he again defeated a high-class field in 

 straight heats. Both these races were at three- 

 mile heats. 



Then they took him up to Baltimore, and, hav- 



