252 TALES OF THE TURF. 



big money." A New York man hearing of Stranger, and 

 believing the mare was no longer as fast as when she 

 made her record of 2 117^ to wagon in 1855, travelled to 

 Ohio to secure the stallion for a race for $5,000 a side. 

 Stranger showed him a mile in 2:17^, which was good 

 enough he thought, but the horse died while the nego- 

 tiations were pending. 



Stranger left a family of fine horses in Northern Ohio, 

 everyone of which had some speed at the trot or pace. 

 The Canadian horse Rooker, founder of the family bear- 

 ing that name, is his chief representation ; but there are 

 many with records, and the strain is continually cropping 

 out in pedigrees of fast performers. Yankee Sam, a dun 

 gelding that paced over the Cleveland track a trial in 

 2:17, and was a phenomenally fast horse at both the trot- 

 ting and pacing gaits, was his fastest representative. He 

 was "doped" by some villian to prevent his winning a 

 match race and never recovered from its effects. Chest- 

 nut Tom, alias Stranger, made a trotting record of 2:31 

 under the latter name, and under another alias one better 

 than 2 130, it is said. He sired considerable speed. Tom 

 B., 2 132, that was owned by W. J. Gordon, and trotted a 

 trial over the Cleveland track in 2 125, was sired by him. 

 Another mare went to Wisconsin and obtained a record of 

 2 132, and there were a number of his get in the vicinity 

 of Cleveland with records close to 2 :3c In his days no 

 records of performances were kept in Northern Ohio, and 

 it is greatly to be regretted that he died so young, for 

 otherwise the name of Stranger would be among the stars 

 of the horse history of the country. 



