outcome of the race, as he won the next three heats. 

 We had several other contests during the Grand Cir- 

 cuit meetings, but Adonis did not succeed in winning 

 one of the races. The defeat of Adonis greatly- 

 agitated the horsemen and sporting element of Cali- 

 fornia, and the next year they sent over the fast and 

 almost unbeaten Yolo Maid to take the measure of the 

 great son of Tom Hal. Our first meeting was at 

 Cleveland, and the known speed and race-horse quali- 

 ties of these two contestants caused excitement to run 

 high. Yolo Maid could show a great burst of speed 

 and was very fast in getting away, and in every case 

 would lead Pointer to the first quarter by many yards; 

 but I never drove Hal Pointer in any race where if he 

 could get his nose to the wheel of the sulky of the 

 other horse at the head of the stretch he could not 

 beat him to the wire, and Yolo Maid proved no excep- 

 tion to this rule. She would rush away at a two- 

 minute gait for the first quarter, but Pointer saved his 

 fast rush for the home stretch and in his races often 

 paced the last quarter in thirty seconds ; and, like 

 Adonis, Yolo Maid returned to California without 

 having won a single race from Pointer, although she 

 attempted to do so all through the Grand Circuit. 

 But the Californians did not give up. I started Hal 

 Pointer that season (1891) in July, and raced him the 

 whole season over all kinds of tracks, some of which 

 were very hard and his feet became a little tender, so 

 much so, that he would not fully extend himself on a 

 hard track ; and while in this condition, Direct, who 

 had been brought from California early in the 

 season and given an easy campaign, was especially- 

 prepared to try and wrest the crown from Hal Pointer. 

 We first met at Terre Haute in October, where, after 



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