142 APPENDIX. 



her new owners must have been rather discouraged, for she was 

 beaten at Prospect Park, and at the Union Course, Long Island j 

 at the Riverside and Mystic Parks, Boston, and at Providence, 

 Rhode Island. These five races were all won by American Girl, 

 who was then in the hands of Roden, and trotted in 2m. 19s., at 

 Xarragansett. It seemed likely that she was "the coming horse." 

 On the 8th of July at Boston, Goldsmith Maid won her first race 

 that year, beating Lucy in 2m. 20^3., 2m. 21j3., 2m. 22Js. It 

 was the best race that she had yet made. On the Fashion Course 

 the next week, she beat George Palmer in three heats. On the 

 2l8t of July at Suffolk Park, Philadelphia, she met American 

 Girl again. The latter had all her blushing honors thick upon 

 her. She had just trotted in 2m. 19s. ; she had beaten the little 

 mare five times in succession since the spring; and she was fresh 

 from victories over Lady Thorn and Mountain Boy, on Long 

 Island. So they backed her at five to one, and her, friends 

 thought it was just about a horse to a hen on her. But they 

 should have remembered that she had been at seven hard races, all 

 of which she had won. And besides, by the races at Boston 

 against Lucy, and at the Fashion Course against George Palmer, 

 Goldsmith Maid had shown that she was just grinding down to a 

 very sharp edge, which was sure to cut somebody before long. 

 The maid won the race in three straight heats, the best 2m. 22s. 

 At Buffalo, American Girl met her again, and George Palmer 

 was also in the race. Goldsmith Maid won it clean in three straight 

 heats— 2m., 19|s., 2m. 19Js., 2m. 19fs. It was the first time 2m. 

 20s. had been beaten by one horse in three heats of a race, and the 

 fame of the mare was greatly exalted. There were, however, two 

 heats in harness still above her, viz : Dexter's 2m. 17Js., and 

 American Girl's 2m. 193. But she had done what had never been 

 done before, and secured the lion's share of the SIO'^00 purse. 

 That season she won four times more, making her the actual win- 

 ner of eight races. She beat all the great horses that year save 

 Lady Thorn, who mot her five times and beat her in all of the races 



