TROTTING FAMILIES. 61 
Diomed owes this distinction to the high quality of 
a few trotters that have descended from him in the 
maternal line. If the pedigree of all horses that have 
made 2.30 or better were consulted, Diomed’s name 
would appear so seldom as to make his part in the 
development of the trotter seem very insignificant. 
But when the pedigrees of the select few that have 
trotted in say 2.12 or better are examined, Diomed’s 
name appears so frequently as to suggest something 
more than a series of coincidences. 
Before stating a few of these cases, I will take a 
brief glance at Diomed’s history. The first “ Derby ” 
was run at Epsom on May 4, 1780, and it was won by 
a “compact, well formed chestnut colt, the property 
of Sir Charles Bunbury.” This was Diomed. He 
was bred by the Hon. Richard Vernon, of Newmarket, 
and foaled in 1777. Diomed was by Florizel, by King 
Herod, and his dam was the famous Spectator mare.’ 
James Rice, who wrote a History of the British Turf, 
says: “It has been the fashion to underrate the Derby 
victory of Diomed, but the history of his three-year-old 
career on the turf shows that he was a good performer, 
and won or received a forfeit in all his engagements, 
proving himself thereby one of the best three-year-olds 
of his time.” 
Diomed was brought to this country in 1799, having 
been purchased for the small sum of fifty guineas, at 
the age of twenty-two, and he died in 1808, which was 
also the year of Messenger’s death. He left, as I have 
1 To show the Oriental richness of his pedigree, it is sufficient to 
state that he traces to the Leeds Arabian nine times; to the Darley 
Arabian seven times; to the Byerly Turk five times; to Curwen’s 
Bay Barb twice; to the Bald Galloway once; to the Godolphin 
Arabian twice; to Flying Childers four times; etc. 
