The Horse of America in His Derivation, History, and Development

by John Hankins Wallace

Hambletonian (Bishop’s), originally called Hamiltonian.—This was a dark-bay horse about fifteen hands two inches high. He was bred by General Nathaniel Coles, of Dosoris, Long Island, and was foaled 1804. He was got by Messenger, his dam Pheasant (the Virginia Mare), said to be thoroughbred, by imp. Shark and grandam by imp. Medley. I first unearthed the pedigree of this “Virginia Mare” in the advertisement of Hambletonian for 1814 when he was owned by Townsend Cock and standing that year at Goshen, New York. The “Old Turfman,” Cadwallader R. Colden, was thoroughly familiar with all turf subjects in the early years of this century, and was the best turf writer of his generation. He had no patience or tolerance with frauds in pedigrees and always exposed them without mercy. He stoutly maintains that the pedigree of the “Virginia Mare” was bogus, and, to use his own language, he says:

“When Hambletonian became a public stallion, his owners were in a dilemma; a pedigree was necessary, so to work they went, and, as many had done before and as many are doing now, made one; and in his handbills his dam was given as bred in Virginia, and got by imported Shark, with a train of maternal ancestors, with as much truth, and affording as much ability to trace it or discover the breeder of the dam, as though they had said hi, cockalorum jig.”

Mr. Colden goes into the pedigree of this mare and the non-racing character of her family at great length, and it cannot be denied that he has the whole argument. As a specimen of sharp and interesting turf writing of that period and from that pen, I must commend my readers to turn to this article, which will be found in Wallace’s Monthly, Vol. II., p. 67.

With the probabilities all against the truthfulness of the pedigree of the dam, as given, it is certainly true that he was a running horse and attained distinction in his day. I have no full list of his performances at hand, but the following may be taken as a fair summary of his principal achievements. He ran at Newmarket in the spring of 1807 (then three years old), one mile, beating General Coles’ colt Bright Phœbus, Mr. Terhune’s bay filly, and distancing two others. He also ran, two days after the above race, four heats of a mile each, beating Bright Phœbus again and distancing three others. In the fall of 1808 he ran five weeks successively, and the three last weeks he won three four-mile purses, running the distance in shorter time than it ever had been run in the State of New York. I must say here that these races were run on the then Harlem course, which was not a full mile in length.

While Hambletonian was on the turf, Tippoo Sultan, a grandson of Messenger, beat Bond’s First Consul in a famous four-mile race, and Mr. Bond determined that he would find a horse that would be able to lower Tippoo Sultan’s colors, and it was thought there was nothing in the North able to do it except Miller’s Damsel, so he made a match for four thousand dollars a side on condition that Damsel should prove not to be in foal. But the mare proving to be in foal the match was off. He then took Hambletonian into his stable and offered to match him for the same amount against Tippoo Sultan, but he went amiss and the match was off. This incident is here introduced to show that whatever his real merits, Hambletonian had some reputation as a running horse. It was said that the secret of Mr. Colden’s hostility to the “Virginia Mare” and her descendants was because those descendants were always able to beat the descendants of his fashionably bred mare Matilda. Whatever the motive in exposing a pedigree that has never been fully established, there is one particular and that the most important of all particulars, in which Mr. Colden has done justice to Hambletonian. He says: “Hambletonian got some excellent roadsters, good trotters.”

There seems to be no description of this horse extant that is fully satisfactory. For some seasons he was in the hands of Mr. Daniel T. Cock, who in 1869 furnished me the following: “He was a dark bay, a little heavy about the head and neck, fifteen and a half hands high, and rather an upright shoulder. Back, loin and hind quarters as good as were ever put on a horse. Fore legs a little light, but hind legs strong and good—pretty straight. He was a beautiful saddle horse, notwithstanding his head and ear were a little coarse.” Other persons who had seen him have described him as “a great strong horse, with bone and substance enough to pull the plow or do any other kind of drudgery.” It has been said that he had a fine open trotting gait and that, in a cutter with old Isaac Bishop behind him, he was able to show the boys the road.

In 1807 he became the property of Townsend Cock, of Long Island, and he remained on the turf till 1810, when he was put in the stud. That and the following season he was at the stable of his owner; 1812 at Cornwall; 1813 at Fishkill; 1814 at Goshen; 1815-16 at Fishkill; 1817 at White Plains. In the winter of 1819 Mr. Cock sold him to Stephen and Smith Germond of Dutchess County, New York, and Isaac Bishop of Granville, New York. The latter was probably the real owner, and the horse then became known as “Bishop’s Hambletonian.” He made several seasons in the region of Granville and was back in Dutchess County 1823 and 1824. The next year he was at Granville—1825. He made one season, at least, at Burlington, Vermont, and some seasons or parts of seasons at Poultney, Vermont. It is said he lived till 1834.

At Wallingford, Vermont, he was bred upon the “Munson Mare,” said to be a daughter of imported Messenger, and doubtless either by him or one of his earlier sons, and the produce was Harris’ Hambletonian, also known as “The Remington Horse” and Bristol Grey, and this son became the progenitor of a great tribe of trotters, known as the “Vermont Hambletonians,” some of which were very fast pacers, among them the famous Hero, the fastest of his generation. Another son of Mr. Bishop’s horse was the Judson Hambletonian, that was the sire of the Andrus horse, that got the famous Princess, that was pitted against Flora Temple. He was also bred on his half-sister, Silvertail, by Messenger, and produced One Eye, a very fast mare, the grandam of Rysdyk’s Hambletonian, and I have always thought that this combination was the very cream of the pedigree of that great horse. He was also bred on a daughter of Mr. Coffin’s son of Messenger and produced Whalebone, that was the phenomenal long-distance trotter of his generation. His son, Sir Peter, out of an unknown mare, was also a famous old-time trotter. One of his daughters was bred to Coriander, son of Messenger, and the produce was Topgallant, the fastest horse of his time. These individual enumerations might be extended indefinitely, but I have given enough to show that he was not merely a progenitor of trotting speed in remote generations, but that speed came directly from his own loins. Another most significant fact is here brought to light, namely, that when bred back upon the blood of his own sire he achieved his greatest successes.

Mambrino.—This great son of Messenger was a bright bay with a star and one white ankle. He was fully sixteen hands high, with great length of body and generally of coarse appearance. He was foaled 1806, and was bred by Mr. Lewis Morris, of Westchester County, New York. His dam was by imported Sour Grout, out of a mare by imported Whirligig, and she out of the famous Miss Slammerkin, that is a well-known landmark reaching beyond the Revolution. The late William T. Porter, of the Spirit of the Times, stoutly maintained that Mambrino was not a thoroughbred horse, and his reasons seemed to rest wholly upon his coarse and cart-horse appearance. Technically, Mr. Porter was right, but the trouble did not rest with the dam, as he seems to have supposed, for I have seen the original certificate of breeding in the handwriting of Mr. Morris, his breeder, and there is no slip on that side of the pedigree. Mr. Morris was a prominent breeder and racing man for many years and his character was without taint. The pedigree is a very long one and I would be very far from vouching for the truth of the remote extensions, but back to the mare by Cub, imported by Mr. De Lancey, who bred Miss Slammerkin, there can be no mistake.

In the spring of 1810, then four years old, he was purchased of his breeder by Major William Jones, of Queens County, Long Island, and in the autumn of that year he was trained and ran for the two-mile purse at the old Newmarket Course, Long Island, and it is said gave some evidence that he could run, but after that he was never trained nor started in a race, from which we may conclude he was not a race horse, or his owner, who bred and ran his horses, would have given him another trial.