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

by John Hankins Wallace

CHAPTER XXIII.
MAMBRINO CHIEF AND HIS FAMILY.

Description and history of Mambrino Chief—The pioneer trotting stallion of Kentucky—Matched against Pilot Jr.—His best sons—Mambrino Patchen, his opportunities and family—Woodford Mambrino, a notable trotter and sire—Princess—Mambrino Pilot—Other sons of Mambrino Chief.

Mambrino Chief was a dark bay or brown horse, got by Mambrino Paymaster, grandson of imported Messenger, and his dam was a large, coarse mare that was brought from the West in a drove, and absolutely nothing was known of her blood. The theory was once advanced in print that she must have been by Stevens’ Messenger Duroc, but I think it was never repeated. The basis of this theory was, that the horse referred to was large and coarse, with a long thigh bone, and as the mare was large and coarse, with a long thigh bone, she must have been a daughter of his. There are some obvious difficulties about accepting this “thigh-bone” pedigree. In the first place, the inventor of it never saw either the horse or the mare, and how could he have put his tapeline on their “thigh-bones” and thus ascertained they were of the same length? In the second place, it is not known, nor was it known to the inventor, that the horse ever had been within three hundred miles of the dam of this “daughter” of his. It is not much wonder that the “horse business” is hardly considered reputable when an educated man will advance such senseless gabble as the basis of a pedigree. This mare produced another colt called Goliah that developed some speed, but this was not the Goliah that was on the trotting turf.

Mambrino Chief was bred by Richard Eldridge, of Dutchess County, New York, and was owned by Warren Williams; in the spring of 1851 he passed into the hands of James M. Cockroft and G. T. Williams; was kept two or three seasons in Ulster County; trotted, under the saddle a trial in 2:36; sold to James B. Clay of Kentucky, in the winter of 1854, and then to Gray & Jones, 1857, for five thousand and twenty dollars, and died 1861. Soon after his arrival in Kentucky he was matched to trot against Pilot Jr., and the match stirred up a great deal of interest among the breeders. He was so big and coarse and so far removed from the type of the running horse that very few believed he could show any speed at any gait, for the distance of a mile and repeat. He was placed in the hands of Dr. Herr, who had had some experience in handling trotters, for preparation. When the day came there was quite an assemblage to witness the race but the Pilot Jr. party came forward and paid forfeit. This was a sore disappointment to those who thought the big horse could not trot, and to satisfy them that he could trot and trot fast, Dr. Herr drove him to show his gait, and notwithstanding his quarter cracks he satisfied all that he really was a trotter. This was an auspicious opening of a successful career extending through the remaining six years of his life.

In the sense of success, Mambrino Chief was really the pioneer trotting stallion of Kentucky. True, “Old” Abdallah had been there fourteen years earlier, but he was in bad shape and breeders did not like him. He was very plain in his appearance and only left some half-dozen of foals behind him when he was brought back to Long Island. The breeders all turned to his stable companion, Commodore, that was more after the pattern of the running horse, and would not look at Abdallah. This Commodore filled the blue-grass fields with his foals, but none of them could trot. He was a son of Mambrino, by imported Messenger, and was an inbred Messenger, if his pedigree was right, but he was a failure as a trotting sire. Mr. Marcus Downing took his horse, Bay Messenger, there about the same time and he was a failure also, notwithstanding he was a grandson of imported Messenger. Both Commodore and Bay Messenger should have been trotting sires, but either one of two reasons was sufficient to prevent that consummation. First their blood and physical structure were all right, but the mental structure—the instinct to trot—was lacking; they inherited from some ancestor that could not and was not inclined to trot. Second, Kentuckians of that period knew nothing about trotters and they may have lacked in the requisite knowledge, skill and patience to develop them. It is true that old Pacing Pilot and some other pacing tribes were there that would occasionally throw a pacer with the diagonal motion, like Pilot Jr., but there was no other blood there that trotted before the arrival of Mambrino Chief. This pacing element was a very valuable element upon which to build up the trotter, but unfortunately and wherever it was possible, a running pedigree was tacked on to the pacer, and thus, in the estimation of Kentuckians it was the running blood that did it.

The six years of his services in Kentucky gave sufficient time to establish his value as a trotting sire, but not sufficient to build up a large family. This limited period must be further restricted, in estimating his value, by the fact that the war broke out in 1861, at the very time when the larger part of his offspring were just at the right age for development. This important fact has been very generally overlooked when estimating the true value of this horse. The question has often been asked why this horse succeeded in Kentucky when he had not succeeded in the North? This is too broad a question to be considered in this historical sketch, but will be considered at another place in this volume. In passing it, some very intelligent writers have attributed it to what is called “the climatic outcross,” and there may be some real value in this point, but the great cause, aside from the new surroundings and expectations of his progeny, may be found in the fact that his own speed was never developed until the very eve of his transfer to Kentucky. His instinct to trot and to trot fast had remained dormant, practically, during the whole period of his Northern service, and when he reached Kentucky he was, in a sense, a new horse and conscious of his powers as a trotter. The salutary effects of development, at whatever gait, have been shown in ten thousand instances and will continue to be shown as long as the interests and ambitions of man shall prompt him to strive to surpass his neighbor.

At one time it was maintained right vehemently by the owners of the stock of Mambrino Chief, as well as some others, that as a stock horse he was not only equal but superior to Hambletonian. In 1867, when the battles were raging between Dexter and Lady Thorn, this view showed little abatement, and notwithstanding the gelding was beating the mare all the time, they still maintained that in the end she would be the conqueror. When Lady Thorn was seriously crippled and retired from the turf, there were many sad hearts in the Mambrino family and many wonderful stories were told, privately, of what Dan Mace had seen her do, and that he was keeping very quiet till an opportunity came to show the most wonderful flight of speed that the world had ever seen or ever would see. With the shroud of what “might have been” about them, they were “of the same opinion still.”

Mambrino Chief left six in the 2:30 list; twenty-three sons that put ninety-five in the list and seventeen daughters that produced twenty-four trotters.

LEADING SONS OF MAMBRINO CHIEF.