Morgan, Clay Family Bred Trotters
Famous Families, Mambrino Chief Added to Harness Breeding in 1800s
Family breeders of harness racers in the 1800s were Justin Morgan, the Clays, and Richard Eldrige, who bred Mambrino Chief. The Chief's progeny rivaled Hambletonian's.
Justin Morgan is still a famous name in the state of Vermont. While Hambletonian was the dominate sire of the day in the mid 19th Century, other horses bred by several influential family entities gained importance.
Morgan Horse May Have Been Originally a Thoroughbred
The Massachusetts horseman Justin Morgan gave his horse his own name. However, the exact story of this trotter's breeding is a mixed bag. The most popular version of the Morgan horse breeding background is that Justin Morgan was a Thoroughbred from the English line of True Briton. Traveler and Beautiful Bay were other names applied to True Briton, however, and Justin Morgan's actual sire is still debated.
Regardless of that, the Morgan family bred the likes of Ethan Allen, a great grandson of Justin Morgan, and a son of Vermont Black Hawk. The Morgan horses, used primarily as road horses, were small, ranging from fourteen to fifteen hands high. They were, preceeding Hambletonian, some of the fastest of the early harness horses.
Hambletonian's Gait Superior
As the speedy progeny of Hambletonian prevailed, the Morgan-bred horses fell out of favor in the harness racing world. The trotting gait of the Hambletonian descendants proved superior on the track.
The Clays Get Involved
The Henry Clay family tried their hand at breeding harness worthy competitors. An imported stallion from Tripoli named Grand Bashaw begat some prestigious trotters. Grand Bashaw offered Thoroughbred influence and a cross to Messenger, the trotting and pacing foundation sire. Messenger's grandson Hambletonian was the accepted speed king.
Richard B. Jones, the American Tripoli consul, brought Grand Bashaw to the Clays. In turn, during his stud years in Pennsylvania, Grand Bashaw sired Young Bashaw, a gray who sired good trotters named for famous persons, such as Andrew Jackson.
A.J. sired the Clay family founding sires, Harry Clay, Henry Clay, Cassius M. Clay, and Cassius M. Clay, Jr.
The Clay group competed against Hambletonian's best. Clay-bred American Girl and Lucy trotted opposite Goldsmith Maid and George M. Patchen.
Mambrino Chief Becomes Prominent
Warren Williams owned Mambrino Chief, but the Chief's dam was a western mare of unknown breeding. Mambrino Chief was bred by a New Yorker, Richard Eldridge. The stallion was purchased by James B. Clay of Kentucky in 1854 and became the founding sire of Kentucky's best trotters.
Hambletonian's son Dexter handily defeated Mambrino Chief's Lady Thorn in several competitions. Mambrino Chief's offspring, therefore, became Hambletonian broodmares.
Blue Bull Takes The Hambletonian Challenge
Elijah Stone of Indiana bred a horse he named Blue Bull. Blue Bull's get, however, weren't always properly recorded in the breeding register. Arguments as to which were which were normal.
In the short term, Blue Bull produced winners who beat trotting and pacing speed records. But, with clouded breeding logs, and no indication of Thoroughbred blood (the source of great speed) in his line, Blue Bull's progeny ultimately couldn't surpass the speed of the lasting Hambletonians.
