Messenger (1780 – January 28, 1808) was an
English Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...
stallion imported into the newly formed
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
of America just after the
American Revolution
The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
. He is most famous for being the great-grandsire of
Hambletonian 10, the father of all American Standardbred horses. Though he did not have a long racing career himself, he was a common ancestor in many successful racing horses into the 20th century.
Breeding
Messenger was a grey Thoroughbred bred by John Pratt, Esq.
of Newmarket, England
He was most likely foaled at Oxford Stud in
Balsham, Cambridgeshire[TesioPower 2000, Stallions of the World](_blank)
/ref> in 1780.
In May 1788, Sir Thomas Benger imported Messenger to Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
by ship. Legend goes that the eight year old horse ran down the gangplank "so rambunctiously that it took two men to keep him under control," when the rest of the horses were too weary to move after the long voyage.
In 1793, Messenger was sold to Henry Astor, the brother of John Jacob Astor, and maintained at the farm of Philip Pratt located in Corona, Queens at what is now occupied by Our Lady of Sorrows Church. He was later sold to C.W. Van Ranst.
Messenger's appearance gave an impression of solidity and power. He had large and always active ears, a large and bony head; his nose had a decided Roman shape, the nostrils large and flexible. He had a large windpipe and short neck, but not coarse or thick, low withers and around the shoulders, heavy and upright. Messenger had superior hips and quarters. The bones of the limbs were strong and large. He always stood prompt and upright on all four legs. He was high. One article described the way he carried himself as "perfect and striking."
Messenger was more brutish than he was beautiful. Handlers would have to take care not to get injured when working with the horse.
Racing Career
Messenger won 10 of 16 races run in England early in his career, with his best racing years being 1783, 1784, and 1785. Messenger's races, usually less than two and half miles, were mainly "match" races in which the side bets far exceeded the purse. His major career win at five years old, when he won the King's Plate race. He was "a crack at the sprint distances of a mile and a mile and a quarter." Although his sire was a trotter, Messenger never ran a trot race.
Offspring and legacy
Messenger was a highly virile stud, once serving 126 mares by natural cover in one season. Like the other three English stallions, and as was the custom of the day, Messenger was bred throughout Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, New York and New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
. The custom at the time was to allow any person that could afford it to breed their mare with the horse as he toured around the new country. An ad from 1788 in a Philadelphia paper announces Messenger's arrival and availability in the area to the local mares as, "JUST IMPORTED, The Capital, Strong, Full Blooded English Stallion MESSENGER, To cover Mares this season...at the very low price of Three Guineas each Mare, one Dollar to the Groom..." which appears along a sketch of the grey horse. Due to the rarity of Thoroughbred horses in the area at the time and the success of the horse's offspring, Messenger's stud fee spiked at around $40 (about $2,900 in 2022).
Though the mares he bred with were not of the highest quality, he sired a great many successful racehorse
Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...
s. Messenger's daughter, Miller's Damsel, also known as "Queen of the American Turf", gave birth to the horse his breeder named American Eclipse in the belief the foal would be as great as the famous English Eclipse
An eclipse is an astronomical event which occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ...
. By Duroc, a fine son of Diomed, American Eclipse did indeed turn out to be a champion.[Montgomery, E.S, “The Thoroughbred”, Arco, New York, 1973 ] He was not only a great sire of Thoroughbreds, he was also the founding father of the harness breed, or modern-day American Standardbred through his great grandson, Rysdyk's ( Hambletonian 10). His genes have also contributed to the American Saddlebred
The American Saddlebred is a horse breed from the United States. Descended from riding-type horses bred at the time of the American Revolution, the American Saddlebred includes the Narragansett Pacer, Canadian Pacer, Morgan horse, Morgan and ...
, and Tennessee Walking Horse
The Tennessee Walking Horse or Tennessee Walker is a horse breed, breed of gaited horse known for its unique four-beat running-walk and flashy movement. It was originally Horse breeding, developed as a riding horse on farms and plantations in t ...
breeds. Other notable descendants of Messenger include Whirlaway, Equipoise, Man O War, and Gallant Fox. He also provided genetics for the high cost " Joe Young" brand of horses that were sought after in the greater Kansas area at the turn of the 20th century.
Messenger died on January 8, 1808, at the age of 28 at Townsend Cock's farm near Oyster Bay, New York
The Town of Oyster Bay is the easternmost of the three Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns that make up Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York, United States. Part of the New York metropolitan area, it is ...
. He was buried with military honors under a boulder memorialized with an inscribed plaque at Piping Rock Club on Duck Pond Road in Matinecock, New York. He was inducted into the United States Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 1964.
This horse was not particularly talented at racing, but "deserves recognition as an outstanding producer of thoroughbreds," according to John Hervey, a horse historian in the 1960's.
*Messenger
**Tippoo Saib
***Financier
**Potomac
**Hambletonian (Standardbred)
**Saratoga
***Dove (Standardbred)
**Mambrino
***Abdallah
**** Hambletonian 10 ( Standardbred)
*****Abdallah
*****Shark
*****Major Winfield
*****George Wilkes (Tennessee Walking Horse
The Tennessee Walking Horse or Tennessee Walker is a horse breed, breed of gaited horse known for its unique four-beat running-walk and flashy movement. It was originally Horse breeding, developed as a riding horse on farms and plantations in t ...
)
*****Volunteer
*****Hambletonian Second
*****Dexter
*****Dictator
*****Happy Medium
*****Electioneer
****Conklin's Abdallah
*****Rarus
***Mambrino Paymaster
****Mambrino Chief
*****Ashland
*****Clark Chief
****** Harrison Chief (American Saddlebred
The American Saddlebred is a horse breed from the United States. Descended from riding-type horses bred at the time of the American Revolution, the American Saddlebred includes the Narragansett Pacer, Canadian Pacer, Morgan horse, Morgan and ...
)
*****Highland Chief
*****Mambrino Patchen (Tennessee Walking Horse)
Pedigree
Along with three other stallions, (Medley, Sharp, and Diomed), Messenger provided the type of foal that was needed for the era of long-distance (stamina and speed) racing popular in the early days of the American sport.
He was sired by Mambrino, who was sired by Engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...
, who was sired by Sampson, who was the sire of Bay Malton, a racing horse. His dam was Turf; grand-dam was Regulus
Regulus is the brightest object in the constellation Leo (constellation), Leo and one of the List of brightest stars, brightest stars in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation designated α Leonis, which is Latinisation of names, ...
, who was closely related to Leviathan, a racing horse. Messenger was inbred to Cade in the third and fourth generations of his pedigree. Mambrino also traced straight back to Blaze, the father of trotters. Messenger has crosses to all three of the Thoroughbred foundation sires, particularly Godolphin Arabian.
''Note: b. = Bay, blk. = Black
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
, br. = Brown
Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black.
In the ...
'', ch. = Chestnut, gr. = Gray
† Messenger is inbred 3S × 4D to the stallion Cade, meaning that he appears third generation on the sire side of his pedigree and fourth generation on the dam side of his pedigree.
‡ Messenger is inbred 4S × 5D x 4D to the stallion Godolphin Arabian, meaning that he appears fourth generation once, and fifth generation once (via Cade)^ on the sire side of his pedigree and fourth generation once on the dam side of his pedigree.
See also
*Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given Horse breed, breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired chara ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Thoroughbred Bloodlines: ''Early stud book''
Messenger's pedigree, with fine drawing
Facsimile edition of Elderkin, J. (1868). "The Turf and the Trotting Horse in America". Atlantic Monthly, vol. XXI May, pp. 513-533.
Facsimile edition of Elliott, C. W. (1869). "Among our great farmers-The horse growers". Galaxy, vol. VII January to July, pp. 413-424.
1780 racehorse births
1808 racehorse deaths
Thoroughbred family 1
Racehorses bred in the Kingdom of Great Britain
Racehorses trained in the Kingdom of Great Britain
United States Champion Thoroughbred Sires
United States Harness Racing Hall of Fame inductees