Messenger (horse)
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Messenger (b. 1780) was an English thoroughbred stallion bred by a John Pratt and imported into the newly formed United States of America just after the American Revolution. Along with three other stallions (Medley, Sharp, and Diomed), Messenger provided the type of foal, both filly and colt, that was needed for the era of long distance (stamina and speed) racing popular in the early days of the American sport.
Messenger was a grey by Mambrino out of an unnamed mare by Turf. Mambrino went straight back to Blaze, the father of trotters. Messenger has crosses to all three of the Thoroughbred foundation sires, particularly the Godolphin Arabian, and although his sire was a trotter, Messenger never ran a trot race. While still in England, he started in 16 flat races and won ten of them. Messenger's races, usually less than two and half miles, were mainly "match" races in which the side bets far exceeded the purse.
No one knows just how Messenger arrived in the States, or who brought him here, but he was not only a great sire of thorougbreds, he was the founding father of the harness breed, or standardbred. (It's possible that Messenger was purchased by Henry Astor, the brother to John Jacob Astor, and imported in 1788. It's more than possible he was brought to the US by a Thomas Berenger who fled Philadelphia at the outbreak of a plague. If so, it was then, in 1793, that Messenger was sold to Henry Astor. At some point, Cornelius W. Van Ranst got his hands on the horse...and that appears to be an actual fact.)
However Messenger got here, it seems that he simply appeared one day, advertized in a Philadelphia newspaper as available for service: inquiries to be made to a certain Alexander Clay at the sign of the Black Horse in Market Street.
Like the other three English stallions, and as was the custom of the day, Messenger stood here and there in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. The mares he covered were not of the highest quality, but even so he proved himself a superior stallion, siring a great many successful racehorses. He was also bred to all sorts of mares: Morgans, and Narragansett Pacers among them.
Messenger's daughter, Miller's Damsel (known as "Queen of the American Turf") gave birth to the horse his breeder named American Eclipse in the belief the impressive foal would be as great as the very great English Eclipse. By Duroc, a fine son of Diomed, American Eclipse did indeed turn out to be a legendary champion.
Through his great grandson, Rysdyk's Hambletonian (also known as Hambletonian 10), Messenger is the originator of modern-day American standardbred horses, the principal horse breed of harness racing.
Messenger died on January 8, 1808 at the age of 28. He's buried on Long Island.
