MOSTLY MORGAN

Coleman’s Eureka, a very handsome chocolate-brown stallion foaled in 1864, is by Young’s Morgan, tracing in sire-line to Woodbury Morgan, he out of a mare by the Thoroughbred heat-racer Lexington. Coleman’s Eureka is out of Mary Boston, both top and bottom a Sir Archy mare but with tail female to *Jolly Roger, Gimcrack and other easy-gaited gallopers. Like Cabell’s Lexington, this horse is an approximate 50-50 mix of Morgan and Thoroughbred, but in appearance takes much more strongly after the Morgan side. My reconstruction is based on a contemporary engraving.

Yellow Jacket, foaled in 1877, represents a relative latecomer who does not appear on the Saddlebred progenitors list, but who nonetheless shows up with fair frequency in root pedigrees. He is by Wells Yellow Jacket by Morgan Tiger by Bulrush Morgan by Justin Morgan. Morgan Tiger is out of Pike’s Morgan mare, a sire-line descendant of Woodbury Morgan who traces in tail female to the part-Arabian Quicksilver. The dam of Yellow Jacket is harness-bred, half-*Messenger on top and at least a quarter *Messenger on the distaff side. My reconstruction is based on a contemporary engraving. *Messenger breeding does not show up in saddle-horse pedigrees until the mid-1870’s when Mambrino Chief’s value to the Saddlebred began to be recognized. More on this part of Saddlebred history in our next installment!