pocahontas
As a filly, this chestnut sorrel with four white legs to knees and hocks, a white face and a large white spot on her belly, was described as "growthy, awkward, loose-jointed, low-headed and clumsy." But Pocahontas was also a natural pacer. Foaled in 1847 in Butler County, Ohio, she was sold as a two-year-old for $30. First used as a farm animal, she won her first race at the Queen City Course in Cincinnati, Ohio. After the race she was finally given a name: Pocahontas. On June 21, 1855, over the Union Course, Long Island, New York, she beat Hero in a match race to wagon and reduced the world pacing record to 2:17 1/2. Pocahontas was the grandam of the outstanding trotter Nelson and the world champion pacer Sleepy Tom.
Published in the Harness Racing Museum's 1994 book, The Immortals