Lord Zetland's horse almost from the start. The moment Sunlight got among the crowd, and heard the crack of Snowden's whip, with which he certainly managed to make a tremendous noise, he put his ears back, quietly waited till King Cole passed him, and ran about a couple of lengths behind him all the way home. Wheatear showed in very improved form during the meeting, for before her clever victory over Bonny Swell, she made Sunshine do all she knew to win the Coronation, and many of those who saw how Mr. Merry's mare had to gallop to win this race, prefered taking 3 to 1 about Normanby, instead of laying odds on her on the Friday. The careers of Achievement and Sunshine have been almost identical. Achievement ran thirteen times as a two-year-old, and was beaten twice; Sunshine came out ten times, and was beaten once. Both carried the full penalty in the Middle Park Plate, and both ran second; while each was the highest two-year-old winner of her year. Both were second in the Oaks, and the verdict on each occasion was easily by a length." Achievement was second in two races at Ascot, and Sunshine in one; both won the Coronation; and it only remains to be seen whether Sunshine will continue to emulate the deeds of her predecessor, and pass through the Doncaster ordeal as brightly as she did. The race for the Cup proved two things pretty conclusivelythat Muster cannot get a distance, and that Sabinus on hard ground is about 14lb. superior to Sabinus through mud; while Kingcraft would not have relished giving him the 5lb. allowance at Epsom. Trocadéro well deserved to win the Alexandra Plate after running second for it two years in succession, and it was no mean performance for the old horse to give Siderolite 8lb. over this gruelling course.

66

Newcastle saw Honesty in his old form over mile courses, with weight no object. Falkland credited Voltigeur and "the spots" with another victory; and two terribly high-bred "Lady's," the half-sisters to Thorwaldsen and Caller Ou, finished first and second in a Biennial. Morphia carried off two events, and Kennington's easy victory in the Plate was remarkable from the fact that he carried 6lbs. more than any three-year-old winner had ever done before. King of the Forest took about £600 by his journey north, and it is many years since " the tykes" have had a look at the Derby favourite. At Windsor Perth. would have succeeded in giving Sauntress 11lb., but for his unfortunate breakdown; however, he has well paid his way, even if he never runs again. Little Steppe had no chance with Sauntering Alma, and as later in the day Barrier gave the latter 24lb. and lost her, he must be an uncommonly smart colt. Lady of Lyons, an own sister to King of the Forest, made short work of her field in the Windsor Handicap, as she well might, with only 6st. 11lb. on her back, and having been tried better than Sunlight. What can be said of 'Ampton, except that the Kennington party well deserved to be beaten for not allowing the colt even an hour's rest after his Northumberland Plate victory, and that the Thunderbolts were in great force.

In the present unsettled and unsatisfactory state of the Turf, when everybody has got something to say on the subject of reform, and M.P.'s are making long speeches in the House, and either displaying the most profound ignorance of their theme, or else being led into great dangers by a "little knowledge," we quite agree with William Day, that "any

one who's got anything to say should say it." "Our William" was not content with preaching, but practised his own doctrine; the aged "Senex" gave the world the inestimable benefit of about half-a-yard more of his thoughts in the columns of his favourite Daily Telegraph; Admiral Rous has written two or three of his characteristic letters in answer to some of Sir Joseph Hawley's; and lastly, we were pleased to see Mr. Tattersall's name attached to a long epistle "On Horses, Racing, &c." We expected a good letter from Mr. Tattersall, and we were not disappointed, for it is decidedly the best that has yet appeared. All his propositions are clearly laid down, fairly argued out, and, as we think, conclusively proved. It is a favourite amusement of the "Senex" school to weep over the degeneracy of the racehorse of the present day; Mr. Tattersall, on the other hand (and we should be inclined to take his opinion even against that of "Senex" himself) says, that so far from degenerating it has improved, and goes on to state that our horses with their higher early development from careful breeding and high keep from the earliest moment, come to full maturity at a much earlier date than formerly, and that the racehorse of the present day, at the end of his third year (say in October), is as good as the racehorse of former days at six years old. I do not believe, either, that early training or early racing-that is, at two years old-unless carried to excess, injures the horse either as a racehorse or as the progenitor of racehorses." He then instances Blue Gown and The Colonel-grand types of the racehorse and steeplechaser-as examples of animals who were raced as two-year-olds, and have done plenty of hard work ever since, and yet are still thoroughly sound. We are not quite prepared to agree with Mr. Tattersall that there is any reason for prohibiting two-year-olds from running before May 1st; though we do not think it a very important point; but every sensible man must feel that the racing season should not extend beyond the middle of November. Mr. Tattersall strongly protests against the interference of the Legislature with racing reforms, as indeed he well may, after the anomaly we have witnessed of the blind attempting to lead those that see, and he points out that these matters may well be left to the committee appointed by the Jockey Club, in which are several members of the House of Commons. Perhaps the best little bit in the letter is a paragraph on the subject of betting, so true, and so neatly put:-" The wise men came from the East. I think in London they live there still; for in the City they call it business, but we foolish people at the West-end call it betting. The world is so led away by names of things. Both in their way are good enough. It is only the abuse of either that does any harm. But when a crash comes in the City, black Friday there beggars thousands, while in the betting world two or three get their wings singed, and the rest pay what they can well afford to lose." Then comes Mr. Tattersall's long cherished scheme of a racing company or club. The latter indeed is the proper term, for none of the shares will ever be for sale in the public market, and it will be essentially a private affair. It is to be formed as follows: "Let five gentlemen each find five friends with £500 or £1,000 each to put into a racing company. This would represent a capital of £12,500 or £25,000; half to be called up at once, and the other as required, but half down to make it bona fide. Let the five form a board, and appoint three to manage the concern; and I think

I can put them in a way to have a great deal of real amusement for their money, combined with a return. The company not to bet; but if any individual member chose to do so on his own account, that would have nothing to do with the company." Our only doubt is, whether such a company would pay, for we have always understood that nothing but betting could meet the many expenses attendant on maintaining a stud. On expressing this doubt to Mr. Tattersall, however, he assured us that he could prove, that, in several cases, the stakes won by a stable had paid all expenses, and left a handsome profit, and no one could be in a better position to judge of these matters. Of course the management of the company would be all important, for by judicious" placing" very moderate animals often pick up nice little stakes, and we can answer for it, that the gentleman who would be proposed as secretary would make the affair pay if anyone could, and, as an instance of his acumen, we may state that, even after the Two Thousand, he declined to have anything to do with Macgregor for the Derby, but quietly backed Kingeraft. At any rate we are sure that there are many country gentlemen who cannot afford to race on their own account, but who will gladly pay their £500 or £1,000 (with no further liability of any sort) for the pleasure of being part owners of a well-managed stud. In conclusion, Mr. Montague Guest, whose ingenuous proposal to "do away with Tattersall's" was received with so much laughter in the House, does not escape without a little well-deserved castigation, and is finally enlightened to the fact that "the business of Tattersall's is not to bet, but to sell horses."

The result of her Majesty's sale must be considered highly satisfactory, for in spite of all that has been said and written of the decay of the Turf, and, what was still more against a good total, that the yearlings were indubitably a very moderate lot, an average of 193 gs. was obtained. The Marquis of Anglesea bought five, for which he paid 2,620 gs., more than half the sum realized by the whole four-andtwenty. Among the five was the Trumpeter-Ayacanora colt, the premier of the sale. We did not care much for him, as his legs are none of the best; and we fancy that the Marquis missed the pick of the lot when he let the Trumpeter-Hepatica filly, a very nice bay with plenty of bone and quality, go to Mr. T. Brown's nod. The first of the Savernakes hardly came up to the expectations that have been formed of them, and the running of Ely's stock has not made people incline to it; however, it is hardly fair to condemn him yet. After Kingcraft's Derby triumph, we should have fancied that a King Tom would have excited a good deal of competition, yet the four very nice ones which Sir Lydston Newman sent up from Mamhead made poor prices. The Marquis of Anglesey gave the top price (400 gs.) for Startle, a half-sister to High Church, by Crater out of Start Point, and, as far as we could judge, the handsome Sundeelah promises to pay way at the stud. Seven out of the eight Stanton yearlings were by Saccharometer; but the low prices obtained for six of them must not be taken as any criterion of his merits as a sire, for people are naturally shy of an untried horse.

his

We were unable to inspect the Middle Park yearlings until the sale day, but report spoke very highly of them, and we were assured that, taking them as a whole, they were superior to any that had been pre

viously offered. The 12.30 special from Charing Cross, a very convenient train, was largely patronized, and the sale seemed to excite unusual interest. We happened to get into the same carriage with a friend whom we knew to be anything but " horsey," and, on our expressing our astonishment at seeing him Eltham bound, it soon came out that the luncheon was the great attraction. He had no doubt about obtaining a ticket, as he had only to find Captain A., who was to introduce him to Mr. B., to whom he was to mention Mr. C.'s name. On our way back to the station we espied him partaking of a modest plate of cold meat and a pint of bitter at the bar of a convenient "public,' and drew our own conclusions. We arrived at Middle Park too late even to hurry through any of the boxes, so we did not see one of the youngsters until they came into the ring. The luncheon tickets which were last year marked " Gamos," and gave such a straight Epsom tip, on this occasion took the shape of a photograph of King John, so we must look out for the stock of Mr. Blenkiron's especial pet, which, if size and good looks are any criterion, are sure to distinguish themselves. It will be said in a good many places that Mr. Tattersall opened the sale with a few "neat and appropriate words," so we will only remark that he spoke in a very hopeful tone of the future prospects of racing and turf matters generally, and made one remarkable statement, which doubtless added a thousand or two to the grand total of the sale, namely, that out of the 31 twoyear-old races which had taken place since May 1st, 15 had been won by animals bred by Mr. Blenkiron. A breeder may well be proud

of such a result as this!

"John always gets them cheap," said Mr. Tattersall, as lot 2, a handsome filly by Weatherbit or High Treason out of Andromaque, fell to John Nightingall's bid of 70 gs., she was a decided bargain. The next five were moderate, but then came a brown colt by Saunterer out of Curse Royal, which was introduced by Mr. Blenkiron as "the handsomest horse I ever bred or ever saw." No yearling could possibly have a higher character, and he certainly was a very taking colt, and one of the bargains of the sale at 240 gs. The Saunterer-Victrix colt lacked the quality that the beautiful black's stock generally show in such a marked degree; but when the Blair Athol-Busy Bee colt, a fine, powerful, bay, was brought in, buyers seemed to wake up, and he soon reached 400 gs., the top price as yet. A colt by Dundee out of Coimbra has beautiful shoulders, and though he struck us as being just a trifle short, it may have been that he was frightened, and stood badly. "Look at him, Mr. Padwick, do look at him," came in persuasive accents from the rostrum, but that gentleman sternly refused to listen to the voice of the charmer, and Mr. Jaques got full value for his 220 gs. Lot 17 was certainly, as Mr. Tattersall said, an "unusual horse," and though poor Marsyas has the credit (?) of him, he must feel ashamed of his offspring, and had we been told that Penelepe Plotwell had stooped to a liaison with a cart stallion, we should have fully believed it. He is a perfect dray-horse in miniature, and caused an immense amount of chaff before he was knocked down. The Weatherbit and High Treason partnership produced an uncommonly fine, long, powerful, chesnut out of Rosati; while a colt by King John out of July, half-brother to the

roguish Vale Royal, is very neat and compact. The Blair AtholTunstall Maid colt did not strike us especially. Then came one of the "cracks" of the sale, the filly by Marsyas out of Seclusion, a very beautiful bay, with capital legs and feet, very good arms, thighs, and quarters, and showing far more power than her half-brother and sisters by Newminster. Captain Machell, who watched the proceedings from the top of a drag, made little effort to secure her for the Hermit stable, and after a sharp contest between Messrs. Crawfurd and Woolcott, she fell to the latter for 1,150 gs. The only Stockwell in the sale, a very nice chesnut filly out of Lady Hylda, went to "Tom Brown, and the Tom Brown that knows a horse." The half-brother to Gamos struck us as being a trifle coarse, but he was immensely powerful; and though Woodbine's stock seldom run well, they always fetch high prices, and her Thormanby colt proved no exception to the rule, making, to our mind, about twice his value, as though he has great size, he is decidedly common-looking. As soon as the Trumpeter-Isilia colt, a perfect gem, was brought into the ring, he was very quickly run up to a thousand. Then came a slight lull, and in spite of Mr. Tattersall's inquiry, "Where's Mr. Hill," and his encouraging "Don't be beat, sir," that gentleman, who looked uncommonly pleased at the success of his old favourite, could not be induced to go on; and "Who's Jefferson ?" was the general inquiry when the colt fell to a bid of 1,650 gs. A brother to The Swift and Bicycle seemed fairly to rouse Captain Machell, who had been very quiet up to this time, and when his bid of 500 gs. was capped by one of 600 gs., he went straight to 1,000 gs., probably hoping to choke off opposition. It did not answer, however, and, the Captain shortly retiring, Mr. Crawfurd got a very beautiful colt for half as much again. Neither of these two, however, created quite such an impression as the Gladiateur-Battaglia colt, probably the grandest-looking yearling that ever stepped into a ring. He has great size and immense power, and yet there is no lack of quality about him. He has a most unmistakable look of his sire, their hips and quarters being especially alike, and he strode round the ring with the same all-conquering air with which the "mighty Frenchman" paraded the Epsom paddock. His beautiful, bloodlike, intelligent, head (and we observed that all the Gladiateur heads showed immense character) was perhaps his best point, and even 1,800 gs. did not seem too much for him. Such a splendid trio never entered a ring before, and when they were knocked down, the remainder of the proceedings seemed tame by comparison.

We find nothing more in our note book until we come to the filly by Gladiateur, out of Actress, with which we were extremely pleased. She is an elegant black, with immense length and great quality, and sure to race; indeed we consider she was the bargain of the sale, and that Mr. Crawley got her for about a fourth of her value. The Saunterer-Feodorowna colt is unlike the generality of his sire's stock, not having quite the quality that "Matt's black" usually transmits to his youngsters, but possessing far more bone and power. His sale led to a curious little episode: Mr. J. Weatherby wished to buy him for Mr. Belmont, while Mr. Tattersall, who had a "discretionary commission" for Mr. Withers, another American breeder, had been outpaced for two or three of the high-priced lots, and felt that it was his last chance.