MORE RACING 201 



amiss, and there seemed no hope of (^ettino- her 

 ready. Consequently, when we met at Kempton, 

 the mare having- been sent there on instructions 

 from the owner, Mr L. Neumann, I told Mr Gilpin 

 that his instructions as to work had been strictly 

 carried out, but expressed my misgivings as to 

 the mare's chance. I believe the only bet 

 taken by Mr Gilpin was 1000 to 30, and that 

 was, I believe, on behalf of the owner. Sirenia 

 won by a short head after a great set-to with 

 Merry Methodist, hailing from the Druid Lodge 

 Stable and substantially backed down to 6 to i. 



Here is a case of an animal like Sirenia re- 

 quiring very little work. Mr Gilpin had several 

 by Gallinule in his stable that were good winners 

 and ran best when, apparently, as fat as bullocks. 



I am a firm believer in conformation, and I give 

 the names of three animals that in my opinion 

 ought never to have been classic winners ; these 

 are Jeddah, Tagalie and Pretty Polly. The latter 

 is the only one of the three worth commenting on. 

 When I say that she had many faults, I know I 

 shall stand alone in my opinion. She had a broad 

 chest, faulty shoulders, a neck that looked bur- 

 dened with flesh and not very well coupled, and 

 an all-round want of quality. What saved her 

 was superb action — a long reach with a quick 

 recovery. But the fact remains that when she 



