WON BY A HEAD. 233 



ing and the riding of his horse, or the utter folly of the 

 ridiculous instructions given by the trainer to the jockey. 

 Even Mr. Merry himself was not, on this occasion, proof 

 against these well-intended suggestions. He asked me if 

 I objected to my brother Alfred riding the horse for the 

 second race on the Wednesday ; and, of course, I replied 

 that I should be delighted if he did. Alfred was accord- 

 ingly put up, and the race ended exactly as the first had 

 done ; the fiat of the judge being a head victory, after a 

 most determined struggle. On this occasion the jockey 

 was, and very justly, eulogized for his admirable tact 

 the patient skill in the early part of the race, and the 

 coming at the last with an electric rush, measuring the 

 distance to a hair. Mr. Merry himself took a sensible 

 view of the matter. In the Lavant Stakes Paradigm had 

 run his horse to a short head ; and he very wisely said 

 that she might have been a real good mare, and so attri- 

 buted his own horse's victory by so short a distance to 

 her merits and nothing else, But, of necessity, he could 

 not make his friends think so. Paradigm, I should add, 

 broke down in her second race, and never, so far as I 

 recollect, ran after that meeting, and was early put to 

 the stud. She became the dam of Lord Lyon, Achieve- 

 ment, and others, and, we may conclude, did General 

 Pearson, her owner, more service there than she 

 would have done on the racecourse had she continued 

 running. 



Lord of the Isles did not run after as a two-year-old, 

 being kept specially for his two spring engagements the 

 Two Thousand and the Derby. Of his performances in 

 both these races, I think I can find something to say of 

 interest. Mr. Merry came in the spring to Woodyates 

 for the first time. After seeing the horses and looking 

 at the training-ground, in the evening we arranged the 



