298 CAMBRIDGESHIRE TRIALS 



set down some account of trials which took place at 

 Woodyates and Shipton with several remarkable horses. 

 For I think the study of the results and a comparison of 

 them with those of other trials, the details of which have 

 already been given, will be interesting as showing that 

 mostly the race has proved the correctness of the trial, 

 but yet that, however well, in trying, you may put 

 horses together, unexpected difficulties will often arise 

 and not unfrequently frustrate the best-laid plans. The 

 trials which I propose to consider with this end in view 

 are those of horses engaged for the Cambridgeshire 

 Stakes in six different years, and are the more important 

 because whilst in four instances the individual horse 

 tried won, in the other two our expectations of victory 

 were proved to have been held with at least fair warrant. 

 I will give them without respect to chronological order. 

 The first I shall take is the trial of Allbrook, the only 

 horse that was beat of the five that I trained for the 

 race. The following were the horses and weights in the 

 trial : 



Allbrook, 5 yrs., 8 st. 7 lb. - 1 



Our Mary Ann, 5 yrs., 6 st. 7 lb. - - - 2 



Cedric the Saxon, 3 yrs., 6 st. 7 lb. - - - 3 



El Dorado, 4 yrs., 6 st. 4 



Distance 1 mile and 240 yards. Won by two lengths ; 

 two lengths and six lengths separating the other two. 

 This would certainly make Allbrook 2 st. 3 or 4 lb. better 

 than Our Mary Ann, who had run third for the Chester 

 Cup that year, carrying 7 st. 5 lb., and won it in 1870 ; 

 and 3 st. better than El Dorado, which horse we had 

 borrowed of Mr. Cartwright to try with, and won the 

 Cambridgeshire Trial Plate the day before the event 

 with 7 st. 1 lb., beating thirteen others. After this race 

 it looked, in turf parlance, a good thing for Allbrook, for 



