A GREAT MATCH 



tournament at Eglinton Castle his lordship won 

 his first classical race. He owned a mare named 

 Blue Bonnet, a daughter of Touchstone and Maid 

 of Melrose. As a two-year-old she had broken 

 down more than once. Engagements at Goodwood, 

 Liverpool, and other places had all been sacrificed. 

 She had travelled hundreds of miles, but had 

 never been saddled for a race, and her owner had 

 long lost any faith in her. It was the Saturday 

 before the races when Lord Eglinton arrived at 

 Doncaster. In the course of the afternoon he 

 and a friend looked in at Dawson's stables, when 

 the trainer proudly led the way to a box where 

 stood a fine lengthy bay mare in brilliant condition. 

 He introduced this maiden three-year-old to his 

 visitors as the winner of the forthcoming St. 

 Leger. It was then explained to Lord Eglinton 

 that the mare was his despised Blue Bonnet, and 

 that she had been so tried as to make the great 

 race a certainty for her. Her trial had been 

 remarkable, although in these days the argument 

 drawn from it would perhaps be not so confident. 

 The trainer reported that he had twice tried the 

 mare with the six-year-old Charles XII, winner 

 of the St. Leger of 1839, ^^^ ^t that time one 

 of the best horses in England. In receipt of 2 st., 

 she had beaten the horse on each occasion, and 

 the trainer declared that no other three-year-old 

 in the country was capable of such a performance. 

 Lord Eglinton was so impressed with this account 

 that he repaired to the betting-rooms after dinner 

 to back his St. Leger candidate. From the 

 notorious Crockford he took £10,000 to £150, 

 and before he left the rooms he booked another 



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