THE RACE-HORSE. 73 



At the commencement of the last century, when public races had been 

 established in the neighbourhood of almost every large town, and when many 

 of them were especially patronised by royalty, although there was sufficient 

 opportunity given for the value of the young stock to be exhibited, or at least 

 guessed at, tho contest principally lay among the adults. The kind of contest 

 which was best calculated to try the real worth of the horse, and to promote 

 the actual improvement of the breed, was one of mingled speed and endur- 

 ance. They were mostly heats for distances of three or four miles. Occa- 

 sionally they were for greater lengths, even extending to six or eight miles ; 

 and in one case, when the Duke of Queensberry's Dash beat Lord Barrymore's 

 Highlander, twelve miles. This, however, was cruel and absurd, and never 

 established itself among the best supporters of the turf. 



Four miles constituted the average distance, not only for king's plates, but 

 for simple matches ; and the horses did not sleep on their way. There were 

 occasionally as extraordinary bursts of speed as are now witnessed in our mile- 

 and-a-half races. 



Did the horses of those days come to any extraordinary harm ? Did they ruin 

 themselves by the exertion of one day, and appear no more ? The anonymous 

 writer of a most interesting and valuable work " A Comparative View of the 

 English Racer and Saddle Horse during the Last and Present Centuries" men- 

 tions a horse called Exotic, that was on the turf eleven years. " We do not 

 know," says our author, " how many times he started during this period, but in 

 the course of it he won eighteen times. In his seventh year on the turf he won 

 a race at Peterborough consisting of four heats of four miles each." 



" Four horses were handicapped by Dr. Bellyse at Newcastle-under-Lyne 

 Sir John Egerton's Astbury, Mr. Milton's Handel, Sir W. Wynne's Tarragon, 

 and Sir Thomas Stanley's Cedric. The following was the result : Of the first 

 three heats there was no winner, Tarragon and Handel being each time nose and 

 nose, and, although Astbury was stated to have been third in the first heat, yet 

 he was so nearly on a level with the others, that there was a difficulty in placing 

 him as such. After the second heat, the steward requested two other gentlemen 

 to look with him steadily as they came, to try to decide in favour of one of 

 them, but it was impossible to do so. In the third dead heat Tarragon and 

 Handel had struggled with each other until they reeled about as if they were 

 drunk, and could scarcely carry their riders to the scales. Astbury, who had 

 lain by after the first heat, then came out and won. The annals of the turf 

 cannot produce another such contest, founded on a thorough knowledge of the 

 horses, their ages, and their previous running*." 



" In 1737, Black Chance, at five years old, won a plate at Durham, carrying 

 10 st. With the same weight he won the Ladies' plate at York, in that year. 

 In 1738, he won the King's plate at Guildford, beating several horses. He 

 won the plate also at Salisbury, at Winchester, at Lewes, and at Lincoln five 

 King's plates in one season, and every race four miles and contested. The 

 same horse was in the field in 1744, and he walked over for the annual plate at 

 Farnden.f" 



What are our racers now ? They are speedier. That it would be folly to deny. 



They are longer, lighter, but still muscular, although shorn of much of their 

 pride in this respect. They are as beautiful creatures as the eye would wish to 

 gaze on, but the greater part of them give in before half the race is run ; and out 



* Nimrod on the Chase, the Road, and the of many of the best running horses of that 



Turf, p. 169. day. It was said, that, in all probability, he 



*( About the year 1748, Mr. Fenwick's gained to his owner more money than any 



Match'em was in his glory. He was not only horse in the world. He ultimately died at 



celebrated as a racer himself, but he was father thirty -three years of age. 



