EARLY TRIALS. 141 



two or three of the foremost ruffians, and made good his retreat 

 to the weighing paddock, while Goater and Phenix were 

 escorted thither by a body of friends and police. Then, after 

 the rider had passed the scale, there uprose a pigmy jockey, 

 a second David, ready for a fight with the many-headed Philis- 

 tine, and said, ' Come on, Jem ; trust yourself to me, and Til 

 see you safe off the course ! ' 



There were only some two or three thousand of the greatest 

 scum of the earth howling for blood. 



Offer declined with thanks. 



To return to the mimic warfare of the trial ground. The 

 two two-year-olds of whom Oceanic thus easily disposed were 

 by no means to be despised. They were not seUing platers. 

 Tafna had won the Lincoln Cup, and subsequently won the 

 Grand Criterium at Dieppe, and Dora in the autumn was second 

 for the Criterion, beaten a head by Prestonpans, and third in 

 the Dewhurst Plate to Grace Cup and Ambassadress. So 

 Jennings was left fully master of the position, for the ground 

 on the July course was very deep that year, and Oceanie, being 

 no easy mare for a boy to ride (she was a desperately hard puller), 

 Phenix was substituted for her in the Cup, which he won easily 

 by a length, and gave a further taste of his quality on the 

 Thursday when he defeated Silvio by a head at 2 lbs. in the 

 Bunbury Stakes. 



It was then intended to reserve Oceanie for her autumn 

 engagements ; these, however, she was unable to fulfil, owing 

 to an accident which occurred to her on the Heath, and which 

 seems to have marred her future career, for she ran but once 

 at three years under rather curious circumstances. 



It was for the All-aged Stakes in the Newmarket Houghton, 

 1880. Douranee and Hackthorpe were the other runners. 

 The French mare looked unfit and rough in her coat ; she had, 

 moreover, as much iron as her mouth would hold in the way 

 of snaffle and gag, as it was supposed she would do something 

 dreadful on her way to the post ; so she started at four to one, 

 while six to four was taken about each of the others. Goater 



