2l8 



RACING. 



King John, and other sires, as they walked or trotted for hours 

 daily along the adjacent roads, led by a man on foot, or in some 

 cases by one mounted on a pony. As regards their brood- 

 mares, the old slovenly system which found favour in the eyes 

 of Sir Charles Bunbury, Sir Charles Monck, Admiral Harcourt, 

 Sir Tatton Sykes, and Thomas Dawson, gave place, under the 

 supervision of Joseph Dawson and Mr. Blenkiron, to greater 

 discrimination in the choice of food and to less exposure to rain 



' Many a foal wore the appearance of a yearling.' 



j^ji/jisorrj-'^ 



and weather. When the foal w^as born, Joseph Dawson was of 

 opinion that 'the best was not good enough for hmi.' How- 

 ever fecund a milker his mother might be, the founder and 

 owner of Bedford Lodge insisted that the foal should drink the 

 richest Alderney milk. Stimulating food of all kinds, suited to 

 his delicate digestion and tempting to his immature appetite, vvas 

 placed within his reach, the result being that, before Christmas 

 came round, many a foal gambolhng in the paddocks behind 

 Joseph Dawson's house wore the appearance of a yearling. 



