22 MALTON. 



a few races during the summer l^y sucli distances 

 as twenty lengths, she was a very hot favourite, 

 the public backing her as their wont is when 

 they fancy one strongly, whilst her owner had 

 the heavy stake of £3000 on her. It was a very 

 strong run race, and she was only able to get 

 fourth to Imperieuse, the winner of the One 

 Thousand, who was a good deal fancied by John 

 Scott. On the following Friday she won the 

 Park Hill in a hand canter. It was then custom- 

 ary, at Doncaster, to hoist the time in which the 

 races were run on the telegraph board, and when 

 the time for the Park Hill was found to be less 

 than that in which the Leger had been run, there 

 was a good deal of angry comment. 



The fact of the difference in the time of these 

 races merely goes to show how utterly fallacious is 

 the time test. The St. Leger of 1857 was a very 

 strong run race, and in all strong run races the 

 horses finish slow. The best time is always 

 shown in a race that is run at a moderate pace, 

 as then horses finish full of running, and are 

 galloping faster up to the finish. It is the opinion 

 of one jockey who rode in Blink Bonny's Leger, 

 that she owed her defeat to the way in which the 

 race was run, and had they gone a little slower 

 for the first mile he thinks she would have w^on. 

 After this year the Doncaster executive discon- 

 tinued the foolish practice of posting the time of 

 the races ; and it may be remarked in passing, 



