CHAPTER XXXII 



WHAT PRETTY POLLY WAS 



Her Trial — A Successful Nap — The Hurricane Rush — Her Trip to 

 Paris — Gold Cup Debacle — Mr Sol Joel's Gloves — He buys Poly- 

 melus — The Cambridgeshire Coup — Troutbeck's Leger — How we 

 tried to buy Velocity 



While on the topic of Spearmint, mention must be 

 made of Pretty Polly, with whom he was tried. This 

 was another triumph for the Express and '' The Scout," 

 for I can claim that I was the only prophet on a daily 

 paper in London to give Pretty Polly as a definite 

 selection for the first race she won. I had been down 

 to Newmarket and had heard of a gallop she had with 

 Delaunay, then known as the Pet Colt. Mr Gilpin 

 told me all about it afterwards. They had taken 

 Pretty Polly out many a time, but could never get her 

 to sweat. One Saturday morning they tried her with 

 the Pet Colt, at a difference of about ten pounds, it was 

 said, and she beat him a length, breaking out copiously 

 until there was something to get off her when they 

 took to rubbing her down. Mr Gilpin immediately 

 wired for Major Loder — they " had something rather 

 extraordinary," he thought. At all events, these latter 

 details were not heard until afterwards. WTiat I am 

 dealing with is the tipping success with regard to Pretty 

 Polly. I set her out in big letters and of course went 

 to Sandown to see her run. At one time they offered 

 a hundred to eight against her, but she finished up 

 at about half these odds. I was not over-confident, 

 but still did not back anything else, being content 



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