THE TURF 113 



Neither can much be said of the prowess 

 of the most noble Marquises of Tavistock 

 and Worcester (now Duke of Beaufort), 

 who, though good and honourable men, 

 will never increase their patrimony by 

 racing. In short, since the Duke of Cleve- 

 land has quitted their ranks, our sporting 

 marquises, with the exception of Lord 

 Exeter, do not shine on the racecourse. 



But we cannot say this of the noble earls, 

 amongst whom are some of the best judges 

 of racing of past or present days. We will 

 begin with the Earl of Egremont ; and not 

 only by the rule of seniores priores^ but 

 looking upon him as one of the main con- 

 tributors to the legitimate end of racing 

 the improvement of the breed of horses his 

 lordship having always paid regard to what 

 is termed stout, or honest, blood. Lord 

 Egremont bred Gohanna, by Mercury, by 

 Eclipse, and purchased Whalebone from the 

 Duke of Grafton (the old Prunella sort), 

 whose stock have been invaluable to the 

 turf, and will continue to be so for many 

 years to come, although objections are 

 made to their size made amends for, in 

 great measure, by their symmetry. His 

 H 



