68 REMINISCENCES OF SONEPORE. 



head, it was an intensely exciting finish. Then Detrimental, 

 the favorite, with seven pounds more than Rocket, won the 

 Doomraon Cup cleverly, by a length. 



Then came the Behar Cup Handicap, for Arabs, the 

 talent spotted Sunbeam to win, with Akbar next, and a pretty 

 race it was, Sunbeam winning, Akbar second. The knowing 

 ones picked out Octavia to win the Hutwa Cup, and she 

 won in a canter. They backed Mayfair, and she won, so that 

 had not the heavy betting race, Melbourne's, been a fluke, 

 punters would have had a good day, but the gilt was most 

 effectually taken off the gingerbread, in the first and great 

 race. 



On the Fifth Day, the winning Handicaps had all to be 

 made. Some fifty horses were handicapped, and very 

 well the Stewards did their task, after hours of hard work. 

 It is a very easy thing to pick a hole in a handicap, which 

 has been very difficult to make. In the first class Handicap, 

 Favorite met Melbourne on three pounds worse terms 

 than when she beat him before ; while Miss Trelawney, and 

 Octavia, were both in on worse terms. Miss Trelawney 

 was, however, supposed to be a regular sticker after the 

 pace had been good for a mile and a half, but Melbourne, 

 with Challoner up, won easily from Favorite, Miss Trelawney 

 handy. For the second class handicap, Sunbeam got only a 

 few pounds from the walers Bellona and Delphos, both fast 

 and fit. The gallant son of the desert beat the latter easily, and 

 made a good fight of it from the distance with the other, but 

 the waler mare wore him down, and won pretty easily at last, 

 by half a length. For another handicap, Variation had a 

 walk over. For the Hack Handicap, Blackwatch was beaten 

 off, in slow time. And for the Arab three quarter mile Handi- 

 cap, with good entries, acceptances and lotteries, Longhope, 

 the favorite, beat Eclipse by half a length, but was beaten by 

 3 neck on the post, by Rising Star, whose drawer in the 



