REMINISCENCES OF SONEPORE. 167 



planter's life with a health and strength which will give evi- 

 dence of itself in November 1885." 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

 YEAR 1885. 



In 1885 the Jaintpore stable had become a very big one. 

 In addition to Mr. Gasper's strong string, consisting of Regula- 

 tor, Paragraph, His Lordship, Slander, First Try, The Shrew and 

 Avenger, it had Sting, Aimee, Triplets, Pollio, Noorong, Ned 

 Kelly and Thunderstorm of Mr. Rugnath's ; and in July it 

 was joined by Mr. Moore's lot, Rhesus, First Water, 

 Prospect, Nulquine, Red Deer and May Queen, for Gwatkin 

 had left Buhrowlie and gone to take charge of the Durbangah 

 Raj estates in Purneah. Mr. Mullick, a sporting young Cal- 

 cutta Bengali, had also with Harry Abbott, Sir Greville and 

 two Kernaul bred colts, called Greased Lightning and Piece- 

 goods. Very few of these though ran at Sonepore, as sky 

 races were still in favor there, and Lucknow and Calcutta 

 seemed better goods. The stable was heavily hit that year, 

 Clarke went down to Australia to buy a couple of clinkers, 

 and secured two very fine maidens, Conningsby and Gohanna, 

 but he neglected to insure them. The steamer experienced 

 bad weather in mid voyage, and both horses contracted lung 

 disease and died ; the first-named cost five hundred guineas. 

 In June died Gilbert Nicolay's good old nag, Red Gauntlet, who, 

 since Arthur Butler first bought him in 1869 for Bob Hills, 

 had been a steady source of income, both to his owners in the 

 way of purses and the Sonepore stewards in entrance money ; 

 he was shot as he had got very infirm and mangey. In July we, 

 in Behar, heard with heartfelt sympathy of the death in Cal- 

 cutta, of one who had been a dear friend to many of us, and 

 whose horses, trained mostly at Lall Serryah, had often got 

 their heads in front at S.onepore and Mozufferpore. The 



