202 REMINISCENCES OF SONEPORE. 



Gilead for Lower Bengal, for Spray, ridden by Rowland, won the 

 Beck Cup, although she had slipped up and fallen the same 

 morning in the Bettiah Cup, for which she had been heavily 

 backed. This ended an exceedingly good day's sport. On the 

 last day, racing was equally exciting, a grand struggle between 

 Charlton, Victor and Exbank resulted in a half length win 

 for the first named, from Victor, with the other close up. 

 Harlequin again beat the moderate lot of Countrybreds present, 

 and then that cur The Ghost, ridden by Ikey Barton, upset a 

 terribly big pot in the Jaintpore Purse. " What am I to do ?" 

 asked Ikey. " The minute they're off, crawl all over him if you 

 can," said Harry, " and let the brute think he's running away 

 with you," and he did it too ; with reins loose, Ikey wobbled 

 about like a blancmange on a dish. The Ghost had never had 

 such an experiece, in a blue funk he ran away from start to 

 finish, and only when he got past the post, ten lengths ahead 

 of the rest, did Ikey sit down and let the horse discover he was 

 after all carrying a horseman. Gold, Baby Canning's pretty 

 mare, won Jessop's Cup, and Ross-Palmer's Saleyard finished 

 the meeting by winning the Planters' Gazette Purse. No 

 big losers or winners, though Mr. Charles did not go away 

 with empty pockets, still the purses were well divided, and 

 everyone was satisfied. The Cups this year were beauties, 

 the majority of them from Messrs. Walter Locke & Co. 



Ay de mi alhama said the Moorish king when finally 

 banished from the well loved portals of his magnificent palace, 

 and with equal fervour, though in the English language, did 

 the visitors to Sonepore give way to lamentations when the 

 curtain was pulled down by the Stewards of 1889 after as 

 successful a meeting as was ever held at the Goodwood of 

 India. Socially it was enjoyable in the extreme, and racingly 

 by no means a failure, in spite of the fixture clashing with 

 Lucknow, and that only a few horses represented the large 

 Chumparun stable generally so well to the front. The major- 



