I04 THE RACING CHRONOMETER 



believed in nor absolutely ignored. Now, the most 

 suitable person to hit off the happy medium is the 

 racing expert, who takes into consideration not only 

 the state of the course, but also the time, as well 

 as the condition and dispositions of the horses. 



Granted that the weights are level, the horse 

 who can complete a given distance in the fewest 

 number of seconds is the fastest animal, but only 

 theoretically. Practical racing men have long 

 realised that horses run differently, more especially 

 on courses they display a liking for. So in reality 

 the "shifty" thoroughbred is mainly responsible 

 for the antipathy which Englishmen feel to the 

 racing chronometer. We are open to admit that 

 the stop-watch is not necessarily a criterion of a 

 horse's utmost speed. But those who are inclined 

 to disregard minutes and seconds must not forget 

 that tip-top time was never made by a bad horse. 

 On the other hand, a high-class Derby winner 

 might run a slow race, simply because the class 

 behind him was inferior and did not compel him 

 to gallop at his full speed. The time-keeper in 

 England is so little heeded that otherwise well- 

 informed race-goers are often unable to answer 

 this question : " What horse won the Derby in 

 the quickest time ? " • Lots of people who cannot 

 recollect the answer to so simple a question can 

 easily explain that Sir Hugo was not equal to 

 St. Angelo in a mile. 



The Colonials very wisely attach great im- 

 portance to the racing chronometer. This is 

 easily accounted for by their excellent times, 

 largely due to a favourable climate. We must 



