1^8 ON RUNNING HORSES 



and fize, the other, from his inferiority in thofe 

 refpe6ls only, barely able to beat a good lea- 

 ther-plater. Exceptions to the general rule we 

 know muft occafionally occur, in this as well 

 as other cafes, but the average advantage will 

 ever be found on the fide of fymmetry. Were 

 fhapes equal, or the difproportion not over 

 great, every fportfman would furely prefer a 

 pedigree of the old blood, in which were as 

 few deviations as pollible from thofe grand and 

 genuine fountains, the Darley and Godolphin 

 Arabians ; but for capital (hape, I would 

 always overlook either a Sampfon crofs, or a 

 large fprinkling of new or unfafhionable 

 blood. 



There is a difficulty in the cafe of covering 

 flallions, not eafy of folution, or perhaps only 

 an exception to the general rule ; fome of our 

 thorough-lhaped and befl bred racers have to- 

 tally failed in breeding their like. Such was 

 the cafe with Gimcrack, and in a confiderable 

 degree with Shark ; perhaps this latter horfe 

 had few or no thorough-{haped mares, and his 

 fire, Marils., afterwards fo famous, was in no 

 repute as a flallion at firft, and there were many 

 of his get running upon the foreft. Shark 

 hung in hand at Tatterfal's, and was fold^t laft 

 for about one hundred and twenty pounds, to 

 go to Virginia. I liked that horfe and his pedi- 

 gree, and was prevented by accident from pur- 



chafmg 



