206 TRAINING AND RACING. 



owner should have made up his mind as to what he 

 intends doing with them during the ensuing season ; 

 whether, if he be in the Bengal Presidency, to run them 

 early in October at Dehra Doon, to wait for some 

 particular meeting later on, or to commence at Dehra, 

 with his animals partly fit, and gradually gallop them 

 into condition, as they work down country from one 

 meeting to another. The latter is the usual plan adopt- 

 ed, as the different meetings are fixed to suit this 

 arrangement, while, by the time Calcutta is reached in 

 due course, the horses will have had nearly six months' 

 work, and ought, by that time, to be as fit as possible. 

 The racing season on this side of India commences with 

 the Dehra Doon meeting in the beginning of October ; 

 immediately after that the Umballa one comes off, then 

 those of Meerut, Sonepore (which is a moveable fixture), 

 and Calcutta at the end of December. After that come 

 Lucknow, Meerut, and Umballa spring meetings. This 

 is the usual programme, while the smaller ones, such 

 as Dacca, Mozufferpore, &c, are fixed so as to suit the 

 larger ones. 



The race-course at Dehra Doon is a hilly one, and 

 it takes time to "get the hill into a horse," as all fre- 

 quenters of that lovely valley know well. An instance 

 of this was strikingly shown by the moderate Malabar, 

 who trained on that course for two seasons, won the 

 Dehra Derby very easily with a good field behind him. 

 The Doon has the great advantage of a good climate, in 

 which to train horses during the beginning of the train- 

 ing season, but the race-course is a dangerous one for 

 animals .with not the best of forelegs, as it is often very 



