THE NOBLE ART OF BACKING WINNERS 217 



He won next time out easily, and the next 

 also, and I did very well, getting over 

 ;^400 out of him. 



Another matter which tends to upset 

 form is the fact that plenty of horses who 

 can act on the hard ground are helpless 

 in the mud, and vice versa ; and whilst some 

 can act on give-and-take courses like Epsom 

 and Brighton, others can't get downhill, 

 owing to faulty shoulder placement. 

 Leicester is a funny course — switchback- 

 railway sort of business, and quite a pitfall 

 for backers. If a horse performs well 

 there once, he will generally do the same 

 again. Rustlcus, who captured two very 

 rich handicaps there, but could not win 

 elsewhere for love or money, was a 

 striking illustration of this. 



I give steeplechasing a decided pre- 

 ference over flat-racing from a sporting 

 point of view, though it is more risky 



