AN UNFASHIONABLY BRED WINNER. 135 



surely be an assignable cause ; and if it is not wholly attri- 

 butable to the want of exercise, as I have before suggested, 

 it may be found in the different quality of the food, or in a 

 combination of both. 



But to return to the more immediate subject, the purchasing 

 of yearlings — it may be concluded as pretty certain that 

 large horses fat will sell, when small and poor ones will 

 not, except at a reduced and inadequate figure. Now as the 

 latter often turn out the best, common sense leads one to 

 choose them in preference to the others. People are to be 

 found that will give ;^ 1,000 or iJ"2,ooo for anything, however 

 shaped, that is brother or sister to a Derby winner, who would 

 not give ;^ioo for one much better shaped, less fashionably 

 bred — and more likely, so far as experience teaches, to turn 

 out much better than the high priced one. How many 

 could I not point to that have been sold, like The Rover and 

 Maximilian} for fabulous sums, that have proved utterly 

 useless, never having won a race. On the other hand, of 

 unfashionably bred ones. The Hero was sold for ^^150 and 

 turned out the best horse in England. Elcho and St. Giles 

 were as indifferently bred, and sold for 100 guineas and 

 60 guineas respectively, both really good horses over a dis- 

 tance of ground. Even as I am writing, we have an extra- 

 ordinary instance of the superiority of a badly bred horse 

 over those of good pedigree. I allude to the breeding of 

 Jester, who is, without doubt, the most unfashionably bred 

 horse in the world : his sire, Jllerry Maker, could not go 

 fast enough to beat a hack, and his dam was a mare whose 

 parentage was not thought worth preserving — in fact he is 

 not proved to be thoroughbred. I have before mentioned 

 his victories, which need not be repeated here. 



^ Since this was written Maximilian has proved a winner. 



