PERFORMANCES OF HEAVY-WEIGHT RACEHORSES. 195 



hours. "The squire" rode list, and his saddle may be 

 put down as another 14 lbs. Thus we see twenty-eight 

 horses carrying twelve stone four miles ; and of the 

 number, six were only three-year-olds, one of which did the 

 distance in eight minutes fifty seconds, whilst some of the 

 older horses took ten minutes fifteen seconds — though the 

 fastest time — eight minutes — was that of the five-year-old 

 Tranby. We could scarcely require a stronger proof than 

 this is, of the capability of thoroughbred horses to do long 

 distances under heavy weights. But again, take a case in 

 training, and we find it the same. " Druid," in his " Scott 

 and Seabright," tells us that " Voltigeur could sweat week 

 after week v/ith 12 st. laid across his back, and quite deserves 

 his (the trainer's) most glowing eulogy, "■ his legs and feet, my 

 lord, are like liiron' " 



But let us examine the running of some of our old horses, 

 commencing with their two-year-old-raccs, and see what 

 weight they carried then and after, and with what sort of 

 success. Rataplan, Fisherman, Chandos and Vespasian all 

 carried, as two-year-olds, 8 st. 7 lbs., and neither then nor 

 after did the weight hurt them : for we find Chandos ran 

 no less than thirty times, carrying 1 1 st. and up to 14 st. 

 5 lbs., and winning with the latter weight, besides many 

 other races at a little less. Rataplan, over long and severe 

 courses carrying different weights up to 10 st. 4 lb., ran 

 no less than seventy-one races, winning thirty of them. 

 To this list hundreds may be added, but I shall merely say 

 that Vespasian (with legs anything but likely to stand 

 a preparation) carried 10 st. 4 lb., and won the Chesterfield 

 Cup, besides many other races. FisJierman s subsequent per- 

 formances were astonishing, showing that heavy weights did 

 him no harm. He ran 136 races and won ninety-six, over 



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