HAS THE THOROUGHBRED IMPROVED? 225 



CHAPTER XXII. 



THE RACEHORSE AS HE WAS AND IS. 



Has the thoroughbred improved ? — Reasons for affirmative answer ; Admiral Rous's 

 opinion — Flyers and stayers of our day enumerated — Horses past and present 

 contrasted : Bay Middleton v. Vespasian, Blue Gozun, Prince Charlie, and 

 Green Sleeves — The work of the present day more continuous — Tables of 

 number of horses and distances run — Increase in numbers and foreign com- 

 petition — The press on Aleps defeat by Avoival — Satisfactory result of this 

 examination — Increased size of the racehorse demonstrated — Fallacy of the 

 time-test — Improvement in hunters and steeplechasers. 



One vexed question often debated, and which it appears is 

 as fiercely contested as ever on any and every favourable 

 opportunity, relates to the condition of the English racehorse. 

 Has he deteriorated in speed, size, or stamina ? Is he no 

 longer the superior animal he was in the last, or in the earlier 

 part of the present, century ? On this subject I shall add to 

 my ow^n ideas, the views of those, in my opinion, the most 

 trustworthy authorities to follow ; a plan that may lielp to 

 clear up doubts which must of necessity exist in connection 

 with things that happened so many years ago. For in the 

 comparison of the merits of the horse in the last century, 

 when but veiy brief and imperfect accounts were kept of 

 their doings, with those of the horse in the present day, 

 much must be conjectural ; yet these accounts if carefully 

 studied afford a mass of interesting information, and properly 

 collated, give us, if not a just estimate of the merits of both, 

 yet an approximation to it, little short of the truth itself 

 and sufficient for our purpose. 



Q 



