QUEENS OF THE TURF 45 



the following spring. It is seldom indeed that one sees a great race mare 

 vindicate herself in the paddock as well as upon the racecourse, and La 

 Carabine has been no exception to the rule. It is true that her mates were 

 chosen somewhat unfortunately, but it is doubtful whether a mare who was 

 what may be termed "trained to rags" could ever have produced anything 

 approaching herself in racing merit. Her quality may yet be kept alive by 

 one of her daughters, for her pedigree is unsurpassable. And now we have 

 arrived at the undoubted, undisputed Queen of the Turf. You can call her 

 the Empress of mares, a worthy consort to occupy the throne alongside of 

 Carbine himself. This is Wakeful. 



A bay filly, she was dropped in 1896 at St. Albans, and her breeder 

 was Mr. W. R. Wilson, whose racing career was then at its zenith. She was 

 by Trenton, the sire of Quiver, from Insomnia, by Robinson Crusoe, her dam 

 Nightmare, by Panic from Evening Star (imp.), the dam also of that fine stayer 

 Commotion. The nomenclature, you will observe, is distinctly good, being 

 suggestive of at least one of the parents all through, and yet each name is 

 simple, and there is no straining after effect. 



As a two-year-old. Wakeful, who was a great thriver, and who laid on 

 condition very rapidly, was given a "rough up" across the common at St. 

 Albans, with several others of the same age as herself. Revenue, a subsequent 

 winner of the Melbourne Cup, was one of them, but the little mare ran right 

 away from them all. It was noticeable, and was the cause of some mirth in the 

 stable, that Wakeful's rider on that occasion had never been guilty before of 

 winning a race either in public or in private, and I believe he has never since 

 equalled his performance of that morning. This is manifest proof of the 

 tremendous superiority of the mare. Unfortunately, or fortunately, whichever 

 way you like to take it. Wakeful went lame after the gallop, somewhere in her 

 quarters, and it was deemed advisable to turn her out. A great difficulty, 

 however presented itself to her owner, in that she was such a contented, good- 

 constitutioned little thing that she would grow as fat as butter upon the "smell 

 of an oiled rag." And meanwhile Mr. W. R. Wilson passed out Westwards, 

 and the stud being disposed of, the bay fell into the possession of Mr. Leslie 

 McDonald. Mr. McDonald made no attempt to get her fit until she had 

 passed her fourth birthday, and then she made her debut in the Doona Trial 

 Stakes at Caulfield, in September. Quite unexpectedly, and with no money 

 invested upon her, she ran second, and a week or two later, she was unplaced 

 in the Paddock Handicap at Flemington. She was now most judiciously 

 laid by until the Autumn, when, in a field of twenty-one sprinters, and 

 first favourite, at fours to one, she finished four lengths ahead of any- 

 thing in the Oakleigh Plate, five furlongs and a half. At Flemington, 

 three weeks subsequent to this triumph, and carrying a ten-pound penalty, 

 with only five to two betted against her, she won the Newmarket from 

 a field of eighteen — six furlongs. From this time onwards her light 

 burned with a steady luminosity to the very end. In all, she took 

 part in thirty-five races, of which she actually won twenty-two, was 

 second in nine, third in three, and was unplaced on but two occasions. 

 She was not placed, as we have noticed, on her second appearance in public, 

 in the Paddock Handicap, and she was fifth in the Melbourne Cup, which was 

 won by her stable companion, Revenue, a good five-year-old gelding who was 

 unsound, and had been resuscitated, and carried but seven stone ten. Wake- 

 ful, a five-year-old mare at the time, had eight stone ten. We need not tabu- 

 late the wins of this truly marvellous mare, but here is a list of her principal 

 victories: — The Oakleigh Plate (5i furs.). The Newmarket Handicap (6 



