TRAINERS AND TRAINING 37 



that Bay Middleton was one of the most upright 

 ever seen, that anyone who had suggested the 

 possibiHty of his coming down the hill at Epsom 

 would have been scorned as a person ignorant of 

 the first elements of judgment ; but he won the 

 Derby with the utmost ease. Pilgrimage I barely 

 recollect, but I have seen a picture of her, in 

 the possession of her excellent trainer, my friend 

 Joseph Cannon, which I am assured is an exact 

 likeness, and she was incredibly upright ; all the 

 same, as the Calendar shows, she ran a good 

 second for the Oaks, beaten a bare length, though 

 it is true that she broke down on that occasion. 

 Horses with straight pasterns are the most likely 

 to go wrong from sprain, especially of course 

 when the ground is hard. I was brought up to 

 believe that one of the first things to look for 

 in a horse were good back ribs, and was greatly 

 astonished one day to hear a very distinguished 

 owner, and an undoubted judge, remarking that 

 he had no objection to a little slackness in the 

 back ribs, as he had often found such a conform- 

 ation was an accompaniment of speed. From 

 this it will be perceived that horses go in all 

 shapes, or nearly in all, for it is indispensable 

 that they must stand straight and true. I once 

 had in my charge an animal whose only defect 



