BACKERS AND BACKING 169 



the paddock again. " I heard that Aristasus was 

 very well and that his owner had a pony on." 



" By Jove ! " the other exclaims, " I wish I'd 

 known that ! He's a man who says very little, but 

 that little always means a lot. If he tells you that 

 a horse is well and that he has backed it — he bets 

 very seldom and very small — that is quite good 

 enough to go on. He's not the sort of fellow who 

 talks about ' certainties ' and * good things.' But 

 there really is a good thing for the next race. 

 Myrtle Grove can't be beat, if they'll only let us 

 back it." 



The merits of Myrtle Grove are, however, fully 

 recognised by those who have other horses engaged 

 in the race, and the mare is allowed to walk over, 

 while it is recognised that the Selling Handicap 

 which follows is an almost insoluble problem. 

 Puntington does not know what to do. " The 

 heads," someone tells him, are backing Ethel, and 

 he takes 50 to 15 about that. Then someone tells 

 him Bagatelle will win, and he has a tenner on 

 her. He is further advised " not to let Cockade 

 run loose as he will do much better than people 

 think," so he takes 100 to 12; and at the last 

 moment people are tumbling over each other to 

 back Blue Ridge, so that he thinks he must save 

 on him, and can only get 50 to 20. He is not far 



