2,1 6 THE RACING WORLD 



ping ; like a born horseman, a handicapper is born 

 not made ; he must be a devotee of the sport, have 

 a natural love for horses, be familiar with their 

 breeding and performances, must possess the keenest 

 of eyes and the shrewdest powers of observation to 

 note what is being done in a race. He should also 

 have a judicial mind, be incapable of partiality, and 

 possessed of a memory sufficiently retentive to keep 

 within its scope all the principal equine battles he 

 may have witnessed during a series of years. Great 

 quality, however, as a most retentive memory is, 

 I doubt whether the power or capacity of discarding 

 from the mind actions or events which it is best 

 on the whole to forget is not really of equal 

 importance. The more familiar he is with the 

 peculiarities of each racehorse the more expert will 

 the handicapper become, for he must take into 

 consideration at times their weight-carrying capa- 

 bilities ; their liking for good, hard, medium, soft, 

 or heavy going ; their ability to make the best 

 show with a light or heavy weight on their back ; 

 their condition, and, above all, their stamina, 

 remembering that horses which have shown a pre- 

 dilection for a five furlong course may possibly stay 

 six furlongs, but are almost invariably beaten before 

 they have gone a mile ; that horses whose best 

 course is six furlongs may be trusted as a rule up 



