RACEGOERS AND RACEGOING 271 



assembled at breakfast had a not unnatural curi- 

 osity to learn what had happened. The more or 

 less noble lord was the last to come down. By his 

 plate was a pile of letters, and presently he came 

 to the epistle from his trainer. 



" Ah ! " he said, when he had read it, " that's 

 very bad ! I thought I should have won that 

 handicap." 



" No good ? " someone inquired. 



" No," replied the owner. " He wasn't asked 

 to do much, but he was badly beaten." 



" Shall you run ? " the host casually asked. 



" Oh, I suppose so ! I may as well. He won't 

 get any weight off if he's kept in the stable. But 

 he can have no chance." 



That seemed to settle the question ; however, the 

 colt was sent, started at " 100 to 8 others," and 

 won in a canter. A member of the party, who 

 was younger then than he is now, and had seen 

 less of racing, chanced to meet the trainer soon 

 after the jockey had weighed in, and observed that 

 the result must have rather astonished him. 



" Not at all, sir," the trainer answered ; " he 

 won his gallop handsomely, and I felt sure he 

 couldn't be beaten. It was good for him." 



Of course he had written the truth ; but the 

 owner, anxious for a price, had perceived that if 



