426 HOBSE POKTEAITUEE. 



the manner in which he accomplished it, I have no doubt 

 of his capacity to make another one still faster. The rush 

 he made to beat the runner, when he found he was gain- 

 ing on him, was admirable. Should you handle him as 

 well in a race, as you have in this trial, I will certainly 

 have to award you a diploma. Get him out of the harness, 

 scrape him, straighten his hair, and have him walked till 

 he is cool and dry. You can now see the difference in 

 the appearance and feeling of the sweat, from that which 

 exuded through the pores at the commencement. If the 

 heats are broken, this fellow will make trouble for the rest 

 of them, as his bottom and condition are such that he can 

 trot mile heats all day ; and I would freely venture that 

 his third heat will be faster than either of those preced- 

 ing it. 



We will now see how Never Mind will go through with 

 the ordeal, and while you are jogging him, the boy can be 

 walking the runner. You will not start him till the repeat 

 the same as we did before. Twice round will be 

 sufficient for Never Mind to go slow, which you can drive 

 the reverse way of the track, making the last half of the 

 two miles at a pretty sharp pace, and when you come to 

 the stand you can open him for the length of the stretch. 

 Turn round at the three-quarter pole, come leisurely till 

 within a hundred yards of the stand, when you can go as 

 fast as you choose for the mile. You will, of course, have 

 to husband his powers for part of the time, and I would 

 advise taking him in hand for the first quarter, and again 

 on the third, so that he will feel like going at his best rate 

 through the stretches. Drive him so that you will feel 

 there is always something in reserve, though I should like 

 to see him hurried at the finish, and thus be able to judge 

 what kind of a brush he will be likely to make at the end 

 of a fast heat. 



That is pretty near " trotting-horse time" 2:28, and 



