THE TURF 



very moderate animal, was only 3 min. 14 sees, in 

 doing the distance. These instances will probably 

 suffice. "The watch" may possibly be of some 

 service in showing whether a two-year-old has speed, 

 whether he can cover five furlongs in such time as to 

 suggest his ability to race with good prospects ; but it 

 has been found in many years' experience that a care- 

 fully-chosen trial horse will give the same assurance. 

 As an almost universal rule, to take (or attempt to 

 take) the time of a race and to draw deductions from 

 it is an utterly futile proceeding. 



SPEED AND STAYING 



Speed is the first requisite of the racehorse, his 

 value depending largely upon the distance of ground 

 over which he can maintain his best pace, that is to 

 say, whether or not he is a stayer. A good definition 

 of a " stayer " is much needed, and for want of a better 

 he may perhaps be described as a horse who can 

 keep on galloping for a long way when fully extended. 

 Many, perhaps the majority of, racehorses have a flash 

 of speed with which to finish a race — "one effort in 

 them," as the phrase runs, and it is among the first 

 essentials of jockeyship to know precisely when this 

 effort should be demanded. There are not a few 

 horses that cannot fairly "get" even five furlongs, and 

 among these very much depends upon the selection 

 of the course, whether it is easy, as down the hill 



