74 EARLY RACING DAYS. 



whether a stud owned by Lord George would 

 have attained that excellence, or afforded him as 

 much pleasure as it has to the present Duke, more 

 especially if Bay Middleton had been stationed 

 there. It was Lord George's hope, when he bought 

 Bay Middleton, that the horse might be able to 

 win the Ascot Cup as a four-year-old in 1837; 

 but one of his fore - legs, which had been very 

 suspicious - looking when he ran his last race, 

 failed in training, and though entered for the 

 Cup, to which there were forty subscribers, he 

 could not start. He was then sent, as I have 

 already said, to join his Lordship's stud at Don- 

 caster. Nothing could exceed Lord George's dis- 

 appointment when Bay Middleton failed as a 

 stallion. The enormous amount of forfeits paid 

 in produce stakes for his stock would have dis- 

 couraged any one else, while to some it would 

 have been absolutely fatal. But Lord George 

 was too firm of purpose to be daunted or turned 

 aside by any disappointment. The only effect it 

 had was to make him patronise more successful 

 stallions at any cost. However clever and prac- 

 tical a breeder or owner of thoroughbreds may be, 

 the uncertainty attending speculation in racing 

 stock is always likely to upset his calculations. 

 Although Lord George possessed two game and 

 fairly good horses in Elis and Venison, he could 

 not be satisfied without investing 4000 guineas in 

 buying Bay Middleton. Simultaneously he sold 



