218 " MY KINGDOM FOR A HORSE ! " 



The next salient point of that day was that I saw 

 Galopin for the first time. He was brought into the 

 paddock to accustom him, as far as possible, to a crowd ; 

 and he looked like anything but the great champion that 

 he was destined to become. He was a medium-sized colt, 

 of no great substance or bone, but with great quality. 

 He was in a black sweat saving for lather so nearly 

 mad was he with excitement ; but with him and all the 

 best of his sons this condition was nothing akin to fear 

 but simply demonstrated highly-strung nerves which 

 when the time for action came carried them through 

 many a close struggle. 



Such, however, was Galopin on that day, and it would 

 have passed the prescience of any prophet who ever lived 

 to anticipate then the coming of Galopin's sons, St Simon, 

 Donovan, Galliard and other great ones, or his daughters, 

 of whom Galicia, dam of Bayardo and Lemberg, is the 

 most recently famous. 



I returned to town from Newmarket with a rooted 

 belief that Claremont would win the Derby, and forthwith 

 took steps to acquire shares in the Stud Company Limited 

 (Cobham). This proved to be easy. I was invited down 

 to the city, when the secretary, named Kendrick, received 

 me with much courtesy and full financial explanations. 

 I did not understand the latter but soon invested 1000, 

 to begin with, and felt positive joy in being part owner 

 of Blair Athol. Naturally I took an early opportunity to 

 go down to see the Stud, and this time met the manager, 

 Mr Richard Bell, who as a showman was unrivalled. It 

 was a really happy day, and there was a superb chestnut 

 colt foal (own brother to Lady Love), by Blair Athol, out 

 of Vergiss-mein-Nicht, by the Flying Dutchman. Looking 

 at this colt, both Mr Bell and I became more than ever 

 convinced that Lady Love would win the Oaks, and there 

 was no secret about Lord Falmouth's preference of her to 

 his other filly, Spinaway, who had won the 1000 Guineas. 



During the week before Epsom Sir Charles Dodsworth 

 came up to town, and wished to make the best of his time, 



