AND TIMES OF JOHN OSBORNE 175 



horse, when there was an autumn meeting at Chester, 

 and on this occasion he gave him 7 Ibs. There was 

 nothing very wonderful in the performance of " The 

 Black as a two-year-old, and he invariably finished 

 behind Blink Bonny when they met. One cannot, 

 however, overlook his running in the two-year-old race 

 at Ripon, not because there was any great merit in it, 

 although it was good, but we did not see such first-class 

 horses at these minor meetings. In the beaten lot there 

 were such horses as Underhand, Skirmisher, Hun- 

 tingdon, and Bel Esperanza. Although Saunterer's 

 career as a two-year-old was a chequered one, he was 

 backed at as little as 8 to 1 for Blink Bonny's Derby, 

 for which he ran very badly. He did not improve upon 

 this performance in the Gold Cup at Ascot, which 

 Skirmisher won, but his victorious career soon began. 

 Vedette, however, gave him a terrible beating in the 

 Great Yorkshire Stakes, when Skirmisher again proved 

 superior to him, as he also did in the Doncaster Stakes. 

 In the Cambridgeshire, on the other hand, his perform- 

 ance was considered a wonderful one, as he carried 

 8 st. 12 Ibs. home into third place a feat that only 

 pales before the brilliant running of Blue Gown in the 

 same event. Soon after this he was sold for 

 2150 guineas, and was subsequently known as " Mat's 

 Black." That Saunterer was a first-class horse there 

 can be no doubt, but he was not nearly so good as he 

 was generally believed to have been, and we altogether 

 incline to the opinion that brought poor Lord Drum- 

 lanrig to such terrible grief, that in a true run race he 

 did not stay more than two miles, although he did 

 manage to beat Fisherman, Ventre St. Gris, and 

 Arsenal in the Goodwood Cup. 



