7 6 KINGSCLERE 



career of Isonomy was continued, albeit he ran but 

 twice. He won the Manchester Cup when, as has 

 been mentioned, the going was as hard as bricks, 

 carrying 9 st. 12 lb., and giving The Abbot, who 

 had been third in the Two Thousand, no less than 

 42 lb. ! Truly a marvellous achievement. Finally 

 he was victor in the race for the Gold Cup at Ascot, 

 beating Chippendale by a length, with Zut, two 

 lengths off, third. This closed Isonomy's splendid 

 running career, one that has perhaps never been 

 surpassed for exhibiting all the fine and powerful 

 qualities which are embodied in a truly magnificent 

 racehorse. Altogether, Isonomy piled up for Mr. 

 F. Gretton in bets and stakes upwards of one hundred 

 and ten thousand pounds. 



Fernandez, 3 yrs., another son of Sterling and 

 I sola Bella, came to the front concurrently with 

 Isonomy's farewell of the Turf to go to the stud in 

 1 880. He may be summed up in the simple but ex- 

 pressive phrase, employed in its first intention, 'a 

 good horse.' Neither more nor less. He won the 

 Craven Stakes at Newmarket, and was afterwards 

 defeated by Bend Or, who had just carried off the 

 Derby. Critics of condition, who are so often down 

 upon the poor trainer for bringing a horse to the post 

 palpably unfit to run, might take a lesson from the 

 defeat of Fernandez. It was never intended to run 

 him at Ascot ; consequently, he was not wound up 

 to appear there. But the owner is paramount, and 

 when orders were received from Mr. Gretton to the 

 effect that Fernandez was to be pulled out to meet 



