102 KINGSCLERE 



him up a bit. There were but three runners, and 

 one of them, Warbler, did not count for anything at 

 all. This was significantly disclosed by the betting. 

 The other, however, Modwena, a daughter of Galo- 

 pin (also a Derby winner), and Mowerina came to 

 the fray with a somewhat brilliant record. She had 

 won the Breeders' Plate at the Newmarket Second 

 Spring, the first time of asking, the Home-bred 

 Sweepstakes at Stockbridge, the Chesterfield at 

 the Newmarket July, the Champion Breeders' Foal 

 Stakes at Derby, and the Buckenham Post (Produce) 

 Stakes at headquarters at the First October. Small 

 wonder, therefore, that they laid n to 10 on 

 Modwena. Ormonde's price was 5 to 4 ' against' 

 Archer, whose destiny it was to ride the great horse 

 in nearly all his engagements — kings together ! — 

 landed him easily a length in front of the favourite. 

 There was established ' class ' enough, as far as it 

 went, in the two previous victories of Mephisto, 

 who, at a difference of a point in the betting, disputed 

 second favouriteship with Oberon — ' dark,' but with 

 the best of the weights — when Ormonde was stripped 

 again for the Criterion, but the favourite, on whom 

 this time they laid 6 to 4 freely, had a way of making 

 all 'class' of that description look foolish. He 

 galloped home an easy victor, three lengths in front 

 of Oberon, while Mephisto passed the post a bad 

 third. The fame of a flyer on the Turf rolls up and 

 increases like the proverbial snowball. It was 

 evident to judges who saw the race for the Criterion 

 that Ormonde was a horse in a thousand. His next 



