92 THE ENGLISH TURF 



was ridden, and that his reputation was a great one was 

 evidenced by the fact that he went to the stud at a fee 

 of 150 guineas and that his subscription was soon filled 

 at that price. How Sir Hugo came to beat La Fleche 

 in the Derby has been a fruitful source of argument 

 ever since, and the general opinion is that the mare was 

 " steadied " so long when coming down the hill that she had 

 no chance of making up her ground afterwards. This may 

 be the correct version of the case, and it is certain that La 

 Fleche was worse placed half-way between the top of the 

 hill and Tattenham Corner than she had been in the 

 earlier stages of the race ; but the fact remains that in 

 the Oaks two days later she only just scraped home, and 

 her running in both races suggests that she was not in 

 the same form which she showed later in the year, notably 

 when she won the St. Leger, the Lancashire Plate, and 

 the Cambridgeshire. In the last-named race she carried 

 (being then a three-year-old) 8 st, 10 lbs., and came out 

 of the Dip with the race in hand. She was as game a bit 

 of stuff as ever carried silk, and was quite the best mare 

 of the last quarter of the century. 



In 1 891 Common won not only the Derby, but the Two 

 Thousand and the St. Leger as well, and he showed con- 

 siderable superiority to all his opponents, and was un- 

 questionably the best of his year. That it was a great 

 year cannot be for a moment suggested, and perhaps 

 Common as the hero of a triple classic victory gained 

 more fame than was his due. Yet he was a big, upstanding, 

 Isonomy horse, and he was as sound as a bell of brass 

 when taken out of training. This happened almost im- 

 mediately after the St. Leger, Common being bought for 

 a long figure (^^i 5,000 was stated to be the price) by 

 Sir J. Blundell Maple for stud purposes alone. As a two- 

 year-old Common never ran, and his name was never 

 mentioned in connection with classic races until quite late 

 in the spring. He made his first appearance in the Two 

 Thousand, for which 9 to i was offered against him at 

 the start, but he won very decisively, and the Derby and 

 St. Leger were just as easily secured. 



