EPSOM 99 



shaking him up with his hands somewhere about the 

 distance-post. Even Ormonde did not defeat The Bard 

 in such summary fashion as Flying Fox did Damocles 

 and Innocence, but the little Petrarch horse was of far 

 better class than the Derby second and third of 1899, and 

 it has often been urged that the weak point in Flying Fox's 

 history was that he never had much to beat. 



About this time it was thoroughly recognised that Flying 

 Fox was an exceptionally good colt, and far superior to 

 the next best of his year. It was hoped that he would 

 have an opportunity of meeting Cyllene in one of the 

 ten -thousand -pounders, but such a meeting was not to 

 take place, Cyllene going amiss in training just when the 

 excitement of such a contest was beginning to make itself 

 felt. Thus it came about that when Flying Fox met 

 four-year-olds they were only the second best form of the 

 previous year. After the Derby the Princess of Wales' 

 Stakes at Newmarket (in July) was his next outing, and 

 here of course he put up the extreme penalty, and met 

 the four-year-old Ninus — who had just won the Hardwicke 

 Stakes at Ascot — at 6 lbs. for the year. The only other 

 four-year-olds in the field were Greenan and Dieudonne, 

 but the threes included Musa, who had won the Oaks a 

 month before, My Boy, who had finished close up with 

 the placed horses in the Derby, and a brace of maidens 

 in Royal Emblem and Birkenhead, both of whom had 

 been talked about and to whom the Derby winner was set 

 to give 17 lbs. each. All those mentioned, except Musa (in 

 receipt of 9 lbs.), were more or less fancied at the weights ; 

 thus backers could support the Fox by laying 6 to 4 on 

 — a very liberal price when the betting is judged by what 

 took place. 



The race was an extraordinary affair, and will probably 

 live long in the memories of those who saw it. The 

 colt, as I have said, had the full penalty in the saddle and 

 was meeting all his opponents at a great disadvantage in 

 weight, yet he made them appear like a field of bad selling 

 platers, so easily did he beat them. As in the Two Thousand 

 Guineas, Mornington Cannon adopted forcing tactics, and 



