130 THE ENGLISH TURF 



for sale, and the trainers, jockeys, and any who wish to be 

 present at the morning exercise — Doncaster is far from 

 popular as a staying -place, and in a great measure the 

 residents have killed the goose that laid the golden eggs 

 by exorbitant charges. 



The morning gallops used to be a great feature of the St. 

 Leger week, but in these rapidly-moving times the before- 

 breakfast work of the horses has become of comparatively 

 little importance, because very few of the cracks leave home 

 until the last moment. Even Newmarket-trained nags can 

 be sent off on the morning of the day on which they are 

 to run, and if a majority of them are still sent overnight 

 they have done their last gallop before leaving home, seldom 

 doing more than a couple of gentle canters on the morning 

 of their race. The enthusiasts still go to see them, and can 

 of course form some idea of their condition ; and Doncaster 

 and York attract enthusiastic admirers of horseflesh in far 

 greater numbers than are to be found elsewhere. The 

 Doncaster paddock in the St. Leger week attracts horsy 

 men from all parts of the kingdom, and so crowded has it 

 become of late years that an inspection of the candidates 

 for any of the bigger events is by no means an easy job. 

 When a crack appears he is instantly mobbed by the " Tykes," 

 who follow him round and round, many of them audibly com- 

 menting on his good and bad points, his condition, and his 

 chances of winning. Nowhere in the kingdom is horse worship 

 so thoroughly practised, and no racecourse crowd is so com- 

 petent to give an opinion on what it sees. Many, perhaps 

 almost a majority, of the onlookers have been amongst 

 horses all their lives, have grown up in a circle where the 

 thoroughbred is universally admired, and are acquainted 

 with the pedigrees and performances of the animals they 

 have come to see. Such men can tell you all about the 

 great Leger winners of the past ; they can remember the 

 appearance of all the horses they have seen win the last 

 classic race of the year ; and they always have strong 

 opinions about the particular Leger they have come to see. 

 On a Southern racecourse, when a big event is on the tapis, 

 nearly every acquaintance one meets begins with, "Well, 



