2o8 iRiDino IRecoUections an& XTurf Stones 



form is to admit its excellence. There was ' Sara- 

 band,' a good genuine colt, who in most years 

 would have been considered quite first-class, but 

 ' Ormonde ' beat him anyhow. Then, again, what a 

 wonderful horse ' Minting ' was ! But when he met 

 ' Ormonde ' he was obliged to strike his colours. 

 Mr. Vyner showed good sense in deciding to run 

 ' Minting ' in the Grand Prix at Paris (which he won), 

 instead of throwing down the gauntlet previously to 

 ' Ormonde ' for the Derby. The same year saw 

 that wonderful little animal, ' The Bard,' who never 

 knew what defeat was until he met the great 

 ' Ormonde.' Yet a course like Epsom was much 

 more likely to suit the speedy, game little horse he 

 had proved himself to be (by winning sixteen races as 

 a two-year-old) than it was the big son of * Bend Or.' 

 It is really not going too far to say that ' Ormonde ' 

 beat ' The Bard ' easily at the finish on that occasion. 

 It certainly has always been my impression that 

 * Ormonde ' was the best horse I ever saw, and I 

 think 'Gladiateur' was the next to him. Admiral Rous 

 always used to say that the best animals he ever set 

 eyes upon were ' Bay Middleton ' and ' Gladiateur,' so 

 that my opinion is confirmed about the Frenchman. 



There have been several other good horses, of 

 course — ' Thormanby,' 'Blair Athol,' ' Cremorne,' 



