/II>r. GosDen 211 



were beaten in the Cup by 'Boiard.' To show it 

 was no fluke, he had also beaten ' Doncaster ' and 

 ' Flageolet ' in Paris for the Grand Prix the year 

 before. It really seemed ridiculous to think of a 

 handicap horse defeating such talent as this, but 

 ' King- Lud ' beat him a neck after a terrific race. 

 Allowing that ' Boiard ' ought to have just won, 

 this carries out my argument that the different 

 years produce quite different class animals, and what 

 may be considered a first-rate horse one year, is 

 not perhaps within a stone or more of a good one 

 the year or two before or after. 



For several years running I stayed at Jem 

 Goater's place at Littleton for Stockbridge Races; and 

 a good time we had of it. The only drawback was, 

 the better we enjoyed ourselves at night, the more 

 we had to work to get off the weight in the morning. 

 As, however, It was generally fine warm weather, 

 we used to be up in good time and walk on to 

 Stockbridge — eight long miles— in our sweaters, 

 and change there. The usual party consisted of 

 Mr. W. Gosden, Tom French, and myself, with an 

 occasional friend or two. Mr. Gosden, as many of 

 my readers know, was the owner of ' Laura,' the 

 dam of 'Petrarch,' ' Rotherhill,' ' Protomartyr,' and 

 others. It was on the very day that the last named 



