IN REGULAR TRAINING. 41 



dition. My strong work of three hours every day for exercise 

 and a sweat on every fifth one, took some of the grease out of 

 me, and many a pound of superfluous flesh from my bones ; but 

 my strength increased as my muscles became developed, and the 

 heaving of my flanks after "a pipe-opener," was "little by 

 degrees and beautifully less ; " my coat, too, shone like satin in 

 the sun, and, as I heard John Sellusall assert with an emphatic 

 adjective, my ribs felt as fii'm as case-hardened steel, and as 

 clean to the touch as a lady's hand. With an appetite whi ch 

 never left a single oat in the crib, and a spirit to do well alf 

 that was required of me, it will readily be believed that I occu- 

 pied a high position in the esteem of the stable, and, in more 

 ways than the figure on the door of my box literally denoted, 

 was held among the two-year-olds as — No. 1. 



As Kobert Top observed, at an earlier stage of my history, 

 my firct engagement was for the Criterion at Newmarket 

 Houghton Meeting ; and as this was fast approaching, and it 

 being determined that I should start for the Stakes, provided 

 my " trial " proved satisfactory, our trainer resolved to bring 

 this important event oflf without further loss of time. 



The meaning of " a trial," in the sense that John Sellusall 

 entertained the term, was the conclusive proof of either the 

 capacity or incapacity of a horse, and not a deceptive supposi- 

 titious test which leads to the gravest errors and disappointments. 

 With this judicious view, therefore, both I and my trial horse, 

 York's Cardinal, were as carefully prepared in every respect as 

 if we were going to the post for the Derby, and the finishing 

 touches given with equal nicety. In accordance with the 

 usual practice of our trainer, I had my final strong gallop two 

 days before the trial was appointed to come ofl', and on that 

 previous to running, a considerable reduction in my water and 

 hay took place. In the evening, and just as I had swallowed 

 my limited supply of twenty-four go-downs of water, John. 

 Sellusall entered my box, accompanied by Spanky. Few were 

 the words which passed between our trainer and his servant at 

 any time, and upon this occasion not a syllable was exchanged 

 between them. Coming to my head, he looked at my mouth 



