ST GATIEN 203 



carrying 8 st. 10 Ib. Would St Simon have beaten 

 him at even weights that day ? No one can tell ; but 

 it remains on record that St Gatien was tried over 

 the Cambridgeshire course to be 14 Ib. (and an easy 

 beating) better than his four-year-old stable companion, 

 Florence, and she won the Cambridgeshire with 

 9 st. i Ib. in the saddle. St Gatien was a horse of great 

 scope and power, a trifle slack behind the withers, but a 

 right good one over any distance. He suffered badly 

 from Newmarket fever at the end of his three-year-old 

 season, and, though he won the Ascot Cup and 

 Alexandra Plate as a four-year-old, was never quite the 

 horse he was on his Cesarewitch day. Nevertheless he 

 was fully equal to the task of winning the Jockey Club 

 Cup in three successive years, on the last of which he 

 strung out Melton in the most smashing style. 



Melton, who won the '85 Derby, was a beautiful bay 

 colt with perfect symmetry and quality, but, as regards 

 stamina, just such another as Bend Or. Like Bend Or, 

 too, he owed his Derby victory to Fred Archer, for he 

 most certainly should not have beaten Paradox, on whom 

 Fred Webb threw the race away. The circumstances 

 of that race are best buried in oblivion. 



Melton had no great success as a stallion in England 

 until he had been sold to Italy, when he stood some few 

 years. He was bought back again by Mr Musker, and 

 at first did wonders, but his owner did not continue 

 breeding on the same lines and the wonders ceased. 



