GLADIATEUR 



of his ground as to totally destroy any chance 

 of success his mount may have possessed. 



Gladiateur's legs were worse than ever in the 

 following season, but owners had long since 

 discovered that their sound horses had no earthly 

 chance against "the cripple," and he was allowed 

 to walk over for a couple of nice little stakes at 

 the Craven Meeting. Then he went over to 

 France, and secured the Grand Prix del'lmperatrice, 

 over a course of three miles and a furlong, and, a 

 week later, gave 14 lb. and an easy beating to 

 his stable companion, Le INIandarin, over two 

 miles, so that the relative form of the pair had 

 altered indeed since their yearling days. His next 

 appearance was made in the Ascot Cup, which, 

 all things considered, was the most remarkable 

 race I have ever seen, or ever expect to see. The 

 other two runners were Regalia and Breadalbane, 

 the ground was as hard as it usually is at this 

 meeting, and, as Gladiateur's " dicky " leg was 

 worse than usual, Grimshaw's orders were to lie 

 nicely up with his field until the hotel turn, to 

 nurse his mount very carefully down the hill, 

 and then to make the best of his way home. 

 Either the jockey's idea of "lying up with his 

 field" was a very peculiar one, or his defective 

 sight was again to blame, for Breadalbane passed 

 the Stand the first time with a lead of fully twenty 

 lengths, whilst the filly was about half that distance 

 in front of the Frenchman. From that point, 

 however, Grimshaw carried out his instructions 

 to the letter, and came down the hill in such 

 leisurely fashion that, when he was on level gi'ound 

 again, the gap between him and the other pair 

 was positively appalling. If I put it at three 

 hundred yards I am certainly under-estimating 

 rather than exaggerating it. The style in which the 



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