JAMES MERRY 



in such extraordinary fashion that, about half a 

 mile from home, he must have been a good hundred 

 yards behind Gamos. When Grimshaw did at last 

 let Macgregor stride along, the style in which he 

 closed up that apparently hopeless gap has prob- 

 ably never been equalled, except by Gladiateur in 

 the Ascot Cup, and Grimshaw certainly did not 

 "draw it fine," as the verdict was one of twelve 

 lengths from The Recorder, the other two being 

 pulled up before reaching the winning-post. It is 

 absolutely certain that this race did Macgregor no 

 harm whatever, for on the following INIonday at 

 Epsom — two days before the Derby — he did one 

 of the best gallops ever seen, making perfect hacks 

 of the two horses that were set to lead him. This 

 disposes of the idea that running the horse at Bath 

 cost him the Derby, and the statement, which has 

 been made in print comparatively recently, that 

 he was "got at" the night before the race, is 

 equally untenable. The building in which Mr. 

 INIerry's horses stood at Epsom contained two 

 boxes, with a stall in the middle. Joe Butters 

 and another lad slept in the boxes, and Tass 

 Parker was on sentinel duty outside until one 

 o'clock in the morning, at which hour he was 

 relieved by James Waugh, who remained until it 

 was time to take the horses out for their canters. 

 Thus it will be seen that any idea that the horse 

 was " nobbled " falls to the ground, and it is 

 equally certain that he did not break down in the 

 race itself. He was sent home on the Thursday 

 under the care of Tass Parker and Tom Oliver, 

 and was boxed at Dorking. The two custodians 

 were talking over the current report that the colt 

 had broken down, and, to show the absurdity of it, 

 Tass very injudiciously made the lad who was 

 riding JNIacgregor trot him over the cobble stones 



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