DANEBURY DAYS 



had no price in the quotations, and made no show 

 in the race. 



After this the Httle colt was put by for the 

 autumn, and, as he had never run more than a 

 mile in public, it was naturally fancied that he 

 would get into the Cesarewitch on pretty easy 

 terms. The relations between Admiral Rous and 

 the Marquis of Hastings were never of a very 

 cordial description. The former was emphatically, 

 as he once said of himself, " in the ten-pound line 

 of business," and naturally had scant sympathy 

 with the heavy gambling that was then associated 

 with all the " good things " from Danebury, and 

 when the weights appeared, with 7 st. 3 lb. attached 

 to the name of Lecturer, I well remember that the 

 general impression was that the Admiral had, for 

 once in a way, forgotten his usual rigid impartiality, 

 and had handicapped the owner rather than the 

 horse. It is curious to remember that, thirty years 

 ago, a three-year-old like Lecturer was considered 

 to be fairly crushed in the Cesarewitch with 7 st. 

 3 lb., whereas that weight is regarded nowadays as 

 a very light one, but there is no doubt that our 

 present system of rearing and training brings horses 

 to their full development at the earliest possible 

 moment, and that the great majority of them are 

 never so good at any other period of their careers 

 as at the end of their three-year-old season. As, 

 however, John Day had discovered that Lecturer's 

 game was staying, and that the farther he went the 

 better he was, the trainer by no means shared the 

 general opinion as to his having no chance, and 

 exactly a week before the Cesarewitch, which was 

 then run on a Tuesday, he set him a very big task 

 indeed. Gomera, Ackworth, and one or two others 

 were in the trial, with the speedy blaster Richard 

 to bring them along from the start and ensure a 



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