DANEBURY DAYS 



Lecturer came to the rescue for a second time. 

 The three weeks that elapsed between Bath and 

 Ascot seemed to make a different horse of him, and 

 he signahsed his return to form by defeating one 

 of the best fields that ever went to the post for the 

 Gold Cup. The party numbered ten, and included 

 Regalia, Tormentor, and Hippia, this being, I fancy, 

 the only occasion upon which three Oaks winners 

 ever took part in a race. Amongst the ten were also 

 that fine stayer, Rama, who had distinguished him- 

 self by an eight lengths victory over Lord Lyon, 

 Ackworth, and Sealskin in the Doncaster Cup of the 

 preceding year; Julius, who was shortly destined to 

 win the Cesarewitch with 8 st. on his three-year- 

 old back, and thus created a record which stood 

 until it was handsomely wiped out by Robert the 

 Devil thirteen years later ; and John Davis. The 

 mission of the last-named, who was ridden by Tom 

 Cannon, was to make running for Lecturer, a duty 

 for which he was eminently qualified, as he was 

 fully equal to winning handicaps with the top weight 

 in the saddle, and, in the Northamptonshire Stakes 

 of the same year, had been handicapped to concede 

 a couple of pounds to his more famous stable com- 

 panion. It was not surprising, therefore, that the 

 pioneer had not shot his bolt until about a quarter 

 of a mile from home, but I need not repeat the 

 description of the race, which is given in the chapter 

 dealing with Regaha. Suffice it to say that a less 

 consummate artist than Fordham might easily have 

 got into trouble at the finish, when Heartfield on 

 Regaha took advantage of the opening that Cannon 

 had made for Lecturer, but the great jockey grasped 

 the situation in an instant, and, instead of running 

 the risk of bumping and fouling, or of getting pinned 

 on to the rails, pulled Lecturer right back, and 

 came up on the outside. It seemed a bold thing 



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