DANEBURY DAYS 



INIarquis of Hastings unquestionably made money 

 on the Turf, but when a man is spending five or 

 six times his income each year, is not averse 

 from dice and cards, and is too easy and good- 

 natured to refuse the use of his name on a bill to 

 any friend or acquaintance who may ask for it, 

 the end is inevitable. Never was there a more 

 dashing gambler — he would win and lose thousands 

 with an absolutely impassive face, — but there have 

 been few cleverer Turf tacticians, and the respect 

 and esteem with which he is still spoken of by 

 those who served him at Danebury is the best 

 proof of the many lovable qualities he possessed. 



After her severe two -year -old season Lady 

 Elizabeth wintered badly, and there is no 

 doubt that her tremendous race with Julius 

 fairly broke her heart. She grew nervous and 

 irritable, and, in place of cleaning out her 

 manger with unfailing regularity, became a 

 very delicate feeder. She had been backed for 

 so much money for the Derby that the stable 

 were literally afraid to try her and learn the 

 worst, and she absolutely never had a stripped 

 gallop as a three-year-old. Under these circum- 

 stances it seems absolutely incredible that she 

 should have started a strong favourite at 7 to 

 4 for the Derby, but, in those days, informa- 

 tion as to the work a horse was doing was very 

 difficult to obtain, and animals would occupy 

 prominent positions in the quotations that had 

 not been out of their stables for days, or 

 even weeks. The fact that she could scarcely 

 raise a gallop at Epsom, coupled with the 

 eleventh - hour scratching of The Earl, created 

 a storm of indignation, and Admiral Rous came 

 out with his famous " Spider and the Fly " letter 

 in the Times. I have no wish to dwell upon 



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