LORD FALMOUTH 



de Lagrange's Verneuil beat him by half a length. 

 This was his only defeat as a two-year-old, but he 

 had nothing of any account behind him in the 

 Clearwell Stakes and the other two races that he 

 secured during the Second October and Houghton 

 weeks. Thus there seemed no particular reason 

 to fancy him for the great races of the following 

 season, especially after Chamant had redeemed 

 some early failures by bringing off that favourite 

 "double" of the Middle Park and Dewhurst 

 Plates. The result of Silvio's first essay in 1877 

 was by no means encouraging. It took place in 

 the Newmarket Biennial at the Craven JNIeeting, 'a 

 race that has always been notorious for producing 

 surprises, and which fairly beat its own record in 

 this respect upon this particular occasion. The 

 Grey Friar and Masaniello, who were respectively 

 first and second, had no price at all at the fall of 

 the flag, and Belphoebe and Silvio, destined to 

 secure the One Thousand, Derby, and Leger 

 between them, finished in the ruck. At the 

 same time it must be admitted that a fair explana- 

 tion could be given of this very remarkable running. 

 A terrific storm of wind and rain blew right in 

 the faces of the horses as they came up the Rowley 

 ISIile, and half of them would not face it at all. A 

 ii'ood third in the Two Thousand was a decided 

 improvement upon his wretched display in the 

 Biennial, but even this was not Silvio's real form. 

 His defeat by Chamant was doubtless right enough, 

 for the French colt's class was decidedly the better, 

 but he ought to have finished in front of Brown 

 Prince, as he conclusively proved when they met 

 upon two subsequent occasions during the season. 

 He was not tried for the Derby, but the mishap 

 to Chamant, who went lame in the round bone 

 almost immediately after his Two Thousand 



143 



