THE DUKE OF PORTLAND 



of quality, but just lacking the size that would have 

 enabled her to rank quite in the first class. A very 

 wise policy was therefore pursued in running her 

 right out for her two-year-old engagements, and 

 she carried all before her during the early part of 

 her first season. Her sequence of eight victories was 

 begun in the Brocklesby Stakes, in which Lactan- 

 tius was the pick of the baker's dozen that finished 

 behind her, and her next important success was 

 gained in a Biennial at Ascot, in which she beat 

 Surefoot by a head. Her first reverse was sus- 

 tained in the rich Portland Stakes at Leicester, 

 in which the first three places were filled by the 

 luckless Riviera, Heaume, and Formidable, and 

 then, after she had secured the Prince of Wales's 

 Stakes at Goodwood, and the Boscawen Stakes at 

 the Newmarket First October, she could only run 

 fourth in the Middle Park Plate to the then in- 

 vincible Signorina. However, the Free Handicap 

 for two-year-olds at the Houghton Meeting en- 

 abled her to leave off a winner, having piled up a 

 famous score of thirteen brackets against two de- 

 feats. Some of these brackets were gained by 

 walks-over, and she was exceptionally lucky in 

 having very little to beat in the majority of her 

 races, though it must not be forgotten that no 

 other two-year-old finished in front of Surefoot 

 that year, and that Lord Dudley's Formidable, 

 who was behind her in the Free Handicap, won 

 five races out of seven that season. It was not, 

 indeed, until the following year that Semolina's 

 lack of size began to tell seriously against her, 

 added to which she probably felt the strain of 

 having been continually in strong work for the 

 whole of the preceding season. I have previously 

 explained that she only beat her stable companion 

 Memoir for the One Thousand on sufferance, and 



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