XIII 



THE HOUSE OF ROTHSCHILD 



More than fifty years have passed away since the 

 " dark blue, yellow cap" of the House of Rothschild 

 was first registered, and through all that length of 

 time no colours have been kept more absolutely 

 unsullied, and none have been more consistently 

 popular with the racing public. One small element 

 in this popularity is possibly contained in the fact 

 that they are so easily distinguishable, which is 

 more than can be truthfully written of a good many 

 modern colours, which look extremely pretty in 

 a shop window or in the saddling paddock, but are 

 hopelessly lost in a field of horses. One may not 

 be able in a moment to pick out the blue jacket 

 when a Royal Hunt Cup or Cambridgeshire field 

 are a quarter of a mile from home, but the yellow 

 cap — which, of late years, Tom Loates has worn 

 with so much credit to himself — invariably stands 

 out as clearly as once did "the white plume of 

 King Henry of Navarre." Of all the good horses 

 which have carried these colours it is possible that 

 King Tom will be the longest remembered, in 

 spite of his failure to win any of the classic races. 

 This is what " The Druid" writes of him in " Scott 

 and Sebright" : "King Tom, or 'Tom,' as he was 

 generally styled in the stable, was first trained by 



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