THE HOUSE OF ROTHSCHILD 



at York. It is not so much that Hippia beat her 

 which forces one to this conclusion, for the 

 daughter of King Tom was always a good and very 

 genuine mare, but, as a comparatively moderate 

 filly like Romping Girl was able to make a dead- 

 heat for second place with her, it seems quite 

 certain that the form was altogether wrong. That 

 remarkable Gold Cup at Ascot, for which she 

 started first favourite and finished third to Lecturer 

 and Regalia, has been very fully described in an 

 earlier chapter. Her fine performance on that 

 historical occasion proved her to be possessed of 

 any amount of stamina ; and she showed that her 

 speed was quite unimpaired by easily landing a 

 couple of sprint races at the Newmarket July, in 

 the first of which she had no trouble in conceding 

 27 lb. to that very useful two-year-old, See-Saw. 

 The value of these two events was 50 sov. each, 

 yet there was an aggregate of eighteen runners for 

 them, and, as we have seen, they were not con- 

 sidered unworthy the attention of an Oaks winner. 

 The contrast between the state of affkirs existing 

 at Newmarket about thirty years ago, and that 

 which prevails at the present time, is wonderful 

 indeed. At the meeting at which Hippia won these 

 two races the entire added money, exclusive of a 

 Queen's Plate, amounted to £875, yet the cards 

 were made up of seven, eight, and nine events, and 

 such sport was provided as we look for in vain 

 in these days when a single stake at the meet- 

 ing is of the value of £10,000. The increase 

 of the number of horses in training and the e lor- 

 mous multiplication of rich prizes have been by 

 no means unmixed blessings, and I think that 

 most sportsmen who are on the wrong side of 

 fifty will vote solidly with me for the New- 

 market of 1865, as against the Newmarket of 



212 



