Mr. Alexander Goodman 



"What price, John?" said that gentleman, when he had 

 looked it over. 



" I'll take £']0 for him," was the reply. 



" I'll give you ^35," said Mr. Hartigan. 



" It's a bargain," replied the other, and one of the best 

 horses in the world changed owners — as is so often the case 

 — for a mere song. 



Mr. Hartigan let the colt run about in his paddocks 

 outside Limerick for a few months, and being at Mullingar 

 Fair in the November following, met Mr. Studd, with whom 

 he had often previously had a deal, who asked him if he had 

 anything in his line, and Mr. Hartigan replying that he had 

 a fine three-year-old colt, but a bit deformed, Mr. Studd came 

 to Limerick a week after to look over him, with the result 

 that he bought Salamander, with two hunters besides, for 

 ;^450 the lot. 



After some time the big bay was put into training at Mr. 

 Studd's place in Rutlandshire, and it was soon patent to all, 

 that his leg deformity did not in any way affect his galloping 

 or jumping powers, which were unmistakably of a very high 

 order. 



Salamander's outings previous to the Grand National, such 

 as the Leamington Steeplechase at Warwick in November, 

 1865, when L'Africain gave him a stone and beat him by 

 forty lengths, of course do not bear inspection. Suffice it 

 to say that, with 10 St. 7 lbs. on his back, his party, barring 

 accident, regarded the Grand National as little short of a gift 

 for him, and backed their opinion at odds varying from 

 40 to 50 to I. 



A better-looking lot than the thirty who faced the starter 

 on this occasion probably never ran for the Grand National, 

 and never was a more easy victory, for Mr. Goodman, coming 



137 



