FIEST AUSTRALIAN. 379 



will compare very favorably with the often-quoted exploit of 

 Childers over the Beacon Course in 1Y21, when, being six years 

 old, he beat Almanzor and Brown Betty, carrying 9 st. 2 lbs., 

 and doing the distance in 6m. 40s., or at the rate of 14 seconds 

 and one-third per furlong. Thus, allowing him his year for the 

 extra mile in the course, and for the 21bs. which he carried 

 above Kingston's weight, he was outdone by the latter horse 

 at Ascot by one second per furlong, and likewise by West 

 Australian at the usual allowance for his age. Again ; com- 

 paring these performances on the English Turf with the recently 

 lauded exploits of the American horses, it will be found that 

 there is no cause for the fear lest our antagonists in the " go- 

 ahead " department should deprive us of our laurels. On the 

 2d of April, 1855, a time-match was run at New Orleans be- 

 tween Lecomte and Lexington, both four years old, in which 

 the latter, who won, did the four miles, carrying 7 st. 5 lbs., 

 in 7m. 19fs., or, as nearly as may be, 13f seconds per fur- 

 long. This is considered by the Americans the best time on 

 record, aud is undoubtedly a creditable performance ; though 

 when the light weight is taken into account, not so near our 

 best English time as would at first sight appear. On the 

 14th of April, Brown Dick and Arrow ran three miles over 

 the same course in 5m. 28s., or at the rate of 13 seconds and 

 two-thirds per furlong; the former a three-year-old, carrying 

 6 St. 2 lbs., and the latter five years old, 6 st. 12 lbs. Thus it 

 will appear that Kingston, of the same age as Arrow, and 

 carrying 9st. instead of 7 st. 12 lbs., ran ^ miles at a better 

 rate than Arrow did his 3 miles, by one-third of a second 

 per furlong. And it has been shown that in the year last 

 past, two horses exceeded the greatest performance of the 

 olden times by a second per furlong, and beat the best Ame- 

 rican time of modern days by one-third of a second per mile. 

 The assertion, therefore, that our present horses are degen- 

 erated in their power of staying a distance under weight, is 

 wholly without foundation ; since I have shown that, even 

 taking the time of the Childers' performance as the true rate, 

 of which there is some doubt, yet it has recently been beaten 

 very considerably by West Australian and Kingston. Many 

 loose assertions have been made as to the rate of the horse, 



