382 THK II014SK. 



that AVest Australian, four years old, carrying the St. Leger 

 weight, 8 St. 6 lbs. — 118 pounds — " defeated Kingston by ahead 

 only," the latter five years old, carrying 9 st. — 126 pounds — 

 running two and a half miles in 4.27, " or, as nearly as possible, 

 13| seconds per furlong." " Tliis performance, the best of 

 modern days, considering the weight, the age, and the distance, 

 will compare very favorably with the often quoted exploit of 

 Childers, in 1721, at J^ewmarket, when being six years old, 

 carrying 9 st. 21bs. — 128 pounds — he did the distance, three and 

 a half miles, in 6m. 40s., or at the rate of 14 seconds and one- 

 third per furlong." " Thus allowing Childers his year for the 

 extra mile in the course, and for the two pounds which he 

 carried above Kingston's weight, he, Childers, was outdone by 

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

 West Australian, at the usual allowance for his age." " Kings- 

 ton, of the same age as Arrow, and carrying 9 st. instead ot 

 6 St. 2 lbs. — 100 pounds — ran two and a half miles at a better rate 

 than Arrow, in his race with Brown Dick, did his three miles, 

 by one-third of a second per furlong." But Ai-row's was a race 

 of three-mile heats, the second heat in 5m. 43is. Lexington, 

 nominally four years old, carrying 103 pounds, ran four miles, 

 also at New Orleans, in 7m. 19|s., or, as nearly as may be, 

 13f seconds per furlong, at the rate, for four miles, of less than 

 Im. 50s. per mile. 



The often quoted exploit of Eclipse, of England, was that he 

 ran four miles, carrying 168 pounds, in eight minutes. 



With these data before them, it is left for others to draw 

 their own deductions of the relative merits of West Australian, 

 Childers, Eclipse, and Lexington, at the distances they ran, 

 varying from two and a half miles to four. 



Some among us believe that Lexington and Lecomte were 

 about as fast and as good race-horses as have ever appeared in 

 England. Undoubtedly they could "stay a distance" about as 

 well as any horse that has run anywhere, having run two heats, 

 of four miles, in 7m. 26s, and 7m. 38s., and the third mile of 

 the second heat in Im. 47s. 



It would be a difficult task to institute a fair comparison 

 between the race-horses of England and America, the systems 

 of racing being so different in the two countries. With the 



