A GREAT YEAR 



in winning, and later the same afternoon he was, not 

 very discreetly, brought out again for the Ascot Derby. 

 Archer had ridden him in the Biennial, but was on 

 Candlemas in the mile and a half race, Webb riding 

 Saraband, who failed by a length and a half to give 

 8 lb. to St. Mirin. 



Ormonde had thus established himself as a great 

 horse, for what beating Minting in the style he did 

 really meant was perfectly well understood, and at 

 Epsom odds of 9 to 4 were laid on him, the only one 

 of the other eight really backed being The Bard. 

 About this charming little horse odds of 7 to 2 were 

 taken, the third favourite, if so he could be called, 

 Lord Zetland's Grey Friars, was on offer at 25 to 1, 

 St. Mirin and Mr. George Lambton's Chelsea at 40 

 to 1, whilst 1000 to 15 could have been had about 

 the Duke of Beaufort's Button Park and Lord Cal- 

 thorpe's Scherzo, 500 to 1 against the Duke of 

 Beaufort's other colt Ariel and the Duke of West- 

 minster's Coracle. The last named was again to make 

 running for Ormonde if he could. Some horses gain 

 an extraordinary amount of what may be called personal 

 popularity, and The Bard was one of them. It is not 

 by any means always the best horse who thus takes 

 the fancy of racegoers, and it would indeed be 

 extremely difficult to say upon what that fancy is 

 based. After the race for the Derby I found myself 

 close to General Owen Williams, half owner of The 



144 



