192 HORSE-RACING IN ENGLAND 



owner of Star of Portici (dam of the once incom- 

 parable Signorina) has made us famiHar with 

 ' bred in Italy.' In course of time there came, 

 in 1876, King of the West (by Imported Kingston, 

 son of England's Beauty), Commodore (by the 

 famous Australian -bred Yattendon), and quite 

 recently (1890-91) Ringmaster, Lady Betty, Mons 

 Meg (winner of the Gold Vase at Ascot), and 

 Kirkham and Narellan. all ' bred in Australia.' 

 Since their importation there have been entries 

 of colts or fillies or both ' bred in Argentina ' and 

 ' bred in New Zealand.' 



In fact, the reign of Queen Victoria has seen 

 what was once called the ' national ' pastime 

 transformed into something ' international,' and 

 what was regarded as 'the sport of kings' into 

 what Lord Falmouth pronounced, in i^JJ, to be 

 a mere matter of ' business,' of which the members 

 of ' the Ring ' have the effrontery to profess that 

 they are the backbone, instead of a mere para- 

 sitical excrescence, and for the benefit of which 

 they claim to be thought to pursue as legitimate 

 a calling as that of a registered member of the 

 Stock Exchange or of Lloyd's, and to be recog- 

 nised by the Legislature and Society accordingly. 



