THE 'BIG STABLE' 123 



oftheFrencli Jockey Club's ' Comito cles Courses '), wlio 

 was his original owner before lie passed into the luinds 

 of Baron Niviere. 



The year 1862 was an ' annus mirabilis ' in the 

 history of French horse-racing for many reasons, as will 

 soon appear. 



At the outset the ' Frenchmen,' whether belonging 

 to the ' Big Stable ' or not, were not very successful in 

 England, though the ' Big un,' having now a branch esta- 

 blishment, a ' succursale,' among the perfidious Britons, 

 might with comparative ease spread its horses like 

 grasshoppers (as some of them w^ere to look upon) all 

 over 'Albion,' without risk of mal de mer, from Land's 

 End to John o' Groat's. However Cosmopolite led oil 

 and won (w.o.) the Trial Stakes and (after a dead heat) 

 the Sefton Handicap at Liverpool Spring Meeting (after 

 that Viscount de Namur's Tippler and the ' Big Stable's ' 

 Attrape-qui-peut had been defeated twice and once re- 

 spectively at Lincoln, Nottingham, and Derby) ; and then 

 ' little Benjamin ' won the Trial Stakes at Doncaster, but 

 soon ceased to be a ' ruler.' Then Finlande ran third for 

 the Great Northamptonshire, Allez-y-ronderaent won the 

 Eacing Stakes at Northampton, Gouvieux came in first 

 for the Northamptonshire Cup Stakes, and Mademoiselle 

 de Champigny for the Delapre Handicap at Northamp- 

 ton ; but at this meeting Baliverne fell from lier high 

 estate and dropped into the ranks of the selling-platers, 

 and Villafranca (own sister of the newborn Gladiateur — if 

 indeed he had yet been ' dropped ' — and one of the first 

 of Monarque's progeny to appear in public) was third 

 for the Al thorp Park Stakes for two-year-olds. As for 

 Gouvieux, though he had come in first the ' Big Stable ' 

 did not profit thereby, inasmuch as H. Grimshaw, the 

 rider of Gouvieux, had ' repeatedly struck ' Doyle, who 



