234 HORSE-RACING IN FRANCE 



that ' tried conclusions ' with us, but also because their 

 racecourses were within easier reach), as their principal 

 and most valuable races (with the exception of the 

 already open Grand Prix) invariably take place a little 

 earlier than ours corresponding, was it to be supposed 

 that an Eno;lish owner with a horse good enough to win 

 the English Derby would send it over for the French ? 

 On the other hand a French horse good enough to win 

 the English Derby might reasonably neglect the less for 

 the more valuable engagement, and at the same time 

 leave at home a ' compatriot ' (compare the case of 

 Eayon d'Or and Zut, though the former did not win the 

 English Derby) good enough to beat an inferior English 

 horse for the French ; and as for the Oaks, Fille de 

 I'Air showed (in 1864) how possible it is for an extra- 

 ordinarily good French filly to win the Prix de Diane 

 first and then come over and win the Oaks at Epsom, 

 although it is very improbable that an English owner 

 would run the risk of sending an extraordinarily good 

 English filly to try for the less valuable event first. 

 ' No,' said many an Englishman to his neighbour, 

 ' reciprocity is of no use ; if our horses are good in 

 any given year we are not likely to trouble the French 

 racecourses (unless for the Grand Prix) at all, and if 

 our horses are bad the French are as likely as not to 

 beat us at home first and then here, whether with the 

 same horse (witness Insulaire, winner of the French and 

 second for the English Derby in 1878) or with a "crack" 

 and a "demi-crack." Lord Ailesbury's is the only plan ; 

 if we can no longer breed from our own stock a pro- 

 duce that shall beat the French, we must breed from 

 French stock (it will only be getthig back our own) 

 and improve upon it : for the fact is that we can only 

 maintain our supremacy by beating the very best 



