FROM HOWL FOR ' RECirROCITY ' TO PRESENT DAY 2G9 



and Virgule), who was supposed by many of his friends 

 to be the ' coming horse,' though in the previous year 

 he was always running second (when he got a place at 

 all) instead of first ; second to Serpolette II. for the 

 Prix Calenge at Cabourg, second to Gourgandin for tlie 

 First Criterium at Fontainebleau, second to La Bultee 

 for the Prix de Conde (run at Paris instead of Chantilly 

 that year, in consequence of the repairs at the hitter 

 place), and unplaced behind Strelitz for tlie Prix de 

 Deux Ans at Deauville and behind Perplexite, Strelitz, 

 and Dublin for the Grand Criterium at Paris. But no 

 sooner was the racing season of 1881 open than Vizir 

 showed how much he had improved during the winter, 

 for he came out at Eheims, beatino; Gourgandin and 

 Promethee for the Derby de I'Est. This was on 

 March 28. The next time he came out was on the 

 third day (April 18) of the Paris Spring Meeting, when 

 he won the twenty-fourth Prix Biennal, beating Re- 

 grettee, Serpolette II., Gourgandin, Strehtz, and others ; 

 and his friends swore, ' Parbleu ! this is good enough 

 form to win the French Derby.' But on April 27, as 

 Vizir, ridden by Eolfe, was taking a friendly gallop in 

 company with M. H. Delamarre's very eccentric Viveur 

 (four years, son of Vermont and Vipere), ridden by 

 Musgrove, the four-year-old, without any explanation, 

 with great suddenness, and unlike a horse and a brother, 

 fell savagely upon the three-year-old and broke one of 

 his legs in two places, so badly that, though he was 

 taken home and had his leg put into ' suspenders ' at 

 first, he had to be destroyed in the course of two or 

 three days. Such was the end of Vizir, who was to 

 have been the ' coming liorse.' 



The French 'cracks' of 1881, then, in France were 

 Count F. de Lagrange's Albion (three years, winner 



