Things did not happen in France in exactly the same 

 Avay. Our old race of stayers, descending from Emilius, 

 Royal-Oak, Gladiator, Sting . . . for a long time 

 protected by the regulations of the Department of Studs, 

 commenced its evolution but slowly ; the first symptoms 

 were noticed under the influence of Dollar, from whom 

 descend nearly all the stayers of to-day, but who really 

 was a transition stallion. Now Dollar was foaled in 

 i860, and his important produce is found from 1870 

 to 1885. But as soon as it was decided in France to fol- 

 low the English mistakes, the evolution proceeded with 

 great rapidity, thanks to the elements already adapted, 

 which had existed for a long time in England and the 

 importation of which was sufficient. 



The history of our Grand Prix throws a particularly 

 significant light upon the question. 



From 1863, the date of its foundation, to 1879, the 

 Grand Prix was won almost alternatively by English and 

 by French horses. (Nine French and seven English vic- 

 tories.) 



From 1880 to 1886 the English had an uninterrupted 

 series of seven victories (we call English the winners 

 of 1883 and 1884, Frontin and Little-Duck, since they 

 were imported in utero from England). 



From 1887 to 1913 the French won a series of twenty- 

 five victories, interrupted once in 1906 by the victory of 

 the English horse Spearmint. 



It would be truly childish to attribute to chance alone 

 facts which present themselves with a character so sig- 

 nificant, when the march of the evolution of the thor- 

 oughbred in England and France furnished such a plausi- 

 ble explanation of these facts. 



From 1863 to 1879 the good English and French horses 

 are about equal at a mile and seven furlongs ; that is to 

 say, that they each were capable of showing the measure 

 of their quality at this and at even greater distance, hence 



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