170 A MIRROR OF THE TURF. 



lo lb.), in the hands of Daley, beat his opponent 

 by a couple of lengths, Hermit's weight being 

 8 St. 9 lb. The Beaufort Cup (about two miles 

 and a half) at Bath he won by fifteen lengths from 

 x-Achievement, the latter presenting him with 6 lb., 

 Gomera and Goodwood finishing behind the pair. 

 Julius afterwards won the Warwick Cup, but 

 in the Doncaster Cup he met his conqueror in 

 Mandrake, who defeated him by a length. The 

 son of St. Albans did not run afterwards, and 

 was relegated to the stud." 



In taking leave of the subject this much may be 

 said, that matches were the means of evincing men's 

 love of the sport for its own sake. There was a 

 stake of money in risk, of course — it is the fashion 

 — but some years ago, in the days of Lord Glas- 

 gow, George Payne, and " the Admiral," matches 

 were not so much ventures in gambling as tests 

 to find out the better horse. Speaking generally, 

 matches are not popular with the general body of 

 race-goers, who delight more in those contests 

 which are competed for by a crowd of horses, and 

 where fair odds can be had about any particular 

 animal. Laying odds on or taking even money 

 is unpalatable work to the great majority of those 

 who attend race meetings, and, moreover, in few 

 instances — not ten times in twelve — do we see the 

 real merit of a race-horse when it runs in a 

 match. Very often the jockeys have a private 

 understanding with each other that they will 

 only race for a given portion of the distance, and 

 often enough the struggle is won by the finesse 

 of the rider, and the victory won or the defeat 

 sustained has no bearing on the merits of the 

 horse. 



