THE LADY ELIZABETH SCANDAL. 305 



I had no control over or interest in the horse, and 

 I was no party to his being scratched ; and Lord 

 Hastings, in the presence of the gentlemen whose 

 names I have mentioned, accepted the exclusive 

 responsibility of the act. In conclusion, I beg 

 most unhesitatingly to state that I had not betted 

 one single shilling either on or against The Earl 

 for his Derby engagement." 



The trainers of Lady Elizabeth felt very much 

 annoyed at the strong language which had been 

 used by Admiral Rous in his letter to The Times, 

 in which he asserted that Lord Hastings had 

 been shamefully deceived (presumably by the 

 Days), and that if he had seen the horse move 

 "the bubble would have burst." An action at 

 law was threatened by Mr. John Day, of Dane- 

 bury, against the Admiral, but the threat never 

 came to anything, as will be seen in the sequel ; 

 and here it may be proper to give Mr. Day's own 

 explanation of the condition of Lady Elizabeth 

 immediately previous to the date of the Derby. In 

 his interesting work, "The Racehorse in Training," 

 that gentleman explains " the mystery," which 

 was, in fact, no mystery at all, the horse having, 

 like many other horses, exhausted her form in her 

 two-year-old career. It is only proper, however, 

 that Mr. Day should speak for himself regarding 

 Lady Elizabeth. He says, pages 156-7 : "As a 

 three- year-old she beat nothing. She ran four 

 times and was never placed. Her first appearance 

 in that year was for the Derby, her starting price 

 in the betting being 7 to 4. No sporting man 

 is likely ever to forget the sensation caused 

 by her ignominious defeat. Nothing like it had 

 been known for years or has been known since. 



X 



