My Racing Adventures 



of that kind ; or, at least, he must have been so 

 when " Antler " beat him. The heat of conflict, 

 the fire of battle, and the stimulus of public 

 excitement are necessary to wind up certain 

 warriors to concert pitch. They do not give 

 their hardest punches (or true running) till war 

 is declared. It is bad for the other fellow when 

 they mean business. 



The great point in a trial is to have a good 

 pace — a truly run race — from start to finish. 

 Hence the importance of having jockeys up who 

 know how fast they are going and have a keen 

 appreciation of their surroundings. Thus, in my 

 young days, so far as trials on the flat were con- 

 cerned, my father always rode the trial horse in 

 order to ensure a good pace throughout, and few 

 mistakes were made in that direction. I wish 

 that I could here furnish extracts from our old 

 volume giving an account of sundry notable 

 gallops on Epsom Downs ; but space is precious, 

 life is short, so is a column, and we are nearing 

 the end of our labours. It is not easy to crowd 

 even into a quart pot more than a thirsty man 

 can drink comfortably — perhaps in one noble 

 coup. What price the froth ? 



When a two-year-old is tried early in the 

 spring to beat a useful plater at 2 st., and 



260 



