CHAPTER XIII 

 THE RACING SEASON OF 1885 



And 'mid the flash of silks we scan 

 A "cherry" jacket in the van — 



Hurrah! for the bold brown mare! 



Sir Francis Doyle. 



DEWDROP was a star of the first magnitude in 

 the constellation of two-year-olds carrying the 

 "cherry and black" jacket during the season of 1885. 

 A brown filly by Falsetto from Explosion by Hampton 

 Court, marked with a blaze and near fore 

 ^ ^^^ and both hind legs white nearly to her hocks, 

 Falsetto could not have denied her. Nor, for that 

 matter, could Explosion. She was marked like both 

 parents. But Dewdrop had the Falsetto action, long 

 and low, with her head down— quite in contrast with 

 her companion Wanda, who galloped high, flitting over 

 the ground like a sylph. Wanda was the hardier filly, 

 Dewdrop rather delicate. Wanda had the greater 

 burst of speed; Dewdrop's action indicated greater ca- 

 pacity for a distance. Dewdrop's nervousness cost her 

 a race at the outset, she being left at the post. Charity 



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