132 THE ENGLISH TURF 



colt had his revenge in the Epsom Cup nine months later, 

 and at the stud is immeasurably superior to his great 

 rival, whose best son is probably Chittabob. That the 

 last-named would have been a great horse had he been 

 less difficult to train is in every way likely. As a two-year- 

 old, and when he had the best of the weights, he defeated 

 Donovan, and as a three-year-old he showed brilliant speed, 

 both in the St. Leger and Lancashire Plate, but in neither 

 race was he half trained. He was one of the big, powerful, 

 heavily-framed sort, and though many of his stock win 

 races, they hardly seem to have inherited the stamina of 

 their grandsire, Robert the Devil, most of them being best 

 known as speedy sprinters. On the whole the St. Leger 

 is less seldom won by a bad horse than the Derby. The 

 moderate Sir Visto won both races, it is true, but we should 

 have to go back a great number of years to find a Sainfoin 

 or a Merry Hampton amongst the Doncaster winners, and 

 when the best filly is the best of her year she often defeats 

 the Derby winner in the St. Leger. Instances can be quoted 

 which bear out the argument. La Fleche has already been 

 alluded to, and if we allow that Throstle was no better than 

 Ladas, Seabreeze fairly beat Ayrshire ; Dutch Oven beat 

 Shotover a filly, but a Derby winner, Jannette beat Sefton, 

 and Marie Stuart beat Doncaster, the last-named pair being 

 stable companions in the same ownership, who fought out a 

 desperate finish, which the filly won. 



On the first day of the Autumn Meeting the Champagne 

 Stakes for two-year-olds is the big event of the card. This 

 race is run on a course of 5 furlongs and 152 yards, and 

 there are no penalties or allowances, so that as a rule the 

 best of those left in throw down the gauntlet. The race 

 is considered to be a difficult one to win, and it is only very 

 occasionally that it falls to a moderate horse, though such 

 comparatively recent winners as Ayah, Omladina, and 

 Solaro failed to distinguish themselves much afterwards. 

 Against those names can be set those of Velasquez, Ladas, 

 La Fleche, Chittabob, Ayrshire, and Minting, to say nothing 

 of the beautiful Isonomy filly, Riviera, who fell down dead 

 when at exercise, before she had an opportunity of showing 



