MODERN ENCLOSED COURSES 193 



'Ampton," so beloved of the cockney race-goer of the last 

 generation. 



Everything at Hurst Park is up to date, and the meetings 

 thoroughly well managed, and in this lies the secret of much 

 of the success which has been achieved. Another factor 

 towards the result is the excellence of the going, and in this 

 respect Hurst Park stands almost alone. The course is laid 

 upon a subsoil of gravel and sand, and much of the turf 

 is very old, consequently the going is almost invariably 

 good. In wet weather the light porous soil allows of free 

 and quick drainage, and in dry weather the surface crumbles, 

 rather than cakes as a clay soil will. The turf is kept in 

 beautiful order by experienced men, and though it is less 

 required here than elsewhere, artificial irrigation is largely 

 resorted to in the summer months should the natural supply 

 be insufficient. The Oval Course measures one mile and 

 three furlongs, and, as its name suggests, is almost a perfect 

 oval, with no very decided turns, and a run-in of over half 

 a mile. Races of a mile and upwards are run on this course, 

 for the " straight mile " is a few yards short of the required 

 distance, though it does well for races up to seven furlongs. 

 The course is a wide one all the way round, but the angle 

 of the stands to the winning-post is a peculiar one, and 

 if two or more horses finish wide of each other the view 

 is sometimes very deceptive. In its early days Hurst Park 

 did not " catch on " with the public as Sandown and Kemp- 

 ton had done, but it gradually worked its way into favour, 

 and now it more than holds its own with a majority of 

 modern enclosures. 



Hurst Park made a bid for a place in Turf history when, 

 on October 27th, 1900, a match at six furlongs was decided 

 there between Eager and Royal Flush. Royal Flush had 

 improved so marvellously in the hands of Wishard that 

 there seemed nothing outrageous in the match, although 

 Eager had been set to give Royal Flush 2 st. at Goodwood. 

 How Eager won in a canter, and how the crowd cheered 

 itself hoarse, are now matters of history. 



Another Thames riverside racing-place is Windsor, where 

 several meetings are held during the year under both 

 o 



