AYR TO ARDROSSAN. 303 



Bugle, lie was blue with black hairs, and espe- 

 cially bare on the quarters. The blood has always 

 been more calculated for the flat than the hill. He 

 won 25 out of 26 courses, and was only beaten by 

 Craigieburn, whom he paid off; and then he cut 

 his back sinews on a bit of glass, and broke down. 

 Eeacon and Black Cloud were the results of his 

 cross with Frolic ; his Black Flag was from Wicked 

 Eye, Bright Steel from Scotia, Blackness from 

 Nettle (a sister to SteeFs Japhet), and Skyrocket 

 from Syncope of the Streamer blood, which was 

 generally red with a little white. Skyrocket was 

 given to Lord Sefton by Mr. Borron, and thus the 

 Bugle blood came back to the Sefton Kennel with 

 another cross of Streamer in it. 



Frolic, the dam of Beacon and Black Cloud (who 

 ran at 681bs. and 701bs. respectively), was by Water- 

 loo out of Dr. Brown's bitch of Ayrshire and Biggar 

 blood ; and Bright Idea and Bonfire were of the same 

 litter. The old bitch died, and they were brought 

 up by bull-bitches, or " lady bulls,^^ as Frank Buckle 

 would have called them. In Black Cloud and Beacon 

 the Streamer and Bugle strains are united with the 

 old Douglas or Greenshields blood, and through Ex- 

 otic with the Newmarket. Black Cloud beat Beacon 

 in his trial the first season, and two years after Beacon 

 had the best of it. Beacon was a good average 

 dog, a regular runner and not brilliant, but so 

 hardy that he v/on the Caledonian, Altcar, and Irish 

 Challenge Cups within a month. He was sold for 



