Speed Versus Nose 97 



nose — consequently his speed was no advantage to 

 him. He did not even make the second series, 

 though according to 'Buckstaff's' reasoning he 

 ought to have been among the winners. Mr. Buck- 

 staff in his endeavor to prove that 'speed is about 

 all that is wanted,' says: 'In the first series Rover 

 defeated Nell R., and from all reports did it easily, 

 and she won the Derby. He must have possessed 

 considerable speed to do that. The only other dog 

 he had a chance to run against was Buckshot, the 

 winner of the All-Age Stake; and after a hot race 

 it was decided Rover had the best nose, but that 

 Buckshot was too fast for him. With speed enough 

 to beat the Derby winner and a better nose than 

 the All- Age winner. Rover was dropped out of the 

 class and five dogs placed over him.' 



"If all this is correct, no wonder Mr. Buckstaff 

 'wants to know how you decided on the winner.' 

 Let us look at it. Royal Rover did not defeat Nell 

 R. easily. On the contrary, it was a very close 

 thing between them in a race which was run at a 

 time when Nell R. v/as tired out — she was only a 

 Derby dog remember — on her long, hard run in the 

 swamp on the previous day. Had Nell shown her 

 true speed in this race — which she did show later in 

 her Derby race — Rover would not have been placed 

 in the second series. 



