JOHN DAY'S RETIREMENT 



Though Virago was far and away the best 

 of the horses trained at Michel Grove at this 

 period, there were others who brought no little 

 grist to the mill. When I went there in 1853 

 two of the boxes were occupied by Little Harry 

 and Rataplan, both belonging to Mr. Padwick. 

 A son of Epirus, Little Harry gained notoriety 

 in 1852 by starting a hot favourite for the Derby 

 and running unplaced. He was then owned by 

 Mr. J. Arnold and trained at Danebury. It 

 would seem that he passed into Mr. Padwick's 

 possession immediately after his failure at Epsom, 

 because when, a fortnight later, he finished 

 second for the Gold Vase at Ascot, he ran in the 

 name of " Mr. Howard," the mm de course of 

 Mr. Padwick. Little Harry, who measured only 

 1 5. 1, did not win a race that season. His best 

 performance was in the Goodwood Cup, in which 

 he was second to Kingston, and beat Teddington. 

 As a four-year-old he won the Leamington Stakes 

 and two unimportant races at Newmarket ; but it 

 was in the following year that he rewarded his 



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