

FLYING FOX 387 



When the mare reached Eaton it was dis- 

 covered that she had a very spiteful disposition. 

 One day she mauled one of the stud employees, 

 and the Duke thereupon came to the conclusion 

 that he would rather be rid of her. He mentioned 

 the matter to me, and I told him that if he was 

 determined to part with the mare I would take 

 rher myself. His Grace thereupon changed his 

 mind, and Vampire remained at Eaton. Her 

 [iirst foal was a colt by Gonsalvo (son of Fernan- 

 jdez), and in a fit of temper she killed it. Then 

 [xame Batt, by Sheen; and in 1896, Flying Fox 

 [by Orme. 



Vampire had been mated with Orme, who 

 returned to her the Galopin blood with only one 

 'free generation, because, owing to her excitable 

 state when she had a foal at foot, it was deemed 

 inadvisable to send her away to a stallion that 

 might have appeared more suitable so far as 

 blood lines were concerned. Otherwise the 

 Duke would certainly not have risked the ap- 

 parently dangerous inbreeding to " hot " Galopin 

 blood. The risky experiment produced, how- 

 ever, a wonderful result. 



I saw Flying Fox for the first time at Eaton 

 whilst he was a yearling, and told the Duke that 

 he struck me as a colt with a ** Derby look '* 

 about him. The colt had not been very long 

 at Kingsclere before he began to show great 

 promise. Even at that early stage of his career 



II 



