The Derby 293 



which still provokes discussion as to which won. One 

 may answer with considerable certainty that Pretender 

 did so ; but there are those who still maintain that for 

 once in his memorable career the judge made a mistake ; 

 and these people are only half convinced when it is 

 impressed upon them that the judge is the one man who 

 can see a finish infinitely better than anybody else. 



Ten years later I had begun to grow acquainted with 

 the turf, to know some of the men whose names had 

 been marked in my imagination by a mysterious 

 halo, to understand a little about ' form ' ; and I went 

 to Epsom firm in the conviction that the Duke of 

 Westminster's Victor Chief could not be beaten. He was 

 a great, fine golden chesnut — possibly at the present 

 time I might be inclined to set him down as flashy, but 

 I then thought him all that was beautiful. Others of 

 our party were persuaded that the chesnut had no 

 chance with Cadogan, a thick-set little bay horse, reported 

 to have done something remarkable when tried ten days 

 before. When we are young and quite inexperienced we 

 are so invincibly confident ! The Victor Chief party 

 scorned the idea of their champion being beaten — being 

 even made to gallop by Cadogan ; the Cadogan party were 

 equally contemptuous at the ridiculous notion of their 

 hero being pressed by Victor Chief. If any foolish person 

 had suggested that neither would finish in the first three, 

 we should have known what to think of him ! But so it 

 was to be. We could hardly believe our eyes when the 

 field swept into the straight, and the yellow jacket, to- 

 gether with the black and blue cap, were seen in the ruck, 

 and when on the whip -hand a clumsy-looking bay that 

 we had not condescended to notice before was evidently 

 having all the best of it. Sir Bevys was the animal in 



