86 TJie Cottrse, the Camp, the Chase 



race on him at Abbotstone Down, on 25th April. I 

 then threw him out of fast work, riding him quietly 

 every day on parade as Adjutant of the Eifle Brigade, 

 for I did not intend to run him again that summer. 

 One evening, however, when travelling by railway, I noticed 

 in BdVs Life, that I should be eligible to run him for 

 the hurdle race at the Aldershot Summer Meeting, and 

 finding that there were still exactly three weeks in 

 which to train the horse, I resolved to have a try for 

 the race. Pursuing the same tactics as before, the horse 

 was galloped six furlongs every other day, occasionally 

 jumping a few hurdles instead of doing all his work on 

 the flat ; and on the days he did not gallop, I continued 

 to ride him on parade. All horses get to like parade 

 work, and wild as he was on other occasions, he was a 

 charming charger, never pulling at all, but cantering down 

 the line and taking up positions as if he had done 

 nothing else all his life. Only once was he allowed to 

 exceed his six-furlong gallop, and then I took him to 

 Winchester racecourse, and let him cover the full dis- 

 tance of two miles. He used to be so fretful when 

 going to gallop that I always walked by his side till 

 nearing the place of starting, and then got on to his 

 back, while I took the precaution of never starting him 

 twice from the same identical place, so that he never 

 quite knew when he was going to be jumped off. 



It was a very good field of horses that came to the 

 post, there being eight starters, seven of whom were 

 winners that season, and my hopes fell when I first read 

 the list of entries. We had to jump a hurdle in the 

 canter, opposite to the stand, so I sent his lad some distance 

 to the other side of it, and the moment I could get him 



