Breeding of Hu n ters. 303 



Bedford, and after having him a season at Benacre, 

 Weathergage came out, and then the Duke hired him 

 back for two seasons, giving Sir Edward the use of 

 Oakley in his place as well. The former was sold 

 at Tattersall's for 400 guineas, after 1000 guineas 

 had, it is said, been refused for him. He is rather 

 deficient in action, and tied in his shoulders, which 

 are short and small, but especially handsome and 

 good in his hind-quarters. We thought, as we 

 looked him over in his Tattersall's box, that we 

 had seldom seen quarters descend so gracefully 

 into the thighs, which are, by-the-bye, a little too 

 straight for a hill. Among the lights of other days 

 in Suffolk we must not forget the half-bred *' Cook's 

 Pioneer," by Pioneer, whose hunting stock were 

 hasty and hardy to a degree. Oakley is a showy 

 but light horse, which accounts for the fact that he 

 never could get much beyond the T.Y.C. in his racing 

 days. 



Captain Barlow, of Hasketon, near Woodbridge, 

 had a succession of sound blood sires through his 

 hands ; among others, Minotaur, Sotterly, Robinson, 

 Haxby, WoUaton, The Caster, and now a chestnut 

 horse by Recovery, dam by Hampton, who is perfect 

 in symmetry, but not very big. He was Sir 

 Tatton Sykes's favourite hack, and has the honour of 

 being painted with him in Grant's picture, the good 

 old baronet having ridden him from Sledmere to Lon- 

 don in 1850 on purpose ! Elevated by the honour, or 

 the previous sight of his sire's model in the city, the 

 little horse was very riotous in Rotton Row on this 

 occasion ; and he was equally gay when the late Tom 

 Carter, the huntsman, who was no feather, rode him 

 with the baronet's pack. Minotaur left but few foals 

 — a bad fault in a stallion — but the few he did get 

 were good and wiry, but rather high on the leg. The 

 stock of the others, Robinson's excepted, had not 

 been tried. Poor old Robinson, who died of inflam- 



