DONCASTER REMINISCENCES 24l 



till well after an official appeared at the weighing- 

 room door and held aloft a snowy, or, at any rate, 

 whitish banner tied on a stick, an act which is by 

 interpretation, ''All right." In the matter of 

 cheering I give credit where credit is due, but let 

 me ask, didn't we poor despised Cockneys let 

 ourselves go a bit when this same Sceptre won 

 the Oaks ? A Leger crowd ought to outnumber 

 the gathering collected for the last day of Epsom 

 Summer Meeting, and, no doubt, did beat it 

 considerably ; but I very much question whether 

 Sceptre had a bigger reception on her winning 

 race at Doncaster than on Epsom Downs. 

 That St Leger, ''my word and all," was worth 

 seeing. 



Mr Coventry came out finely from a most 

 unpromising position, for if ever a little lot did 

 threaten to make a starter wish he or they or both 

 were anywhere else, this company might be taken 

 that way. Kicks were mighty cheap. First one 

 and then another became obstreperous, and more 

 than once there was fair prospect of a general 

 scrimmage. Sceptre on finishing the prehminary 

 canter and being turned round, went for a spin on 

 her own account up to the corner, where, so that 

 people might miss a most interesting part of the 

 fun, the horses used to be hidden for starting 

 purposes. Then when she came back, the 

 young lady did not want to go to the barrier, and 

 was only brought into position at all under protest. 

 Anyone who can cite a better start than Mr 

 Coventry made when he did let them go beats 

 me, for I never saw anything in the line nearer 

 to perfection. The dozen went together, all with 

 the same leg first, as a sportsman, charmed with 

 the performance, put it, and you could not say 



Q 



