156 THE BLUE RIBBON OF THE TURF, 



11 to 2 was betted a<^ainst the chance of Iroquois, who 

 was ridden by tlie first horseman of the day — Fred 

 Archer. The race for the Derby saw the same horses 

 first and second as in the Two Thousand Guineas, 

 but with this important difierence, that their positions 

 in the race were transposed. In the Guineas 

 Peregrine won with great ease, beating Iroquois by 

 three lengths, Don FuLano being third. The verdict 

 of the judge in the Derby, as interpreted by the 

 compilers of our turf-guides, was, ' Won somewhat 

 easily by half a length '; but those who witnessed the 

 finish of the struggle were somewhat uneasy, as it 

 appeared that at any moment the other horse might 

 prove the better animal of the two ; as the late Mr. 

 Merry used to say on such occasions, ' it's rather too 

 close to be pleasant.' Jockeys, it is said, like that 

 sort of work, and some of them, we are told, are such 

 adepts in the business as to be able to win by a 

 short head, having, in turf parlance, ' a little bit up 

 their sleeve '; it is much pleasanter, hov»-ever, to see 

 one's fancy secure a race by a length than a short 

 head, which means only a distance of about six 

 inches. 



So little was the chance for the Derby of the 

 American horse esteemed, that between the date of 

 that race and the Two Thousand Guineas good odds 

 were to be obtained against its chance of winning ; at 

 one time, indeed, it was easy to obtain as much as 

 25 to 1. Two wins at llo3'al Ascot — one in the Prince 

 of Wales's Stakes, and the other in the St. James's 

 Pahxce Stakes — coupled with the fact that Archer 

 would be again in the saddle, tended to keep Iroquois 



