ISS THE BLUE RiBBON OF THE TURF. 



Iroquois in his morning gallops on the St. Leger course ; 

 on the contrary, the horse Avas rushed through his 

 work, and hurried back to his stable, almost before 

 any person had an opportunity of looking him over. 

 This fact strengthened an opinion that had gained 

 frround, that the horse was a ' stiff 'un,' and there is 

 no doubt that among the majority of racing men he 

 was looked upon in the light of a ' market horse ' — of 

 being, in fact, already numbered with the deadest of 

 the dead. 



Never before had there been a St. Leger favourite 

 about whom there was so much nioney to lay. An 

 owner of horses of some repute, it is said, was pressed 

 by a well-known bookmaker to accept £4 000 to £1 ,000 

 just before the race. He declined the bet, unwilling 

 to be ' had ' with his eyes open. If the horse at any 

 time seemed to rally, the deadly tide of opposition 

 again began to flow, and the waves seemed to increase 

 in strength. As a Derby winner and as a victor at 

 Ascot, on the morniug of the St. Leger Iroquois ought 

 to have been at even money in the betting, instead of 

 at prices which varied from 7 to 3 to 1. Those who 

 had backed him on the strength of his Derby win 

 gladly got quit of their money at a loss; as one 

 gentleman told the writer, ' they shook it all out of 

 me, at a price that entailed a large loss.' Three of 

 the best-known trainers at the great seat of training 

 were publicly heard to assert ' the horse had not the 

 ghost of a chance,' and whilst the training reports 

 announced that Iroquois was undergoing a -fair turn 

 of work, galloping daily a good distance, private 

 gossip was busy with an opposite stor}^, and at the 



