44 COURSING 



in Mr. H. Hardy's f.w.b. Wild Night, by Freshman out of 

 Fine Night, who owed her position at the end of the stake to 

 cleverness, to the rapidity with which she scored when in 

 possession, and to her killing powers. Like Gallant in the 

 previous year. Wild Night was more than once led on her way 

 through the stake, and to carry the parallel further she was also 

 the second string of her kennel, Wet Day running in Mr. 

 Hardy's own nomination. Wild Night had always been a 

 consistent perforrAer and a clever runner, though short of pace 

 for a Waterloo Cup winner. As a puppy she had won three 

 courses in the Oaks at Massareene Park (Ireland), and had 

 shared in a three-cornered division of the puppy stakes at the 

 Border Union meeting, her co-dividers being Fiery Furnace 

 and Farmer's Folly from the Messrs, Fawcett's kennels. She 

 also won four courses in the Croxteth stakes at Altcar, being 

 very unlucky when beaten, and at Newmarket she had been 

 drawn, after an exceedingly long trial in the first round. She 

 was at that time the property of Mr. Waters, who inherited the 

 kennel of the late Mr. Matthew Fletcher, but she was sold, 

 together with Wet Day, Wintry Weather, and Five by Tricks 

 (the runner-up to Gallant in 1897), for 850/., to Mr. Hardy, and 

 for her new owner she shared in the division of the De Grey 

 Cup at the Studley Royal (Ripon) meeting. Wild Night's 

 pedigree is a most interesting one ; her sire Freshman was by 

 Greentick out of Mary Mole by Paris, her dam Pretty Nell by 

 Countryman. Paris was one of the famous Ptarmigan- 

 Gallant Foe litter, and was also the sire of Bit of Fashion (the 

 dam of Fullerton), Miss Glendyne and a host of other winners. 

 Fine Night (Wild Night's dam) was by Herschel out of Harp- 

 string by Glenlivet out of Polly, and Mary Mole was sister 

 to Bit of Fashion ; Harpstring was bred by Mr. Thomas 

 Graham at Great Corby. Fine Night when owned by the late 

 Mr. Fletcher was a very fine performer, and we remember 

 seeing her run grandly at Newmarket as a puppy. 



Before going more into details we may mention' that this 

 year the services of a new judge were requisitioned, the change 

 being the first that has been made for five-and-twenty years. 



