174 The Dog Book 
contrary: Coleraine was only twelve months old when she won the English 
Kennel Club Setter Derby; Aveline, the beautiful, was but fourteen months 
when she was second in her Derby, and Signal but sixteen months when 
he made his great record of first puppy, second St. Leger, fourth Irish 
All-Ages Stakes, and ran the great setter Fred (winner of Third Grand 
All-Ages Stakes), at the Irish Grouse Trials, such a heat that Fred’s handler 
said at its conclusion: ‘I shall always have a great regard for Signal, and 
both fit and well, should like to see them drawn together again. He is 
the best dog Fred has ever met. His son, Young Signal, was but sixteen 
months when he was second in the St. Leger Stakes, second All-Ages 
Stakes (for all breeds) and third in the Irish All-Ages Stakes at the Irish 
Grouse Trials of 1893. 
“Dr. J. H. Salter, who judged the Irish Grouse Trials in 1889, was 
certainly surprised at what he saw at the trials, where some of the best 
English setters and pointers competed, for he wrote as follows: ‘It has cer- 
tainly done one thing, and that is to establish the Irish setter, when properly 
broken and handled, as equal, if not superior to the best English setters 
and pointers. For pace, endurance, cleverness and game finding sense: 
give me an Irish setter such as Henmore, Sure Death and Mac’s Little 
Nell.’ Corroborative of that is this extract from the London Field: ‘To 
Sure Death would undoubtedly have gone the Champion cup, had she not 
been so hard run. How she went over the ground even in the earlier part 
of her last course, after running during the last three days no fewer than 
ten trials, some of which were prolonged ones, must have been seen to be 
believed. We fancy she is even faster than Mac’s Little Nell; her style is 
smart and clean; she knows where to look for birds and possesses ‘a fine 
nose. We do not expect to find such a prodigy as a dog that can gallop 
around her or take the outside beat.’ 
“Mr. Rawdon B. Lee in ‘Modern Dogs’ (and Mr. Lee has been the 
London Field kennel reporter for years now), writes: ‘When properly 
and perfectly trained, the red setter has shown us that no variety can beat 
him. I should not conscientiously say that from what I have observed 
in his work of late years, and I have seen all the best dogs run, that the 
Irish setter is as dashing, as energetic, as stylish as the best English dog I 
ever saw. I believe he will, as a rule, do a long and hard day’s work better 
than any other breed of setter. His stamina is extraordinary, and the 
shooting man who has a wide expanse of moor upon which birds are scarce 
