CHRONICLES OF A MINOR SPORTSMAN.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9790, 5 March 1910, Page 1

CHRONICLES OF A MINOR SPORTSMAN.

(By F. D'A. 0. DE LISLE.) Author of "Tales of Sahib Land," "The Chronicles of a Turf Detective," " Anthony Augustus Joskins, Sportsman," etc.

[All Rights Reserved.] No. IV. WE WIN A CLASSIC RACE. When finally settled down in our stables at Moore Park I got to work with our horses, and soon had everything shipshape and in good going order. A oouple of lads to rid© gallops and three assistant lada wore engaged, and with the help of Moore, the lightweight who had ridden for us at Bourke and Bathurst, we managed to keep our string in regular and steady Work at Randwick. "What a great dir.forence there was in the conditions Here and at the Folly. Tan gallops, sand gallops and grass tracks were all at our disposal, making the work easier by a long way than it had been on the cast-iron courses out west. That the horses appreciated the change was quicklv apparent, for our youngsters thrived wonderfully, and the older horses were enablej. to get the.r full quote of work on the soft tracks, with--out fear of their cracking up. Wo had one insuperable advantage in our favour, and that was that all our horses wore hardy, and accustomed, to roughing it, and not molly-coddles t\at had been reared in stables all tipr lives. Cbalheaver, Carbineer and Jellybags revelled in the soft going, an I I had no trouble with them. They t,'»« destined to take part in the big _er handicaps at the metropolitan m« stings, together with Painkiller and JSlev/ Haven. Of the youngsters King of the West and Blue Flyer were engaged m the A.J.O. Derby, while Arrah-gc-on, TJncas, Lifeboat, Flying Scud and Anadoymen© had engagements in many big three-year-old races and weight-for-age events. Aloo left the whole charge of the training in my hands, and only visited us fortnightly from Saturday to Monday, devoting the rest of his time to working the run and improving it to the best of his ability. We were soon enabled to gauge the quality of our horses, as Coalheavor, Carbineer and Arrah>go-on were given a flatter at Rosehill within a month of our settling in Sydney. The handieappers were lenient with us, and although Ooalheaver was beaten a length in_ a mile and a quarter handicap under 7st 101b, I was very pleased with hie effort. Carbineer was honoured with Bst 71b in a mile handicap, for his fame had reached Sydney, but our old champion could not give away a stone and a half to some of the speedy milors he met. But we gave them a taste of our auality with Arrah-go-on, who was most generously treated in a six-furlong race. His name was practically unknown, and he only _ got 7st. Ih ere were some speedy sprinters among the top-weights up to Bst 91b. and our ooft won rather too decisively by three lengths in the fair time of lmin 19sec. There had been a lot of talk at Randwick about the western invasion, a"} it was called, for Haley had a string ol- some fifteen thoroughbreds in training also, and many a jocular remark was made about the amateur who had charge of the Folly horses. Some of the younger trainers about Sydney did not know me, but the old hands had seen mo ride some ten years back, before I emigrated to Queensland, and they did not " throw off" so much at me as the newer fry did: Still I heard a good deal about the " blooming amateur"" at the beginning -of my training operations, and I was rathor glad that we had scored so effectually with Arragh-go-on ' For this reason: like all local opinion, the majority of the trainers about Randwick looked upon Sydney as the hub of the universe, and they firmly held to the idea that there could be no pood thing como out of the west. When they saw that King of the West and Blue Flyer both held Arrah-go-on easily on the tracks, and after Arrah-gc-on had cut out a medium-run six furlongs in 19, they began to puzzle their heads as to what our best really could do! Then, again, King of the West, in his preparation for the Derby, a race for a mile and a-half, was always accompanied in his gallops by Coalheaver and Carbineer, both aged horses that showed at Rosehill that they had the necessary amount of "toe" to hold their own with the best handicap sorts about Randwick; j and as "King," as we now' affectionately dubbed him, was generally top-sides with .his triers, tho whisper soon gob about that the " blooming amateur" was not such a fool as some people thought, and that in King of the West the Folly stable had a really red hot 'un ! This news soon spread abroad, and every morning on the tracks King had a very serious and respectful audience to watch him at work. We were fortunate at .Canterbury Park a couplo of weeks after Rosehill, when Uncas and Lifeboat both ran prominently, the sons of Iroquois respectively deadheating with Halley'<s Lady Go Bang in a three-year-old handicap and beating her by a length in a similar race later in the day. The publication of the pedigree of these horses proved that Iroquois _ was by Flying Buck out of Gwendoline, and that our youngsters were just as blue-blooded as the best of them at Randwick,

Our good luck stuck to us consistently, and Ave won enough races to keep the pot boiling and leave a nice balance over at our bankers. Flying Scud and Anadoymene were improving wonderfully, and both of them scored in three-year-old events. I also won a nicely-judged race on Jellybags in a welter mile at Tenteffield, where I rode against the_ professionals. I just managed to ride the lOst our horse was allotted with a 21b saddle, and my performance in the' pigskiu rather surprised the "blooming amateur" scoffers.

Meanwhile we wore rapidly approaching the spring meeting of the A.J.C., which was to be held at Randwick in the first week in October. We had Arrah-go-on in the Kensington Handicap (seven furlongs), King of the "West and Blue Flyer in the A.J.C. Derby, Carbineer in the Epsom Handicap, Coalheaver in the Spring Stakes,

Uncas, Lifeboat and Anadoymene in the Now Stakes, and Pain-killer and New Haven in tho Metropolitan Handicap.

None of our horses gave me much trouble, and I rather surprised some of the hard-and-fast style of oldfashioned trainers at Randwick by giving them liberal supplies of fresh green grass during their training. It was owing to this simple and wise precaution that my horses never required the "vet."; they were always clean inside, and the grass acted medicinally on the effects of the rich, hard oste. and kept their digestions in-splendid wording order. How fow of these selfsame trainers over considered the fact that a horse in training is pretty .much like a man in training, and that a constant diet of oats, oats, oats is apt to make them contract indigestion and other ills. The faddists scoffed at my new ideas and methods at the time, but it was soon adopted nevertheless, and practically became general throughout Australasia.

I received frequent letters from Polly, and from them I learned that Mrs Fullalove's supposition concerning my having a rival, and that rival being tho Bourko squatter, was correct. Halley had become a constant visitor to Camelot Station, and was an always welcome guest with Mr Cartwright, w'ho assisted the squatter, in every .way possible to win the gooll graces of his daughter. Between them they had succeeded in making Polly supremely miserable, and I fumed impotently when I thought of her (sufferings. It made me all the more determined to win a competency on the turf, and I resolved to have some of Halley's money in with the rest. If he was to be piqued into betting against our stable, 1 meant to tempt him cunningly and judiciously into making a fool of himself. 1 met him frequently on the training tracks at Randwick when he came to ceo his horses at work, and it wasn't long before I get a chance to accept one of his boastful wagers. In the A.J.C. Derby he had a colt engaged by Goldsbrough—Powder, a fullbrother to one of the finest horses on the Australian turf. The colt was a good one, but, after watching him at work for many mornings, I came to the conclusion that we had nothing to fear him. I felt sure that King of the West could bury him for pace, and I alsv thought that' Blue Flyer was his master. One morning Halley came to me after his colt had done a fair gallop and jocularly asked: "Well, wha J ; 'do you think of that There has been nothing better come out of the We3t than Gold Bomb. Your lot mp;; be pood, but you'll find that my celt can lick anythinug that you've got :?j equal weights!" " You're very sanguine," I replied, curbing my impetuous desire to soundly kick him as I thought of my unfortunate Polly. "I don't deny that the colt is a good one, but you've evidently forgotten how the Folly stable settled your lot at Bourke. Don't tempt Fortune again by betting against ours, for I feel sure you would go down again!"

"Not with Gold Bomb!" he replied angrily. "You have never met him yet. You beat my fiily, I'll allow, but I'd stake a thousand pounds that you can't be<at me in the Derby." " I'll take that wager, Mr Halley," I exclaimed as calmly as my 'deadly eagerness would let - me. " Wo've got King of - the West and Blue Flyer iu the Derby, and you have Gold Bomb and Roth well. I'll take your even thousand that our stable beats your stable in that Tace."

Halley stood dumbfounded for a minute, and he would, I believe, have cried ofi but for the .fact that thero wero some twenty witnesses to his having quoted the wager. Ho looked mmd hastily, flushed a brick red, and then aiiswered with a short laugh:

"Very good; it's a wager. May L—er—l mean to say, I don't wish to be offensive—but—er—l'd like a reference from your bank, eh?" _ This dirty sneer aroused my indignation, and 1 could not refrain from saying, " Between gentlemen such a course would be unnecessary, but I will only wager you on one condition, and that it <s money up. You understand?" The beast actually laughed. He could not see the point of my speech, and he thought it a huge joke to be asked to put up the cash for such a big wager.

"jjost certainly!" he sneered. " 1 shall ieel much safer, at any rate. May 1 suggest the editor of tho bportsmian' as stakeholder ?" "I accept, and I'll bo at the office of that paper at eleven, o'clock to post tho money. I hope to meet you there." "11l ho there without fail, though —— ■' and he laughed again. ' I turned calmly to ono or two pressmen who were present recording the training operations, and said: " I call you gentlemen to witness this wager, because of tho fact that in fifteen minutes- I intend to try our second string, Blue Flyer, over tho Derby distance, and if he does anything sensational I don t want Mr Halley to miss that appointment at the 'Sportsman' offico. 1 think I've got the master of Gold Bomb in Blue Flyer." Thcro was a flutter of excitement among the watchers, and it was soon known all over the covins© that BlueJ Iyer was to be tried over tho Derby distance. From far and near jockey's and touts, trainers, stable-lads and interested spectators flocked towards us. A publio trial was one after their own heart. I had arranged to try Blue Flyer tho full distance—a mile aJid a half—with Uncas, Flying Scud, Anadoyniene and Painkiller. Of course nobody knew the weights I had up. Moore vodo Blue Flyer with the correct Derby weight, Bst 101b. I put our thro© best lads on Uncas, Flying Scud and Painkiller, and I gave Anadoymen© 21b overweight for fillies, viz., Bst 71b, and put a well-known jockey up on lier. Tho horses had been saddled at the stables, and not a soul but myself knew that I was asking Bluo Flyer to meet Painkiller, a four-year-old, on 51b worse terms than weight-for-oge, and that tho filly was meeting Painkiller on 21b worse than woight-fov-ago. I told the boys to ride before the whole crowd. Flying Scud was to cut out the work for four furlongs, whero Uncas was to go to the front. At a milo Painkiller was to como away and make every post a winner. Blue"Flyer and Anadoymene wore to boat him if they could. Teddy Keys took them along to the milo and a half post to start them, _ and I took up my stand at tho winning post. There must have been fifty watches out timing that trial. According to orders tho boys on Flying Scud and Uncas cut out tho running, and Painkiller dashed to the front at a mile. She lasted only to milo and a quarter post, when, to omr surprise, Uncas came again and ousted her from tho lead. Tho Iroquois colt cam© aloiv? full of running, with Blue Flyer and Anadoymene at his girths. Flying Scud and Painkiller a length 'behind. So they raced to the post. In the straight Bluo Fiver collared Uncas, and a desperate finish saw Blua Fl.ver and Anadoymene pass tbo post locked togother, with Uncas ahead behind, Flying Scud a lengrh behind Uncas, and the four-year-old two lengths further back, last. The trial had been on grass, and I made the timo out to be 2min 40 2-ssec, although Fame watches made it a couple of seconds faster, 'fli© whole audience rippled with suppressed excitement. Ouch a trial was a long way ahead of anything that had been done on tho track that season. The move j excited ones dashed away Siydneywa-rd^

intent upon forestalling tho market in tho betting. Others chatted volubly over the performance, and all were loud in praise of Blue Flyer, whom they more than suspected of having been asked a big question. Only one levelheaded turlito did I hear mention the filly, and ho evidently came to the same conclusion as I did; sho was a smasher. If ho had known that Anadoymene had dead-heated with Blue Flyer on 21b worse terms than her filly allowance, I think ho would have had a bet on her at her every appearance in public Halley did not appear at all pleased. Ho knew that the trial was a clinking one, and it did not reassure him. But j he kept up his braggadocio manner, and boastfully remarked: "I haven't tried my candidates as yet, hut I've,, no doubt my thoroughbreds can do better time. I will meet you without fail at the 'Sportsman' Office, Mr; Dane. Until then, by-bye." A/id he walked away wrapped deeply in thought. To nie the trial was a revelation in more ways than one. I knew that we had in King of the West a 71b better colt than Blue Flyer, or at least such ho had proved in a trial a month ago, but the filly's performance was an eye-opener to me, for good and all as I knew her to be, I never dreamt .that she was 21b better than Blue Flyer. Uncas, too, had surprised mo, as also had Flying Scud. They had both done pounds better than I expected of them. I lost no time that morning in wiring the good news to Alec, and I advised him to have a good, solid bet on the filly in the New Stakes. I secured several good doubles myself as soon as I could. I took 1000 to 20 King of the West and Anadoymene and 1000 to 10 Blue Flyer and Anadoymene from Joe Thompson ; and 1000 to 20 the first pair from the Count. Then I took 1000 to 15 about King of the West and Anadovmene from Thompson again, and had a straight-out 1000 to 80 about King of the West in the Derby, and 1000 to 65 about Anadoymene in the New Stakes. When I reached the " Sportsman "• office I found Halley there, bragging about his horses, his station and his wealth, and ho sneered at me, and said that my judgment was folly, and I would strike a snag in Gold Bomb that would give me the shook of my Hfo. I waited till he had deposited Ins staJfie and then said: — " I am willing to hot you another even thousand that wo have three horses in the Folly stables than can beat Gold Bomb, and one of them is 71b better than Blue Flyer!" lie fell into the trap that I had purposely laid for him. He thought I meant Uncas, for all that colt's running in the late trial pointed to clinkjng form. His speedy pace-making at tho start, his phenomenal rush to the front at a m.'le and a quarter, and his desperate fi'ish with the first pair would lead any man to prestvppose that the colt had been given a steadier to try him. " Humph! You make very sweeping statements. I suppose you think you've g t a dark horse in pickle for the Melbc arne Cup. I see you've got him nominated. But you fly high, Dane; yci fly too high. Uncas may be a 711) hotter colt than Blue Fiver, but I will bet you 100 to 1 that the Folly will not produce this year's Cup winr.:r!"

" Once again I will accept your wager, Mr Halley, it's too tempting to refuse. Will you lay me £SOOO to £SO about our chance?"

" Yes, or £IO,OOO if you like. Name your horse. What's your fancy?" he sneered.

" Rocollect that you are in the presence of the editor of the ' Spoilsman,' and that I can hold you to your bragging wager. lam willing to accept £SOOO to £SO about our stable's chance in the Melbourne Cup. Do you bet?"

He flinched, and I thought I had him cornered, but his absurd vanity would not let him draw back. " Very well, I'll bet you £SOOO to £SO against any one horse of yours. Now, name your horse."

" I accept the wager of £SOOO to £SO against our horse King of the West," I replied. Evidently Halley was relieved, for he burst out laughing. " Oh ! the Bathurst Cup winner. It's a long way from the Bathurst Cup to the Melbourne Cup, old fellow; and I'm afraid your King of the West will have to remain King of the West."

" There have beeii equally big outsiders that have won the Melbourne Oup," I replied. "You have only got to read up tho history of tho race, and you wll fin dthat Zulu, Don Juan, Tho Assyrian, Warrior and others were very big outsiders that upset the calculations of tha turfites. . In fact, it is surprising how many of tho any-price division have placed the Melbourne Cup co their credit. But you'll find King of the West at a shorter price than you think when Cup time comes round. You'll bo sorry that you didn't hang on to your cash by the time you've done with King of the "V 'est! Don't spoil our market by he Iguig. it's not sportsmanlike. Good-bye." And J left him furiously angry, still bragging to the unfortunate editor about himself and his belongings. Four days before tho Derby was run we tried Blue Flyor and King of the West together at oven weights/ and tho King won in hollow fashion. He beat Blue Flyevs's time by over a second, and Alec and I resolved to put another couplo of thousand to> our account over the Derby. I stood to win altogether something; like £2OOO straight out, and about £SOOO in doubles with Anadoymene, and Alec Avas well in too. Mrs Pullalov© accompanied Aleo to Sydney to see our horses run in the Derby, and put up with her mother. Tho old lady was intensely excited, and announced her intention of attending tho races, a thing she had never done in her life before. The Cartrights also came to Sydney, as the guests of Mr Halley—that is, Mr Cartright, Polly and her brother Arthur. I was fortunate enough to see Polly in Queen Street the day before the races, and ofr a brief half hour we were able to converse together in the privacy of a tea-room to which I conducted her. Her father had plainly hinted to me that I was not an acceptable or welcome visitor, and on calling at their hotel the day before I • was informed that the Cartrights wer© " not at home." Therefore I was most glad to have a talk with my little sweetheart in complete privacy. During our conversation Polly said, apropos .Bailey's determined wooing: " Do you know, Otho, I think Mr Halley has got some kind of a hold over father. He speaks so commandingly to him sometimes, and father appears to be very miserable at times._ Ho has hinted to me on many occasions that wo are ruined, and that only a wealthy marriage can save Camelot. In fact, he has given me to understand that only Mr "Halley can save us I" "In that case it is evident that Halley holds some of your father's mortgages, dear. The brute! He means to try and take you by force if he cannot win you by fair means. But have courage,' dear, I have the eupremesTfaith in King of the West; he is one in a thousand; and even if he does not' win the Derby, I am certain that he will beat Gold Bomb, and win me another thousand of Halley'b money! Cheer up, my sweet girl, and bear with their persecution a little longer; a iusfc

Providonco will' help me to frustrate my brutal rival." And I told Polly of Halley's big bet against King of the West for the Melbourne Cup. "Oh, I will pray night and day for King of the West to win I Even if Mr Halley has got a hold over Camelot, I could never be false to you, Otho. We've been poverty-stricken, for years, and the station has_ been cruelly eating all our young lives away. My brothers are broken-hearted and cowed with the eternal struggle to make the place pay. It killed poor mother years ago, and I should be glad—yes, glad—if we lost the place altogether!" She sobbed softly, her head on. my shoulder. I comforted Polly as hravely as I could, and with the sanguine courage of youth assured her • that a brighter day was coming. We parted with mutual promises of faith and love to each other, and I left Polly more than ever determined to conquer Halley and defeat his ends.

There were many very good horses nominated for the A.J.C. Derby for that year, and the Victorian colt Wedding Bell was favourite for the race at 4. to 1, closely followed by Gudarz at s's, Sardius at 6's, and Kingsdale at 7's. Our horse, Kingof the West, was quoted at 8 to 1. Bsue Flyer was at 10's, Gold Bomb and Rothwell at 12's, and others up to 25 to 1. On the day before the race Aleo put £3OO in commission on King of the West, and the public immediately following the tip, it quickly brought our colt to the short odds of sto 1. Halley followed suit, but the bookmakers were still open to lay up to 10 to 1 Gold Bomb. We had given thorn a jolt or two since our arrival in Sydney, and they were rather careful in laying against our stable. The positions were unchanged on the day of the race up to the running of the Kensington Handicap, the second event on the card. All Sydney seemed to have turned up at Randwick, and I have seldom seen such an enormous crowd there as there was on that glorious spring day. The weather was ideal for racing. A calm, clear day, with just the faintest breath of cool wind, and the turf green as emerald and as springy as indiarubber. Mrs Fallalove and her mother were glowing with suppressed excitement, and the old lady showed a most intense interest in all our horses, and followed the betting market with the eagerness of a neophyte. Polly cam© on to the course m a four-in-hand, driven by Halley, accompanied by her father and brother and several male and female acquaintances of Halley's, vand my heart leaped in me when I saw that her dress was a neat and stylish conception of black, blue and scarlet—our colours. The brave girl had evidently outwitted them, all, for she told me afterward.? that nobody on the drag noticed her dress until after the Derby wa*s over. Halley's drag was smothered with rosettes of crimson and amber, and Polly, perforce, was compelled to wear one, though all her costume was composed of the Folly colours.

I had never had our horses fitter. Bluo Flyer looked a beauty, and in consequence of his fine public trial commanded a host of friends. King of the West shone like a star, but our noble colt was such a plain-looking customer that very few of the critics treated him to more than a perfunctory glance. Yot there were one or two knowing ones who stood and looked him over for quito a time. A veteran turfite that i had known .sine© my arrival in Australia scanned him for some minutes, and then turned to me : . " I presume this is your best, sir, since your partner has backed him publicly to-day?" '' Wo intend to win with him if possible," I briefly replied. " A fiver of mino on him won't hurt you?" he queried. "Have a thousand on if you like," I answered. "We have got all we want."

The old gentleman walked away evidently with thft intention of backing our colt at the current odds. I was not surprised to find King of the West shorten in price to threes to one after that, for the old veteran was the most astute jude;p on the N.S.W. courses, and when fie backed one the publio fell over each other to follow his lead, for it was said of M that ho never backed a bad 'un. After the opening Hurdlo Race came the Kensington Handicap, of seven furlongs, in which wo had Arrah-go-on well in with 7st 21b. I had tried him with the weight to do the distance in Imin, 31eeo, and Aleo and I had a hundred on him at 10 to 1. There were eighteen starters, representing the flower of Australian handicap horses, and _we pulled it off, after a desperate finish with the favourite, Copra, whom Arrah-go-on beat by a nose in exactly the same time as tlio trial. This gave the publio an idea of our stable strength, and as the timo for the A.J.O. Derby approached both our horses were backed heavily, King of the West coming to 2 to 1 with Wedding Bella, and Blue "Flyer reaching 5 to 1. Geld Bomb remained at tens, and Halley had a face like thunder. And now to describe the race tihat practically .made the Folly stable one of the boat on the Australian turf. Moor© rodo King, a horse he had ridden m races and trials, and one that he positively worshipped. He let all his friends know what he, thought of the colt just before mounting him.

" H© threw mo three times when I first rode him to win his maiden, and my oath! you take it from me, he's a fair snorter. That's what he is—a fair snorter!"

" Going to win, Jerry?" asked a hanger-on of the courses. " As suro's you'll get six moons one of these days, replied the tiny jeeky scornfully as he was hoisted on to the colt's back.

There wer© fourteen starters in the race, and Cameron, the boy on Blue Flyer, was told to go to the front after four furlongs and smash up Wedding 'Bells if lie could by racing that horse off his legs. 1 told Moore to look out for Halloy's pair, and beat them home at any cost. The boy_ smiled contemptuously, and Kaid he'd "do that all right!'* There were three false starts, and then the field got awaty, Wedding Bells on the rails and Gold Bomb next being the first two into their stride. King of the West, as usual, was slow off the mark, and was actually the last horse for the first two furlongs, when he began to lengthen out, and rapidly ran into the centre of the field. Here, unfortunately, ho got on the rails, and to our disgust we saw him pocketed, with Rothwell, Halley's second string, on the outside oi him, jamming him on to tho rails. I stormed impotently and Alec raved like a maniac as wo saw through the gam© and realised that the boy on Rothwell had been instructed to block our horse as much as he could with safety. "Hullo! what's this?" exclaimed a thrill voice at my elbow, and I glanced at tho leaders, to see Blue Flyer dashing to the front at the four-furlong post. Little Cameron made no bones about it but brought the colt along at * wnashng P ac .e> and Wedding Bells with Gold Bomb m attendance, started out in pursuit of him. The w h ole field moved up, and King of the West dx ??^ c } ]>«& until he was again last, with Rothwell just in front of him. Here little Moor© did a clever thing. He lot Rothwell get a length ahead coming to the top turn, then slipped up outside of him, and rounded the turn last, but with a clear course betoJß "isa* and he a.at down to worij on.

2? ?°\K ** was an awful risk, but if* >d knew it was his only chance. King soon settled Rothwell and started m pursuit of hia field. By this u m6 j f I] i 6 F .^ 6r was tlir ee lengths ahead first, racing as if he would never stop, and. Wedding Bells and Gold iiomb racing neck and neck after him two clear lengths ahead of the field, with King of the West coming along likei a whirlwind wide on the outside, bo they passed the mile post and turned for home. The leaders had a tremendous advantage, and we could hardly dare to hope that. King of the West would last out to make up all the awful gap between him and Wedding Bells. Turning into the distance Blue Flyer was still a lengtli and a half in front, with King of the West now sixth. In the straight Blue Flyer began to crack up, and to our surprise Gold Bomb shook off Wedding Bella and raced up to our second string, followed by another horse, Gudarz, that had come with a wet sail, and was gaining ground fast. A terrific roar went up from every throat as little Moore was seen coming along on tie outside on King of the West. Our gallant colt was going two yards to every one of the leaders, and he cut down his. opponents one by one as if they were walking only. Would he get up? Could he get up in time P.. " That stride! That stride!" I kept muttering incoherently to myself, The yelling and cheering were deafening, and I could not hear Alec's voice, though he shouted in my ear. Blue Flyer hung gamely on the rails, and was neck and neck with Gold Bomb and Gudarz, with Wedding Bells on their quarter, all the jockeys riding as if their Tory lives depended on the issue. Whips and spurs were out, and shouts of " Blue Flyer!" " Gudarz!" and " Gold Bomb I" filled the air. Foot by foot, inch by inch King of the West raced up to them, until one hoarse, prolonged yell went up, "King of the West!" Only fifty yards more —only thirty, twenty, ten, and he was afc their quarters, at their girths, at their heads! Oh, that magnificent, that noble colt! He took his gruelling like a hero, and, as if he knew he must win, as if he knew that all the nobles of his magnificent ancestry were'witnessing his marvellous performance, he thrust his game, mgly head forward as the post was reached, and won by a head! Such a sensational and magnificent finish had never before been seen in that classic race. Old Aleo and I were overwhelmed with congratulations when the numbers went up, and it was kndwn that King of the West had won by a short head, and Blue Flyer was bracketed a dead-heater with Gudarz, a head in front of Gold Bomb, who beat Wedding Bells by a neck. And the reception that King of the West and Moore got was a caution to see. We had the very greatest difficulty in reaching the weighing paddock, and cheer upon cheer rent the air when our tiny jockey weighed all right. He was one broad grin, though his little face was pale with exertion, and he could only express himself occa-. sionally by gasping.

" My oath I I told you he was a fair snorter!"

But in all our' jubilation and pleasure over our good luck I was pain<Sd to find Cameron, the little chap who had ridden Blue Flyer, sohbing out his heart in the jockeys' room, over his defeat.

"Buck up, kiddie!" I said, consolingly; "you made a splendid race of it!"

'"Strewthl" ho sobbed, "I thort I'd won a Derby at last, and Moore pips me on the pest. I could er won, too, on that bloke. He's the gamest I ever rode; but the orders wus wot killed 'im 1 Wot bloke cud do a mil'n and a-quarter at top like 'im, and finish as game an' as straight as 'in*? There ain't one on this course, I'll bet!"

" Oome, come, my boy, our best horse got the worst passage in the race, or he would have won really handily, but I'll promise you a winning ride, on our champion filly to-morrow. She's even better than Blue Flyer!" This mollified the little beggar a bit, and I left him to the consolation of a large orange, which he had commenced Bucking with evident enjoyment. In the saddling paddock I met Mrs Fulalovo, her xnotner, and iny sweet Polly with them. I heard nothing oJ their congratulations, except my darling's " Ohl Otho, I'm so glad." | " Cheer up, Polly, iny queen, and keep a brave heart. . I've won on© of Hailey's thousands, and, with the help of a kind Providence, I'll relieve him of another five later on. He may get nasty to your, father between this and the Cup. If so, contrive to let me know by some means. I want to be aware of all Hailey's tricks, in order to checkmate him. \Ve were soon separated by adoring friends and acquaintances. It is extraordinary how on© makes friend* after much success. I rushed off to sea Carbineer's preparation for the Epsom Handicap, and left Aleo to be th» her« of th« hour. " I think we should share » 6mall bottle, Mr Dane," said the old v-eteran, M -, coming up to me and shaking hands, "I've seen one of the races of my life! You've got a wonderful colt in King of the West, and you must not be surprised to see him at a short price for the Melbourne Cup in a day oi two. I hope the stable are on." '' My partner does all that," I ana. wered, " and I think he has taken some long shots about our oolt. Bui it's a good way off yet." He looked over Carbineer. "A gr;and welter horse, but rather old foi the company he is meeting. Do you fancy his chance?" The old gentleman flattered me by asking my opinion. " Candidly, no, but we are giving him a go because he is fit and well, and we want a line as to our chance in another race," I replied. "Ah! Come along, and let us drink success to your colt. He's as good at he is plain. I like him tremendously." Carbineer ran well, but ho could do no better than fourth. lam afraid our old fellow was too heavily weighted to compete with younger horses successfully. Coalheaver ran into third place in the Spring Stakes, a length behind the winner, and wo were both satisfied with his form.

When the races were oyer I saw Halley's drag leave the course, and the wicked frown he treated me to ought to have warned me of trouble, but I was too intent on waving good-bye to my love, who contemptuously" unpinned the crimson and amber rosette from her dress and threw it in. tho dust at my feet. It was typical of my defeat of Halley, and I hugged myself into snares when I thought of her steadfast, loving heart and of the magnificent thoroughbred that was going to help mo to crush my obnoxious rival and win mo a wife—King of the West, the, winner of the most sensational Derby ever seen at a meeting of the Australian Jockey Club.