THE RACER. 37

“That is astonishing Uncle Thomas; I
really had no idea traming was such a serious
matter.”

“ Many thousands of pounds are annually
spent, John, in thus trainmg horses for the
various race-courses. Sometimes the animals
enter as completely into the spirit of the race as
the riders or spectators. An instance of this, of
which he was an eye-witness, is recorded in
Holcroft’s Memoirs. I must first tell you,
however, that Forrester was a horse of consider-
able note, and had won many hard-contested
races in his day :—

« «When I had been about a year and a half
at Newmarket,’ says Holcroft, ‘ Captam Vernon
matched a horse, named Forrester, against Ele-
phant, a horse belonging to Sir Jennison Shattoe,
whom I saw ride this famous match. I think it
was a four-mile heat, over the straight course,
and the abilities of Forrester were such, that he
passed the flat and ascended the hill as far as
the distance-post, nose to nose with Elephant.