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PRETTY POLLY RETIRED. The most famous race mare of. recent times, Pretty Polly will race no more and-her passing from the turf to the. paddock has not been attended with any flourish of trumpets. The famous mare will go to Major Eustace Loders stud at Eyrefield Lodge, Ireland. Polly, it is said, was-almost human In her work, and the greatest regret is felt. that she should have suffered two defeats. Every now and again certain animals in England are described as "horses. of the century," but of late years they have come to grief in a most disappointing manner. Had Pretty Polly gone to the stud at the end of her four-year-old career, many would have claimed the title for her, as no one in England paid serious heed to her defeat in France. The rude awakening; came in the Ascot Gold Cup, when Bachelors Button ran the daughter of Gallinule out of it at tho finish. Whether she was beaten on her merits, however, is a debatable point, and when the true history o that race comes to be wirtten it will probably be found that she was a most unlucky loser. Still, she was beaten, and. that is the all-Important point. Whether unluckily or not does not matter the verdict will always rank against her. The daughter of Gallinule won nearly 86,000 for Major Loder, which falls, short of the winnings of some of the. famous horses of the past. Her career at the stud will be watched with extraordinary interest, and It Is to be hoped that she will produce something as good as herself. Brilliant mares on the turf, however, have a habit of proving failures at the stud, but Polly will be in a country which has Tecome famous for the extraordinary merit of the Iiorses bred there. "Breed In Ireland anil train in-England" would appear to bo a royal road to success on the British turf. It Is thought likely that Pretty Polly will be mated with Bachelors Button. It- would be a royal wedding.
