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ISONOMYS GRAND FEATS IN HANDICAPS. Astonishing Performances Under Heavy Weight and at Long Distances. It is in-t about forty years ago that John Porter, on be-half of the late F. Q ret tea, attended the sale of the Oraham Brothers at Yardlcy. and purchased a yearling eolt by Sterling — Isola Hella for the modest sum of 360 guineas, who later received the name Isonomy. It was not until the Hrighton summer meeting that he made his first appearance in public- to receive nine pounds from Ersilia, five from Preciosa, and finish a bad third. This was not an auspicious beginning, nor was there anything startling about his subsequent half-length victory when receiving eleven pounds from Telegram in the Second Nursery, last half of the Kowley Mile at the First October meeting, but that the bonny bay was coming on apace was de-monstrated a month later when, unfancied. he gave- nine pounds and succumbed by a head only to Headman over the same course. Twelve months elapsed liefore he came out again, and. starting at 40 to 1. simply ran away from Touchet. La Merveille. Hamilton and thirty-four more in the Cambridgeshire, the only rnee in which he competed as a three-year-ohl. and lucky for Sefton it was so. or the Derby would probably not have gone to the account of W. S. Crawfurd. It was, however, as a four-year-old that Isonomy showed what a truly great horse he was. in spite of the inauspicious opening effort when, a hot favorite, he failed by a length and a half to give eight pounds to the American pe-lding Parole, which he undoubtedly ought to have done. in the Newmarket Spring Handicap. At his next essay he was not hard presed to bowl over the odds — 9 to 4 — laid on Silvio, a Derby winner, for has Jold Vase at Ascot. At the same meeting he made-hacks of such horses as Insulair. Touchet. Jannette. Exmouth and Verneuil in the contest for the Gold Cup. Other Great Performers. No further evidence was necessary to confirm the then established opinion that Isonomy was a champion among stayers, but it was forthcoming, nevertheless, when he strolled away from The Hear, Parole. Touchet. Reefer and Ieter for the Goodwood Cup. in which he knocked the Newmarket Handicap form into a cocked hat. Iseful as they were, such as Paus Cray and Drumhead could make make no impression on him for the Hrighton Cup. and then came a taste of his extraordinary handicap form, as with his original burden raised to 134 pounds by a five -pound penalty, he ploughed his way through a sea of mud — and anybody who has had experi--nce of this course knows what that means at York — in the Great Ebor Handicap. Odds were laid on him. and In- came home by himself, a performance wliich was almost a nine days wonder, but came near to being a severely discounted a fortnight later, when with odds of 100 to 19 laid on him he had only a head the bass] of Janette for the Doncaster Cup. Thus inclusive of the seasons three principal Cups he had won six races in suce--ssion. but a greater achievement was still to follow. Allusion is made to the Cesarewite-h. in which ho had 130 pounds to carry, but was dominated by the lightly weighed Westbourne in the- same ownership, his starting price being 1000 to 1.". while the half-brother to Sterling stood at one-tenth of the odds. In styling We-stbourne- as thus related I am assuming that he-was by The Duke rather than by Oxford — Whisper. Had there been no Westbourne in the field no Chippendale would have won the Cesarewitch. for between his stable companion and Dresden China. Isonomy came within an ace of being knockeel down, just as he was coming to win. and but for the contretemps I have not the least doubt he would have scored. His Greatest Handicap Success. One of the soundest-legged horses that ever stood on iron. Isonomy. was kept in training for a fourth season, and great as had been his previous record, excelled everything when he won the Manchester Summer Cup. He hail 13s pounds to carry, and the ground was as hard as a macadamized road. James Potter, who was as fine a horseman as he was expert trainer, had scon him at exercise before breakfast, and e-xprossod the- opinion that, although he e-ould not tell what would win. he knew what would not. and that was Isonomy. but his judgment was at fault, for hard or soft going cam" alike to Mr. Jrettous great horse, and 1 shall never forget how. in the superb handling of Tom Cannon, he gave thre-e stone and three pounds forty -five-pounds to The Abbot, which less than a month pre-viously had be-en third in a close finish with Petronel and Muneaster for the Two Thousand Guineas, and boat him by a neck. It was a thrilling feat, and I think the most astonishing I ever saw in a handicap, but the effort on the hard ground and under the we-lter burden jarred him so much as to e-ome near to his undoing, ami on a necessarily gingerly preparation he was not the real Isonomy. ea-ily as he afterwards beat Chippe-mlale- and Zut. when for the second time he won the Ascot Cup and so pat a splendid finish to his brilliant racing career. — "Vigilant" in London Sportsman.
