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PRETTY POLLYS DEFEATS 1 Wearing Journey to France Resulted in Fillys First Reverse. Gilpin Illumes Jockey for Great Marcs Only Defeat in England Retired to Stud After Vinninp Twenty-Three Races. The close of Pretty Pollys remarkable racing career is recounted by trainer P. P. Gilpin in the following article from the London "Weekly Dispatch : About this time I was receiving countless letters from Pretty Tollys admirers from all parts of the world. "Atty" Persse has told the story of how he sent spare hairs from the tail of a brolcen-down gray to quieten the importunate people who sought keepsakes fiom the tail of The Tetrarch. I could not answer half the letters about Pretty Polly which reached me from persons whom I did not know. But she had numberless visitors on many, many occasions in the stable. Excitement is not too good for a highly strung race horse, but one made what exceptions one could in her case. One of my correspondents used to write love letters to the mare, addressed thus: Miss Pretty Polly, co Mr. P. P. Gilpin, Newmarket. Many of my correspondents wrote what they conceived to be poetry, but which read to me as exceedingly bad verse, with one exception. This was a ballad by an unknown muse founded upon the old English poem "John Gilpin was a citizen of credit and renown." It described an amusing incident in the domestic life of my family connected with Pretty Polly and the St. Lcger. In those days three of my young sons were too young to attend race meetings, but they were naturally keen to see "their mare" for of course they owned her in those days win the St. Leger. After Mrs. Gilpin and I left they played truant, went into the town and started off to Doncastcr in a motor car. In these days cars were less reliable than they are today. Their conveyance broke down and they missed the race. The anony-. mous poet, parodying "John Gilpin," told in well-phrased, amusing stanzas the story of their journey. Pretty Polly, still Unbeaten, wound up her reer as a three-year-old in England by winning the Free Handicap, a one and cne-quarter mile race in Houghton "Week, giving sixteen pounds to Rydal Head, which was second, and twenty-four pounds to His Majesty, which was third. She won by two lengths. It was just after this that she met with her first regrettable defeat. She was rent to France to run for the Prix du Conseil Municipal, but was defeated by a CG to 1 chance when she. unquestionably, was far from being herself. The mare had had a terrible journey over, and ran in going deeper than any which she had ever before encountered on a race course. A FJtlGIITFTJL JOUIt"EY. To insure that she would have as good a journey as possible I had hired a special tiain from Boulogne to Paris, but this special and its valuable passenger had a frightful jcurney. Instead of the non-stop run I had expected and paid to get the train stopped at nearly every station and backed into nearly every siding all the way from Boulogne to Paris. I believe the mare would have been fitter if she had walked. All this notwithstanding that 1 had given Alec "Waugh, the veterinary surgeon who accompanied her, 5500 to oil the palms of all the officials on I the journey. j Pretty Pollys unfortunate experience taught me a useful lesson in sending horses to race in France. Before sending Spearmint to win the Grand Prix I first approached Lord Itothschild, the head of that great house and chief of the railway between Boulogne and Paris, and asked him his advice as" to the best and safest way of getting Spearmint to Paris. He was kind ; told me what lo do, and gave me every possible assistance, with the result that the journey was accomplished in the shortest possible time, and I won the Grand Prix, the biggest race on the continent. For Spearmints journey we had a special boat from Folkestone to Boulogne and a spc-cial horse-box attached to the mail train from Boulogne to Paris. At the Gare du Xord the train was met by a horse-box, which took Spearmint direct to Longchamps, where he was quartered at the stable of M. Holbronn, the French Tattersall. There was no delay during the whole journey, except when complying with the customs requirements. For Comrade and Spion Kop we dispensed with the special boat, i Pretty Polly was favorite for her race, i but as she was suffering from her jcurney 1 our confidence was somewhat shaken, although I thought she would win. Many English men and English women crossed to see the race and backed the mare, and there was consternation in camp when it was seen that Pretty Polly was beaten by Presto II. As a four-year-old Pretty Polly won the Champion stakes at 5 to 2 on. As a five- i year-old she won the Jockey Club Cup, over two and one-quarter miles, when ridden by I B. Dillon, heating S. Joels Bachelors Button, which aftcrwards beat her when he- j celving weight in the race for the Ascot Gold Cup. Of this race for the Gold Cup I have no wish to write in detail. There were too many people around her at tho hotel where she was quartered for my liking, and she was upset a good deal before the race by the crowd. Yet that did not prevent her winning. In my opinion she lost because her jockey did not obey my instructions. Had he done so I feel sure there would have been no defeat for Pretty Polly on an English raco course to record. I told Dillon this after the race, but I have no doubt he was carried away by excitement. Pretty Polly never ran again, but was sent to the stud after putting up a succession of racing achievements which I do not think has ever been surpassed in the history of the English turf. In this her last year she had won three races out of four. Pretty Polly, alive and well, is still at Eyrefield, in Ireland, where she was sent in 1906. For two or three years she produced no foal, and I wanted to bring her back for another shot at the Ascot Gold Cup, which I thought she would have won, but her owner did not like the idea once she had I been thrown up, and it is quite likely that I he was right.
