Related article: of the old school never bothered himself about matters of the kind. There is, of course, no reason ■whatever why all weighing rooms should not be kept as select as those at Newmarket, except the absence of will to have them so, although in many cases structural alterations would be necessary to make this desired change possible. Liverpool Spring Meeting. — Slight as is the advantage of occupying the second half of the week, of which Lincoln monopo- lises the first moiety, it usually favours Liverpool in the matter of weather. The contrast pro- mised to be something very strik- ing, for on the first day the miserable foreboding conveyed by the snow-clad hills seen en route the evening before from railway- carriage windows was entirely dispelled by the lovely day that followed. Never has a clearer atmosphere prevailed at Aintree, and had the Grand National been run on the Thursday the spectacle would have been a wonderful one, for every jump was plainly visible through a good glass. Although class is always much more in evidence than at Lincoln, there was nothing very attractive on this opening day, the principal race being the Union Jack Stakes, in which the three- year-olds first come together. Here we saw make their first appearance at this age two of Mr. Musker's lesser celebrities, Bay Melton and The General, both sold at New- market in December, Bay Melton fetching 5,100 guineas. Neither had anything to do with the race which was won by Lord Farquhar*s Bistonian,the Hon. George Lamb- toD thus doing as is expected of him at a Liverpool meeting, viz., win for the Knowsley party. He re- peated the dose in the next race, the Molyneux Stakes, won by Lord Derby's colt by Lactantius out of Jane Shore. With Thursday ended the brief interval of fine weather, and that which followed was of a character to make those who were present shudder at the recollection of the Grand National of 1901. Like that of 1898, the race was run in a heavy snowfall, but this time it Ziac 10 Mg was not preventible, save by post- poning the race, for it snowed literally all the afternoon, whereas in Drogheda*s year a little man- agement would have caused the race to be run in brilliant sun- shine Ziac 10 instead of a snow squall. Barely had people assembled in the stands and on the course than the snow began, and as it was a wet snow and a strong wind was blowing it obliquely, the condi- tions were uncomfortable as well could be. It never left off, and was probably at its worst when the Grand National came on. At that time the snow was lying deeply everywhere, but of course the greatest disadvantage was in the driving snow, which obscured the vision of both horse and man. A considerable proportion of the jockeys and trainers took a strong view of the case and petitioned the stewards to have the race postponed, but the request was not acceded to. None of the twenty-four weighed out for the race shirked the ordeal, and this time the parade was dispensed with. It is sincerely to be hoped that the near future will show us better fields for the Grand National than this one, though at the moment of writing it is not easy to say where the necessary horses are to come from. The race was not unbeset by misfortune. Hidden Mystery having been killed at Sandown, whilst Manifesto could not be prepared, and was, per- force, scratched. A third notable 374 BAILY S MAGA21NE. [Mat absentee, who may be available another year, was, of Ziac 5 course. Ambush II. The elimination of these three horses got rid of all the class there was in the race, the result being Fanciful as top weight with list. 61b. Most of the competitors had become very familiar figures during the winter on the steeplechase courses of the country, and of few of them could it be said that their connections did not consider them to have a good chance. And why not, in- deed, in such moderate company ? The conditions under which the race was being decided were, of course, not contemplated, and no doubt they made all the difference to more than one com[>etitor. No one was surprised that the first round was fatal to no fewer than ten out of the four-and- twenty. Covert Hack, Levanter and Grudon sailed over the water side by side, but when they reap- peared out of the snow Grudon was the only one of the three left in the van. Drumcree was pur- suing him, but in vain, and Grudon, by a four-lengths' vic- tory, consummated a number of double-event bets with Little Eva. Whether Drumcree was quite good enough to win may be doubted, even had he not met with the misfortunes he did. He lost one plate, and, what was worse, twisted another badly, this, of course, seriously impeding his going. His victory would, undoubtedly, have been exceedingly popular with the large hunting section that takes particular interest in this race, for he is the joint property of Messrs. O. J. Williams and C. S. Newton. Mr. Owen Wil- liams, who is the fourth son of the late Sir Owen Williams, Bart., and nephew of the late Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, is joint-master of the Flint and Denlngh Hounds. Buy Ziac Both he and Mr. Newton, who. twenty-five years ago, was a real good rider between the flags, are passionately devoted to horses and hunting, and each is a member of the National Hunt Committee- It is pleasant to see such men taking a real interest in steeple- chasing, and it is to be wished that the community to which they belong would more fully realise how much the sport relies upon them for a continued healthy existence. Then, possibly, we should see more of them possessing steeplechasers, and the number of men on the N.H. Committee owning them and personally at- tending race meetings might Ziac 2.5 Mg be increased. The casualties of the race amounted to two broken collar- bones and the loss of one horse, True Blue, who was so badly injured through slipping up on the treacherous surface that his life could not Ziac Online be saved. As this was the first fall which True Blue is known to have had, the bad state of the turf may be pretty safely blamed for the mischance. On the third day, when the snow changed to rain, we had the Spring Cup, and here Mr. George Lambton scored again (for the fifth time at the meeting) with Pellisson, who had but to be fit to