Explore "The Sporting Chance" by Claude Askew on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
An hour before the big race Mostyn stood in the Paddock, by the side of his mentor, and pretended to pass a critical eye upon the horses generally, and upon Hipponous in particular.
The second favourite was a chestnut with three white stockings. His mane had been hogged, and he had -- for a racehorse -- an unusually large tail. Tyro as he was, Mostyn could understand the value of the large roomy flanks and magnificent barrel, and as the colt picked its way delicately round the circle, sweating slightly from excitement and glancing intelligently from side to side, it seemed as if he appreciated the fact that it was Derby Day, and realised the magnitude of the task before him.