M. Augusta da Bois, who died few days ago, at the ago of 81, was for a great many years one of the principal links between the British Turf and the French. He began his career in the diplomatic service at the end of the Second Empire and was for some time private s0- retary at the French Embassy in London. His connection with racing began in 1878, when ho took over the management of Comte de Lagrange's horses in England, Later lie became an owner and, with the late Jack Mitchell as his trainer, ho raced with a very fair amount of success in Franco and England. One of the best coups of his career was in 1886, with Mes satire LI, in the handicap, now called the' Prix Castries, run on the same day as the Grand Prix. He bought the mare at a very low figure from M. Maurice Ephrussi and she won the handicap at 16 to 1, in heavy going against Lavanlate, ridden by the great Fred Archer. It was the sensation of the day. M. clu Bois had discovered that Messagére LI could not do her best on hard ground, and he there. fore, as he expressed it, "put her by for a rainy day."
Two years later he had a horse) called Commentry, which he rather: fancied as a jumper. He entered Commentry for a race at Auteuil and asked his friend, Mr. R. Gideon, to put the stable money on, but the more Mr. Gideon backed Commentry the longer became the odds, and when the race wag run, Commentry finished a long way from the front, M. clu Bois merely remarked:—"Say nothing, and we will get our money. back.""'A fortnight later, Commentry, carrying a few pounds less, again was run at Auteuil, and same layers went against' him, but when the jockey who had ridden the horse on the previous occasion presented himself at the scales, the trainer, Jack Mitchell, stepped for~ ward, threw off his overcoat and revealed M. clu Bois's racing colours, Mitchell rode Commentry and won assily. The owner had discovered that the trouble was not with the horse, but with the jockey.
Racing brought M, clu Bois into contact with King Edward VII, and they became excellent friends. Whenever the King, came to Paris, he spent much time with M. clu Bois, and they were frequently seen together at the races. Among M. clu Bois's racing stable partner were the Into James Gordon Bennett, Henry Ridgway, Robert Hen-nosy and Baron de Varenne. He was an honorary member of the English Jockey Club and was at tone time a member of the National Hunt Committee. At the lime of his death he was Vice-President. of the French Steeplechase Society, and ho was a member of the French Jockey Club for nearly half a century.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.