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Rh was (and is yet) all upon downs, and for more than a hundred years the ground has enjoyed an extraordinary reputation, the breed of hares being famous, and the 'going' so soft that greyhounds recover from the effects of a long course far more quickly than at many other places. Indeed, Ashdown has been the scene of some of the most important coursing matches ever held; and notably, in 1860, the Ashdown Club challenged the world to run sixteen greyhounds in the Craven Cup against sixteen greyhounds, entered by members of the Club, which might be drawn from any source.

This match was won by the Club; for though two representatives of each division were left in the fourth ties, both of the 'world' greyhounds went down, the deciding course being fought out by Mr. C. Randell's Rosy Morn and Lord Sefton's Sweetbriar (with victory to the former), both owners being members of the Ashdown Club, notwithstanding that Lord Sefton was emphatically a Lancashire courser, while Mr. Randell was a representative of the South of England.

If I go on with the history of the various clubs I shall soon have exhausted my space, so I must turn to other subjects, remarking before I take leave of Ashdown that slipping from horseback was customary there at the beginning of the century. Goodlake tells