The Life of a Great Sportsman 



I may mention that the " Cat " had a similar piece of good luck 

 when King Lud, belonging to the then Lord Lonsdale, won 

 the Cesarewitch in 1873, Captain Machell on his own initiative 

 having good-naturedly insisted on investing a tenner for him at 

 the longest odds then obtainable, which in this instance meant 

 40 to 1. 



Beyond an occasional sovereign on his fancy for the Derby 

 or other of the Classic races, I believe these were the only two 

 bets worthy of the name ever made by the subject of this 

 memoir, and he was certainly to be congratulated on the result. 



Perhaps the most heavily backed candidate than any in the 

 Grand National of 1873 won by Disturbance was Rhysworth, 

 a gigantic animal who, when the property of the late Mr. 

 Henry Saville, had run third for the Derby, and was supported 

 by his owner at the last moment, as though the race was all 

 over but shouting, as indeed it looked when he was seen lead- 

 ing what was left of the field on approaching the final hurdle 

 with only the undersized Disturbance threatening danger, and 

 going so strong that Mr. Richardson might well be excused 

 for regarding his thousand to ten as being good as lost. 



In a moment, however, the situation underwent a complete 

 change. Rhysworth, though a good horse in a way, was a 

 rogue of the first water, and as the game little Disturbance 

 closed with him at the last hurdle — the two horses rising in 

 the air together and almost touching each other, back went 

 his ears, flat to his poll, and declining to respond to the vigorous 

 call of young Boxall — a son of Mr. Chaplin's stud-groom, who 

 rode him — Disturbance, jumping like a cat, drew gradually 

 away to win comfortably, amidst vociferous cheering from all- 

 parts of the course. 



Boxall was very much blamed on this occasion for making 

 too much of his horse, and it was openly stated that had the 



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