Mr. J. M. Richardson's Writings Collated 



rider of Austerlitz in 1877; the Earl of Minto ("Mr. Roily") ; 

 " Roddy" Owen, who won on Father O'Flynn in 1892 ; Reggie 

 Ward, who tried so hard to win with Cathal; and Mr. F. 

 Withington, who rode Ford of Fyne into third place in 1897, 

 and sixth the following year. Jerry Dalglish, Capt. Percy 

 Bewicke, and my humble self are all indebted to Harrow for 

 that knowledge of the dead languages which has since proved 

 so useful on occasion for admonitory purposes in a big field of 

 horses; whilst to Rugby is accorded the honour of having 

 endowed " Doggie " Smith with the nickname by which he has 

 been familiarly known to his friends. I am not quite sure, but 

 I fancy Mr. W. H. P. Jenkins (Mr. P. Merton), the rider of 

 The Robber in 1869, was also at Rugby, and Mr. J. C. Dormer 

 (now John Upton), who was second on Cloister to Father 

 O'Flynn, in 1892, certainly was. 



A time-honoured institution in connection with the Grand 

 National was the betting in the laree billiard-room at the 

 Washington Hotel on the night before the race, but this has 

 been put a stop to of recent years by the powers that be, and 

 the card read over instead, as it is after the Waterloo Cup 

 dinner. It answers the same purpose, I suppose, but it is 

 hardly the same thing. How well I remember their forming 

 a ring round Lord Marcus Beresford and Capt. Machell the 

 night before Regal's victory in 1876, when the pair backed 

 their respective champions, Chimney Sweep and Chandos, 

 against each other in most spirited fashion, in a series of fancy 

 bets, as a result of which the captain, I fancy, came off second 

 best ! 



The great beauty of the Grand National is that no matter 

 what the quality of the competitors, the attraction is just as 

 great, and though no doubt on this present occasion the 

 elimination of Cackler and his stable companions deprives the 



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