RACING 143 



shortened his stride when coming to a fence ; in 

 fact, sometimes he took off at an incredible distance 

 from a fence. When this horse was being trained 

 at Bishop Sutton by Mr Arthur Yates I rode 

 him several times, and used to wonder how he 

 would negotiate the Grand National course with- 

 out a mistake. Cloister's hocks and knees were 

 placed very low. His canon-bone was very short, 

 and the distance from the hock to the pastern 

 unusually so. This conformation seems to be 

 adapted for carrying weight, but most high-class 

 race-horses have the reverse conformation. This 

 is well illustrated by observing the framing of the 

 descendants of St Simon. This horse's hocks and 

 knees were extraordinarily high placed and nearly 

 all of his descendants exhibit the same tendency. 



To give his full name, Captain James Octavius 

 Machell was indeed an astute and an acknowledged 

 authority on both racer and steeplechaser. His 

 wonderful career started in the early sixties, and 

 extended as far as iith May 1902, when close 

 upon five and sixty years of age. He died at 

 Hastings, and a few days later fitly found his last 

 place of rest at Newmarket, where his name is 

 still green. He was notable in the history of the 

 British Turf not so much for what he personally 

 accomplished as for the shrewdness and ability he 

 displayed in advising his many patrons. 



