THE GRAND NATIONAL 211 



happened to be in "durance vile" was liable to 

 disqualification. 



Ascetic Silver was another weight-carrier. He 

 was ridden and trained by the Hon. Aubrey Hastings 

 at Wroughton. Wild Man from Borneo was another 

 type of the small wiry sort, up to about 10 st. 7 lb. 

 with hounds. 



The great Cloister was noticeable in that his 

 hocks and knees were remarkably near the ground, 

 yet he had the best of shoulders and great muscular 

 development in his second thighs. As my old 

 friend Arthur Yates used to say : " It is action and 

 wind that win races." More comparatively small 

 horses have these characteristics than bigr ones. 



Further to accentuate the fact that the Grand 

 National is a unique race, it may be pointed out 

 that some extraordinarilylow-priced horses have won 

 at times. For instance, we read that Mr Elmore 

 bought Lottery, its first winner, at Horncastle 

 Fair for ^120; then Chandler, the record 2i1 feet 

 Warwick jumper, and the hero at Aintree in 1848, 

 was purchased for ;^20. Again in later years I can 

 recall Old Joe, originally sold iox £i\o out of the Duke 

 of Buccleuch's Hunt. Then Rubio, I believe, cost 

 only a ten-pound note. Roquefort was purchased 

 by Colonel " Bobby " Fisher for ;^28 ; Poethlyn cost 

 ^8 as a yearling. Sunloch went begging for ;i^ioo, 

 before twice that money secured him, and I have no 



