ILL-LUCK FOR 'NOISY' 129 



portion of it. And worse, the horse, though he ran 

 again, was never himself afterwards. Here was an 

 accident no one could have foreseen. We were wiser 

 after the event, no doubt, which for the first time showed 

 the advisability of having the manger boarded to the 

 ground nearly perpendicularly. 



Noisy, another horse in which Mr. Parker was in- 

 terested, was a good but unlucky animal. I bought 

 him for 100 guineas, when General Anson, on leaving 

 England, sold his horses at Tattersalls'. He was nearly 

 seventeen hands high, with very powerful limbs, and 

 action like a pony's. He ran in the Chester Cup when 

 Scythian won it, in 1855, the year Nancy broke her leg 

 and was shot. But he had no fair chance. No boy 

 could ride him in a crowd of other horses, and particu- 

 larly over a circular course like Chester, the cock-pit of 

 courses. This was most clearly proved in two ways. 

 When tried at home he beat Nabob at 18 lb., and, in 

 the race, Nabob gave him 2 st. 12 lb. and beat him. 

 Coming round the last turn but one he had won in a 

 canter, being many lengths first, and all the rest beat. 

 But the little boy on him could neither hold him nor 

 turn him ; and instead of going round the last bend he 

 went straight into the corner and stopped short, and 

 cantered up after the others had passed him. He did 

 this from no vice, but simply because he did not know 

 where to go, and the boy could not guide him. The 

 next day he won the Dee Stakes easily, though only by 

 half a length, beating such good horses as Lord Alfred) 

 Lady Tatton, and Correobus ; the latter last, although 

 but a short time before he had run second for the 

 Metropolitan Stakes. This result proved that if Noisy 

 had only run up to his form, as shown both in the race 

 and in his trial, he would have won the Cup. A similar 



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