134 MR. PARKER 



as Stockwell, Kingston, and Hobbie Noble, which in itself 

 must be regarded as rather a curious performance 

 indeed quite unaccountable, considering that Stochiuell 

 had beaten him in the Two Thousand, and that he had 

 previously been beaten by two or three others ; and that, 

 after winning the Derby, he (Daniel O'Rourke) was beaten 

 at York by a horse like Frantic ; again at Doncaster, in 

 the St. Leger, by Stockwell and Harbinger ; and in the 

 Triennial Stakes at Newmarket by Hobbie Noble and 

 Adine ; and ran a worse horse in the following year. If 

 this be public running, what is to be said in favour of it ? 

 Who will suppose that many of the good horses I have 

 mentioned as running in the Derby showed their true 

 form in it ? I think no one. As for the Oaks, the betting 

 was sufficient, in my opinion, to show how the land lay ; 

 and that Bird on the Wing was not very likely to win. 

 On the morning of the race she was second favourite at 

 4 to 1 ; and although we kept backing her, she ominously 

 receded to 15 and 20 to 1. And, as will be seen, her 

 subsequent running, with stable-boys up, showed plainly 

 enough that she was much the best mare in the race, and 

 ought to have won it easy too. 



After this race, I asked Mr. Dalton never to let a 

 jockey ride her again, but to put one of our stable-boys 

 up. She went the next week to Manchester, and won 

 the Produce Stakes, to which there were fifty-six sub- 

 scribers, in a canter, beating six others, little Hiett 

 riding her. She next ran at York. Here a telegram 

 arrived for me just before going on the course from Mr. 

 Dalton, asking me to get Frank Butler to ride her, which 

 I did. At this Sam Eogers was furious, and wanted to 

 know why he could not ride her. I simply said, ' Be- 

 cause Mr. Dalton has instructed me to get Frank Butler.' 

 Notwithstanding this, he was extremely rude and abusive, 



