yOCKEYS IN TRIALS 309 



trial a farce. In this and other respects stable-boys have 

 an advantage. They are usually on horses they are 

 accustomed to, thoroughly know the course, and are 

 always sure to make a good pace, which cannot be said 

 for all jockeys, if left to themselves. And for these 

 reasons I may confidently say more mistakes are made 

 in trials by jockeys than by stable-boys. 



As to the race itself, if stable-boys can and do ride 

 trials to the trainer's satisfaction, what reason can be 

 assigned for their not riding in races equally well ? It is 

 a singular fact that boys were employed in riding all the 

 six trials before mentioned, and that three out of the 

 four winners were ridden by stable-lads, and only one 

 out of the other three horses won in the hands of 

 a jockey. What did the following stable-boys do for 

 Maidment and J. Parsons at the time could scarcely be 

 called by any other name, having only shortly before left 

 my stables ? The former won the Derby on Cremorne, 

 and again on Kisber, besides the Ascot Cup, the Oaks, 

 One Thousand, and many other good races ; and J. 

 Parsons won the Derby on anything but a first-class 

 horse, Caractacus, having ridden in public a few times 

 before, beating The Marquis with Ashmall up, and thirty- 

 two other jockeys, the most fashionable of the day, on 

 many good horses. If crack jockeys are, as is supposed, 

 so infinitely superior to stable-boys, why on these oc- 

 casions, and many others, did they not show it by 

 winning ? or wherein consists their overwhelming talent ? 

 Some of the closest and best-ridden races that I re- 

 member to have seen have been ridden by stable-boys. 

 S. Adams, for instance, won the Cambridgeshire by a 

 head on Catch 'em Alive, beating thirty-nine others, and 

 again won it on Lozenge, after running a dead-heat with 

 Wolsey. He also won the Metropolitan on Joco by a 



