RACE RIDING 151 



under the whip ; but this is the exception, and as a rule the 

 jockey does not find it necessary to sit down and finish till the 

 post is tolerably near at hand. On this point George Fordham 

 was properly emphatic. Speaking of the common want of 

 patience by which so many races are thrown away it is curious 

 to think how different the volume of ' Races Past ' would be if 

 all the jockeys had been Fordhams, Cannons, and Archers 

 he said : ' The boys whip a horse a mile from home. Some- 

 times, as we've been going in a race, I've seen them begin and 

 I've said to them, " How the deuce do you expect to get him 

 home if you're whipping him now ? " : Such lads would have 

 an infinitely better chance if they had no whips at all, for at 

 all periods of the race the horse chiefly wants the support he 

 derives from his jockey's hands, and to let the animal's head 

 loose, as boys almost invariably do when they begin to flog, is 

 to make defeat practically certain. 



The writer was amused at a little incident that happened 

 one day in the Birdcage at Newmarket. An old trainer of wide 

 knowledge and experience had a horse in a handicap with a very 

 light weight. The little lad who was to ride emerged from the 

 weighing-room in colours, with a big whip in his hand and a 

 pair of well polished spurs on his small boots ; and the trainer 

 regarded him critically. 



* I don't think I should ride him with spurs/ he thoughtfully 

 remarked. ' N o, my boy, I think you'd better take them off, 

 perhaps.' 



The lad glanced down at his boots rather regretfully, but of 

 course turned round, re-entered the room, and soon appeared 

 with unarmed heels. 



* Yes, that's better ; I'm sure that's much better,' the trainer 

 observed encouragingly. ' Now give me your whip, and you'll do 

 capitally.' 



The boy, with a very reluctant look at it, handed up his 

 whip. He had perhaps pictured himself riding a desperate 

 finish and just beating Archer a short head amid the admiring 

 cheers of the crowd ; but there was nothing for it but obedi- 



