I04 RACE RIDING. 



application. In this connection I may quote the utter- 

 ance of an experienced Newmarket trainer, who, when 

 the owner asked him to whom he should give a mount 

 in a race for a good stake : " Oh, sir, put up Archer. 

 He packs himself up so, that I believe he rides 7 lbs 

 lighter than his real weight." The owner did, and 

 Archer won. It is sufficient for us to know that when 

 a man sits down and finishes in proper style, the horse 

 is enabled to travel faster than he can do when any 

 other kind of seat is adopted. We know that " dead 

 weight," over which the muscles of the jockey cannot 

 exercise any influence, is particularly disadvantageous 

 at a finish, however well placed it may be. We are 

 also aware that if a man be tired or weak, however 

 *' still " he may sit, his horse will not be able to gallop 

 by any means as fast as he would do, were the rider 

 fresh and strong. These facts seem to indicate that 

 the jockey can afford a certain amount of mechanical 

 assistance to his horse, which cannot be derived from 

 the reins, for, although they may serve to "collect" 

 him, or to retard his speed, they are powerless to give 

 him any onward impulse. As the legs of the rider are 

 the only other parts which connect him to the horse, 

 the " lift " — if there be one — must proceed from them, 



