UPON JOCKE YS. 245 



secure the best berth, and in resolute riding when the race 

 necessitates it, he has never had an equal upon the British 

 Turf. The place which he steadily occupied for many years at 

 the head — and not only at the head, hnt facile princeps — of his 

 rivals attested his extraordinary industry and merits, and 

 although his length of limb and increase of weight forbade the 

 supposition that had he lived he would have been able to go to 

 scale for as many years as Frank Buckle, Tommy Lye, Nat, Sim 

 Templeman, Bill Scott, John Osborne, George Fordham and 

 James Goater, he inscribed his name deeply upon the annals 

 of Turf history. Of all modern jockeys. Archer would have 

 been most certain to win commendation from that most 

 censorious and difflcih of judges, the late Squire Thornhill of 

 Riddlesworth. 



Among Archer's contemporaries, Tom Cannon and C.Wood 

 were perhaps the most conspicuous, the former for exquisite 

 hands and general judgment, tlie latter for decision in riding a 

 race. There are, however, contests — and notably the two St. 

 Legers in which he rode Lord Clifden and Apology, and the 

 I'wo Thousand in which he rode Prince Charlie — where the 

 skill and strict attention to orders displayed by John Osborne 

 merit the highest praise. Although blessed with little luck, 

 Fred Webb is surpassed in the determination of his finish by 

 none of his contemporaries, and his triumph upon Florence over 

 such a horse as Bendigo, and such a rider as Jem Snowden, for 

 the Cambridgeshire of 1884, was perhaps the brightest example 

 of his style. The strong seat and resolute courage of Custance 

 were seen to great advantage when he rode the insubordinate 

 Broomielaw for the Chesterfield Cup at Goodwood ; and, 

 speaking summarily, the racing men of the generation may 

 boast that half a dozen of these jockeys were equal — we do not 

 think them superior — to the ' brilliant quartet ' selected by ' The 

 Druid' in the last generation ^s p?'i/ni infer pai-es. 



When the first edition of this book was published, a jockey 

 who is now famous had not been seen in the saddle on a 

 public race course. Allusion is made to Herbert Mornington 



