FAMOUS CHASERS AND THEIR RIDERS. 371 



he was forced to race with everything, and the consequence was 

 defeat. He had good luck at Aintree ; Mr. Thomas had then 

 ridden in eighteen Grand Nationals, and no one knew his way- 

 over the course better than he. Here, again, in Pathfinder's 

 breeding, the strain of Pocahontas told. 



In 1876 Captain Machell, who has always been specially 

 ambitious of winning this race, had a very strong hand. 

 Chandos was the more fancied of his pair, Regal being an out- 

 sider, and Jewitt, who trained both, rode the favourite. On 

 the other was Joseph Cannon, brother of the perhaps still more 

 famous Tom, both of whom, sons of a horse-dealer, had been 

 almost brought up in the saddle. Chandos, however, the im- 

 maculate hurdle-jumper, was less skilful over a country. After 

 breaking a thick rail with such violence that a piece of it flew 

 back and nearly knocked Robert I'Anson, who was riding 

 Shifnal, out of his saddle, Chandos fell, just after Jewitt had 

 shouted to Cannon that he was going on to win ; but the 

 second string was much better than had been generally sup- 

 posed, and, riding with much vigour and judgment — as, indeed, 

 he always did — Cannon got the hors-e safely home a neck in 

 front of Congress. Regal was, it may be remarked, the second 

 five-year-old that had won the race. 



Another horse of the same age was, however, destined to 



take the Grand National of the next year. This was Austerlitz, 



a chaser in every way of extraordinary power. Austerlitz was 



the property of Mr. F. G. Hobson, a rider whose habit of 



taking hold of the cantle of his saddle when he jumped a fence 



induced many to underrate his respectable capacity as a jockey. 



So fit and well did the horse look on the morning before the 



race, and so good did his chances appear, that James Adams, 



the well known steeple-chase rider, who was naturally ambitious 



of success in the Liverpool, offered 50/. for the privilege of 



being permitted to ride Austerlitz. The offer was refused, and 



the event showed that Mr. Hobson was able to win on his own 



horse. It could hardly be expected in the heat and turmoil of 



the contest the rider would be free from excitement, and, as a 



L B 2 



