SOME LIVERPOOLS, INCLUDING KIRKLAND'S 



this mare? ' and I well remember he hesitated for a few 

 seconds — a good deal hung on his decision, as probably 

 I should not have thought of him again had he refused. 

 Presently he said he would ride, and he had to hurry up 

 to get to the scale before the Clerk left. He won the 

 race very easily. The next time he rode for us was in 

 the Sefton the following year. E. Morgan had been 

 riding Kirkland, and although he was certainly a good 

 jockey I saw that he could not get enough out of his 

 mount to enable us to form a good opinion as to what the 

 horse could really do. I wrote to ask Mason to ride 

 him in this Sefton, and for some reason he never 

 answered my letter — I fancy he had been asked to ride 

 something else and could not reply until he knew 

 whether the animal would start. 



" When in course of time I got to Liverpool I 

 wired to ask several jockeys to ride our outsider, but 

 none could or would, and on the morning of the race 

 I got young Nugent to give him a mile. When he 

 came in after having done so I invited him to ride in 

 the race, and I well recollect his somewhat reluctant 

 answer ' Yes, I'll ride the old beast ! ' I told him I had 

 offered Mason the mount, and had received no answer 

 from him, which led me to expect that Mason did not 

 intend to ride, though if I heard that he could do so my 

 offer would have to stand, I was really annoyed at 

 Nugent's indifference, and had he shown the least desire 

 for the mount I should have closed with him then and 



89 



