THE TURF 179 



The first admission we have on record of a 

 jockey betting against himself, is in Genius 

 Genuine, page 1 06, where the author, the late 

 Samuel Chifney (1784), rides Lord Gros- 

 venor's Fortitude, at York, against Faith and 

 Recovery, backing Faith against Recovery, 

 one win, or no bet, and Faith won. He adds, 

 that he did not think he was acting impro- 

 perly in making this bet, because, he says, 

 he knew Fortitude was unfit to run. Now, 

 as he has given his opinion on the case, we 

 will give ours. Let us suppose that Lord 

 Grosvenor thinking perhaps that his horse 

 was fit to run had backed him heavily to 

 win, and that his jockey had backed (as he 

 admits he did) Faith to win. Fortitude and 

 Faith come to a neck-and-neck race ; and 

 what, may we ask, would be the result ? 

 Why, we really have not faith enough 

 to believe that Fortitude would have won. 

 Indeed, we can fancy we hear the jockey's 

 conversation with the inner man. 'The 

 money is nothing to my lord/ he might say, 

 1 but a great deal to me,' so one pull makes 

 it safe ; and a few pricks of the spur, after 

 he has passed the winning-post, serve to lull 

 suspicion. To speak seriously a jockey's 



