THE DUKES OF GRAFTON. 29 



until, in fact, he was summoned to the House of Peers on the 

 death of his father in 1811. The third duke, his father, as has been 

 seen, was an exceptionally fortunate and successful turfman, winning 

 the Derby three times m nine years with one son and two grandsons 

 of Pot-8-os. During the lifetime of the old duke, George Henry 

 Fitzroy seems to have been content to share the reflected honour of 

 his father's stable, as we find no record of horses run in his own 

 name. But on his succession to the dukedom he continued to 

 maintain the training stables at Newmarket, and the stud farm and 

 paddocks at Euston Hall, near Thetford, in Suffolk, and showed 

 throughout his marvellously-successful racing career the same love 

 for the Pot-8-os blood that his father had done. The fourth duke, 

 however, owed some of his success to his brother. Lord Henry 

 Fitzroy, whose judgment in racing was equal to that of any man 

 living. With the assistance of T^ord Henry, the training of Robson, 

 and the good riding of Frank Buckle, John Day, William Clift, and 

 others, his grace did very well indeed, although after the retirement 

 of Robson from the training of his horses the honours of the turf 

 did not pour in so thickly upon him. The duke, however, had no 

 reason to complain, for he won the Derby once, the Two Thousand 

 Guineas five times, and the Oaks six, besides most of the good 

 things at Newmarket for some years in succession. In the year 

 1825 his grace pocketed what was then thought the immense sum 

 of i^l 3,000 in public stakes alone. But to return to the stud at 

 Euston Hall, of which, as has been said. Lord Henry Fitzroy was 

 the presiding genius. Waxy, we have seen, was bought by the 

 third Duke of Grafton, and after winning the Derby and many 

 other important races himself, commenced well by getting two 

 Derby winners in succession — Pope and Whalebone. In 1811 he 

 got Blucher, who won the Derby in 1814 for Lord Stowell, and 

 the following year produced an own brother to Whalebone for the 

 fourth Duke of Grafton. This foal was the famous Whisker, who 

 won the Derby in the memorable Waterloo year, 1815. Whisker 

 was by Waxy out of Penelope, by Trum})ator out of Prunella, by 

 Highflyer, and this union of the Darley, Byerley and Godolphin 

 strains, may be looked upon as almost the foundation of the super- 

 lative excellence of the English thoroughbred, for nearly every 

 modern racehorse of special quality claims descent from either 

 Whalebone or Whisker. The sire of these two is described as having 

 been a very beautiful — but one-eyed — lengthy style of horse, with a 

 great deal of the Arab in his appearance. His quality was superb. He 

 was secured for Euston Hall by Lord Henry Fitzroy. The fourtli 

 duke had not to wait long before securing one very tangible success, 

 as in 1813 with Music, one of Waxy's daughters, he won the Oaks, 

 there being in that year forty-four subscribers, the highest nuTuber 

 that had yet been reached. Nine started, and Dick (Joodison, wbo 

 this year won his first Oaks, was Music's jockey. Two years later 

 the duke was more foitunate still, for with Whisker he won the 



