102 THE POST AND THE PADDOCK. 



performance. The rare old General was in a great 

 state of delight at his second Oaks success, and sent 

 a splendid pipe of port from. White's, as a present to 

 Will, who comforted himself, as he sipped it, with 

 the reflection that he could not have had Sam to 

 ride Wings for him, and that no other disengaged 

 jockey could have won on her. Unrivalled as Sam's 

 " fiery rush " has always been, Will Chifney still says 

 that his great races on the flat were invariably won 

 before the horses reached the cords, and when the 

 crowd knew nothing of it. As in the case of Wings, 

 it was his innate knowledge of pace which enabled 

 him, although seemingly beaten at the start, to steal 

 up inch by inch to his opponents, and still have the 

 materials of a rush left in his horse when they were 

 close at home ; and his riding of Bloomsbury and St. 

 Francis were very brilliant specimens of this peculiar 

 style. 



At this period both brothers were fast approaching 

 their zenith on the Turf, and well-known in the 

 Thurlow country, whose staunch master, Charles New- 

 man, in spite of the tempting proximity, could never 

 be drawn into blending the gorse with the Heath. 

 Sam was still on the right side of forty, and had won 

 five Oaks and two Derbies, and was installed in one 

 of the best houses in Newmarket. Mr. Thornhill's 

 horses had been nnder his charge since the autumn 

 of Sam's Derby year (1818), and Lord Darlington's 

 horses came to his stables in the following spring. 

 Will, who managed their training, refused every offer 

 to enter into an engagement, but kept himself clear 

 and independent of all employers, and stood what 

 money he liked about the horses. Mr. Thornhill 

 was often anxious to become Lord Darlington's con- 

 federate; but although he allowed Will to communi- 

 cate with him fully about his horses, his Lordship had 

 not forgotten his dispute with the Prince, and refused 

 to run such risks again. The Prince, too,, had not 



