144 THE POST AND THE PADDOCK. 



and tried to be so good after he won the Prendergast 

 and the Column, that a third Derby seemed distinctly 

 to loom in the future for Riddlesworth. The winter 

 blasted all these hopes, as he went dead amiss, and 

 was never really in form again. Once more, however, 

 his bankrupt spirit seemed to revive, and Sam asto- 

 nished the Heath considerably, and Lord Exeter still 

 more, by defeating the much-vaunted Varna in 1829 ; 

 while his friend Robinson, on Lucetta, had an equally 

 noted triumph over her fair stable friend Green-mantle. 

 It was on the strength of the high opinion which 

 they entertained of Merchant that the Chifneys were 

 first tempted to buy Zinganee from Lord Exeter. 

 Sam had of course ridden Merchant in his two-year- 

 old races ; and both he and Will were so convinced 

 that Wheatleyhad not made enough use of Zinganee 

 when he ran second in the Prendergast, that they 

 soon afterwards made an offer of 1,200 for him. 

 His Lordship returned them an answer to the effect 

 that, considering the horse's good engagements, 

 1,500 was about his price; and a cheque for that 

 sum was at once forwarded. Reformer never did 

 much to wipe out his Derby failure, and Sam's prin- 

 cipal performances consisted in winning a match on 

 him against Don Carlos, and running a dead heat 

 with the same horse in a second match. Ringleader 

 also won a somewhat extraordinary match against 

 Strephon. The horses had run a match before, which 

 had come off easily in favour of Strephon ; but Will 

 Chifney had kept his weather-eye open, and con- 

 sidered that Buckle had so completely out-generalled 

 Will Arnull, that, if Mr. Thornhill would only buy 

 the horse, and put Sam "up," things, as in the 

 Merry-go-round match, would be altered. He was 

 so set in his opinion, that Mr. Thornhill acquiesced, 

 invited Mr. Lechmere Charlton to shoot at Riddles- 

 worth between the Second October and the Hough- 

 ton meetings, and succeeded in making another 



