134 The Post and the Paddock. 



Perren's to Sam's some few seasons afterwards, they 

 never ceased to be of one mind. The very next 

 Epsom meeting saw them successful for Mr. Thornhill 

 in the Oaks with Shoveller a small, lengthy, and 

 blood-like whole-coloured bay mare, of whom they 

 gave him so good a report, that he won nearly 2O,ooo/. 

 In this race, Sam convinced Frank Buckle that the 

 high opinion he had long entertained for him was not 

 unfounded, as he waited on him from the moment he 

 took up the running with Espagnolle at Tattenham 

 Corner, and making one of his magnificent rushes in 

 the last two strides, defeated " the governor" on the 

 post by a head. His Thornhill luck had not, however, 

 run out with the half-sister to Sam, as the Derby of 

 the following year (1820) again fell to him with 

 Shoveller's full-brother Sailor, who won the Derby on 

 his third birthday. Such a delicious Epsom sandwich 

 for one owner as two Derbies, with an Oaks between, 

 has never been known either before or since. Sailor 

 was a plain, light-fleshed, chestnut colt ; rather leggy, 

 but at the same time very powerful, and though he 

 had by no means a large foot, deeply devoted to mud 

 This last quality was most opportune, as the whole of 

 the night preceding his Derby was a perfect hurricane 

 of wind and wet. Sam was lying comfortably in bed 

 recruiting himself after a heavy walk in the sweaters 

 on the preceding evening, and knew nothing of his 

 brightening prospects till he called for his slender tea- 

 and-toast breakfast ; while William, on the contrary, 

 was exposed to the pitiless tempest at four in the 

 morning, as he rose from his bed at Headley, and 

 wended his way down the hill to Mr. Ladbroke's, 

 where Sailor was standing, with the remainder of Mr. 

 rhornhill's horses. The booths on the race-course 

 were cracking and flying about everywhere " 'neath 

 the breath of the howling blast ;" but although Will 

 had to wade through a perfect Balaklava of liquid 

 slush, and was wet through long before he reached his 



