* 36 The Post and the Paddjck. 



forgotten to rise at his favourite spot. Albert died on 

 the Heath not many years after, with Connolly on his 

 back ; but he died in his stride, and did not go nearly 

 so far before he fell : and Orinoco's death was equally 

 instantaneous. It was said at the time, that Will 

 Chifney gave Sailor unduly heavy work, and had 

 horses regularly posted for him in his sweats Both 

 he and his father were good match trainers, but not 

 great for two or three races together. Their match 

 horses were brought to the post as fine as wax-work, 

 but very light : they set them very sharp, stinted 

 their water, had them out for exercise, varied with 

 frequent four-mile sweats, four or five hours a day, 

 and bled them upwards of a couple of quarts a 

 week, till within a fortnight of the race. Such at 

 least is the testimony of their still surviving cotem- 

 poraries, who will stick stoutly to the over-training of 

 Priam. 



Mr. ThornhiU's Epsom luck with the Chifneys 

 reached its acme on the terrific Sailor day ; and 

 during the ten years more that his horses continued 

 under their charge, none of them were ever again 

 placed for either of those two races. Mustard was 

 " nowhere" to Gulnare in the Oaks ; and an own sister 

 to Sam and Sailor was equally unfortunate in Zinc's 

 year. The same may be said of Reformer, who was 

 first favourite when Sir John Shelley won the Derby 

 with Cedric, and had been purchased for 1500 guineas 

 some six weeks before. His colt Merchant (who 

 failed hopelessly for this race in 1828) was always an 

 especial fancy of his owner's : low, lengthy, and 

 strong; 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 Riddles- 

 worth. 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 astonished the Heath considerably, and Lord 



