Lord Darlington and Mr. Thornhill. 139 



matches were on the same mare, and in both of them 

 he had the pleasure of beating his old friend Robinson 

 once on Cowslip and again on Semiseria. The 

 latter match for 500 sovereigns, h. ft., came off on 

 May /th, 1844, and was a worthy finish to a great 

 Newmarket career, which had then extended over 

 nearly half a century. He was perforce obliged to 

 abandon his waiting system, as he knew that Semiseria 

 could go much faster than his mare ; and, in fact, her 

 match with Queen of the Gipsies was said to be the 

 fastest thing ever run at Newmarket. Sam, conse- 

 quently, started at score over the A.F., and cut her 

 down before they reached the cords. The appearance 

 of the veterans created quite a sensation, even among 

 the matter-of-fact Ring-men. There was even betting 

 between the two ; and Sam's grim weather-beaten 

 visage was not altogether proof against the roar of de- 

 light which welcomed him as he rode back to scale, 

 casting a knowing look of triumph at Robinson, who 

 gave him the warmest of greetings in the weighing- 

 house. 



Only twice more was the well-known name of " S. 

 Chifney " entered in the book of a Clerk of the Scales 

 once opposite Elemi in the Derby of that year, and 

 again, and for the last time, opposite Example in the 

 Oaks. In 1843 the issue of this race had been be- 

 tween himself and his nephew Frank Butler, and he 

 had then been forced to alter his waiting tactics, and 

 come on in front a quarter of a mile from home. The 

 old tutor was, however, destined to be beaten by the 

 pupil, and there was no resisting Poison's challenge at 

 the Stand. This struggle might be said to be decisive 

 of the point, as to whether the uncle or the nephew 

 was to win the largest number of Oaks. Already had 

 the uncle won five on Briseis, Sorcery, Landscape, 

 Shoveller, and Wings while the nephew won five 

 after this one, and, in fact, just commenced his great 

 career in the saddle when the uncle quitted it. Mr. 



