''Jock o' Orany 113 



because they were loved much, played the game all round and 

 died early, having had a real good time and saying with their 

 last breath : 



I have lived my life, I am nearly done, 



I have played the game all round, 

 But the best of my fun, I freely admit, 

 I owe it to horse and hound. 



— Whyte-Melville. 



A foxhunter, a bold horseman, a wonderful judge of a 

 horse, a breeder of blood stock, and a leviathan member of the 

 betting ring, he was the son of a small farmer, and, being a 

 Yorkshireman and born in an atmosphere of hunting and racing, 

 he took to both quite naturally. His father owned some smart 

 racing ponies with which he won many local events, and it is 

 related that the young Jock's first bet was of half-a-crown on 

 " Inheritress," on Middleham Moor, where races were held 

 years ago. Coursing, fighting, and cricket all claimed his 

 attention in his youth, and we are told " by the time he 

 attained man's estate, ' Jock o' Oran ' was regarded as a hero 

 in the district." Withal he was a generous, good-hearted 

 fellow, ever ready to indulge in a wager on any sporting event. 

 He won ^"27,000 over " Ellington's " Derby, and, it is said, 

 more over " Blair Athol." He was the owner of "Saunterer," 

 " Sneeze " (which ran second for the Oaks, in 1857), " Tim 

 Whiffler " (a wonderful stayer), "Elland" (with which he won 

 the Liverpool Cup and afterwards sold to Mr. Sutton, who the 

 following year won twelve races with him), and others. His 

 life was a short one and a merry one, and " The Druid " thus 

 referred to his death in The Sporting Life : 



" Yorkshire had two John Jacksons, of no small Turf renown. One 

 rode seven St. Leger winners, and counted ' Beningbrough ' and ' Altis- 

 dora ' among them ; and the other who was only a lad of eleven when the 

 old jockey died, nearly blind, at Northallerton, became the noted 'Jock o' 



