202 CHASING AND RACING 



eventually passed the post quite two lengths to the 

 good. 



" What did I tell you ? " asked Corfield, when he 

 had weighed in. 



" Oh, you told me quite a lot," I said; " but you 

 did not tell me all. I guessed the rest ! " 



" Here, I say, Captain, I hope you don't think 

 



" No, Corfield, I don't think I know ! " and I 

 turned on my heel, leaving the jockey looking unutter- 

 able things. 



This coup had been cleverly engineered. I had 

 been given the tip all right (Corfield, to do him justice, 

 would never let an owner down if he could avoid it); 

 but I was much annoyed that the pawn in the game 

 had been one of my modest home-trained gees. 



It was in connection with this unsatisfactory era 

 of Turf history that a certain gentleman trainer, a 

 great friend of mine, told me an amusing yarn. 



He had tried a two-year-old colt to be something 

 out of the common, and figured that he had quite a 

 stone in hand in a certain nursery. 



He also possessed a diminutive apprentice named, 

 let us say, Martin Hannighan (obviously a lad from 

 the distressful country), who had shown himself to 

 have head and hands and an excellent seat. So on 

 the occasion of the debut of this smart colt, he decided 

 to put Martin up and thus to reap the benefit of the 

 apprentice allowance. 



