AND TIMES OF JOHN OSBORNE 59 



when he won the Newton Cup in 1849, carrying 

 5 St., and won the Liverpool Cup the same year 

 on Bon-Mot, then being about sixteen years old. 

 My father gave me the Liverpool Cup, which I 

 have in my possession to this day. Pity the 

 Blind, by Inheritor, was bred and owned by my 

 father. Bon-Mot belonged to Mr. Disney, an 

 Irish gentleman, who afterwards owned Indian 

 Warrior, Knight of St. George, and a winner 

 of the Cesarewitch before that. I rode Bon-Mot 

 the day after he won the Liverpool Cup, and got 

 him home for the Bentinck Memorial. Both 

 Mr. Disney and my father wanted somebody 

 stronger than I on him, as I had to carry 7 st. 

 5 lbs., which meant a lot of dead weight. Mr. 

 Walsh, the trainer, who was ' a little bit on ' 

 after winning the cup, strongly objected to any 

 change, saying, ' The lad won on him yesterday, 

 and he'll win on him again.' " 

 Enlarging upon his recollections (all of which, so far, 

 and indeed all that follow, are shorthand notes taken 

 from our hero's o^vn lips, without once consulting any 

 record whatever — a marvellous feat of memory), we 

 cull some facts from the Racing Calendar of 1849. 

 On the very first page the record states that on 28th 

 February of that year, exactly fifty years ago from the 

 period of this compilation, "Osborne, jun.," won the 

 Trial Stakes at Liverpool Spring Meeting on Mr. C. 

 Hall's Ada Mary (three years), by Bay Middleton, 

 beating Isaac of York, Sir Richard, and three others. 

 He followed that up at Manchester the succeeding 

 month by riding the same filly to victory in a sweep- 

 stake of 5 sovs. each, with 40 added, eight others being 

 behind her. The one-eyed Pity the Blind he rode into 

 second place, behind Mr. G. H. Johnstone's Priestess, 



