320 ASHGILL; OR, THE LIFE 



at the time, and told him so. 'Because if you are,' said he, ' I can get 

 you 1000 to 2.' When at home on the Saturday, I bethought myself 

 that it was not such long odds against Palmbearer, and so I wrote to 

 the gentleman and told him if the odds were still obtainable I would 

 take them. On arriving in London on the Monday I found by the 

 evening papers that the horse had been backed to win a lot of money 

 at a long price, and seeing the gentleman that I had written to in the 

 weighing enclosure on Tuesday, I said, ' Well, I suppose you couldn't 

 get the odds ; they've been backing the horse, I see.' ' I've been back- 

 ing it for one,' was the answer ; ' and you are on a thousand to nothing, 

 and you'd better have £500 to your two sovereigns for a place.' " 



" I was very comfortable in the race, and after rounding Tattenham 

 Corner had the satisfaction of finding one after the other coming up to 

 me and dropping away. All the time I was going well, although I 

 could not shake off the attentions of Fordham and Sir Bevys at last, 

 and was beaten three-quarters of a length." 



"And so you lost a thousand pounds ! " I said. 



" More than that, for Mr. Trotter had put me on £500 to nothing, 

 and the curious part of the business was," he adds slily, "that I lost 

 the money through ' Paddy ' there," pointing to Piatt, and using a pet 

 name for that excellent jockey. 

 , " How was that ?" I asked. 



It is Piatt who tells me. " I was riding a horse called Nutbush, 

 and was well beaten in the straight, but quite shutting in Fordham. 

 He shouted to me to pull out of the way, and I did so, for I saw our 

 horse sailing away in front and did not believe that Sir Bevys could 

 catch him. If I had not made room he would never have won." 



But Mr. Osborne does not look back to the occasion with bitterness. 

 He smiles gravely, and tells me it was a pity he did not win for the 

 sake of a number of Cleveland friends of Mr. Trotter, who had supported 

 the horse and would have landed a big stake had he got home. There 

 was a crisis in the iron trade at the time, and had Palmbearer won they 

 would have been able to have tided over it and reached better times. 

 And so I am left to reflect that racing success often means a great 

 deal, apart from the rustle of a silk jacket as it is borne first past the 

 post and the crowd cheer on a Derby day, for Northallerton station is 

 reached, and Mr. John and Piatt leave me behind on hearing the shout, 

 "Change for Leyburn" — a change they have made very many times 

 during the last twenty years, and which I trust they will very 

 frequently make in the future. G. 



