26 STEEPLECHASING 



lengths in front until the end of the second mile. Then Moonraker, 

 who had been tearing at his bridle, galloped to the front, and, without 

 ever having been again headed, won somewhat cleverly in the hands 

 of Mr. Parker, who on that occasion wore the same crimson jacket 

 in which ConoUy rode Mr. Beardsworth's Birmingham, the winner 

 of the St. Leger of 1830; but Moonraker, though running in Mr. 

 Lee's name, was understood to be the property of Mr. Beardsworth, 

 of the Birmingham Horse Repository, hence the same colours. 

 Cavalier dropped his hind legs into a ditch as he jumped into a 

 lane, and in the ditch he remained for several minutes — probably 

 an exaggeration, as he afterwards "ran home remarkably stout." 

 Wildboar fell from sheer distress (owing to want of condition) when 

 he was a few yards only from the winning-post, and from all accounts 

 it was only Captain Becher's careful riding that enabled him to go on 

 to the finish, as he was beat a mile and a half from home. After he 

 tumbled down he was bled in accordance with the practice of the 

 day and was able to walk to his stable. 



One of the riders in the above race was Captain 

 Becher, who was sufficiently famous to merit some 

 notice here. 



Captain Becher, besides giving his name to the 

 brook at Aintree, was a notable man in the steeplechase 

 world in his day. He was son of a Norfolk farmer and 

 dealer commonly known as "Old Becher," the "last of 

 the leather Breeches." "Old Becher" was himself no 

 mean horseman ; he was as well known at Tattersall's 

 as George Rice or Newcomb Mason, and many of the 

 horses he bought there came in due course under the 



o 



hands of his son, Captain Becher, whose courtesy title, 

 by the way, was bestowed upon him by the Duke of 

 Buckingham, whose regiment of Yeomanry he joined. 

 Becher senior was an excellent tutor for his son, who 

 from his cradle was "broke to saddle," as his father put 

 it, and the old man was wise in his generation, for he 

 never allowed his boy to ride a donkey, on the plea that 

 if a boy rode a donkey well he would never be able to 

 handle anything else. The future Captain Becher ran 

 the gamut of all kinds of ponies ; schooled the horses his 



