32 STEEPLECHASING 



Grimaldi. The selection of the course was left to 

 Coleman, and he decided that it should be from the 

 seventh milestone on the London and Harrow road 

 to Stanmore. " I'll teach these London ridinof-masters 

 how to ride," said the self-confident Squire — Dan Seffert, 

 who rode Moonraker, was a riding-master, but an excellent 

 horseman, or he would not have ridden the hard-pulling 

 Moonraker — as soon as the match was made, and his 

 estimate of Grimaldi's powers turned out to be correct, 

 as the grey was in front from start to finish. 



Ouite the leadino- figrure at St. Albans, when the 

 races were in their prime, was the irrepressible Mr. 

 Osbaldeston. Surrounded by a number of sporting 

 characters he was just in his element, chaffing people 

 all round, and offering to match himself to do anything 

 against anybody. 



Once, however, the joke turned against the Squire. 

 One night three hunting men from London were dining 

 at the " Turf Hotel," intending to meet the Hertfordshire 

 Hounds, then Mr. Sebright's, at Gorhambury, when 

 a servant came to the hotel to say that the horse of 

 one of the diners was lame. On being requisitioned, 

 Coleman said that he had but a single hunter at liberty ; 

 but as he was engaged in several hunters' stakes he did 

 not care about Sober Robin — that was the horse's name 

 — being hunted at all. However, a Mr. Stubbs, a 

 light weight, had the mount on Sober Robin, who 

 was about as well named as " Placid Joe." He was a 

 perfect brute, without any mouth ; he had previously run 

 away with Captain Berkeley up the hill at Goodwood, 

 and Coleman bought him for next to nothing. 



On the following day the hounds found and went 

 away across Gorhambury Park. Sober Robin was not 

 long in getting the bit between his teeth, and away he 

 went right through the pack, knocking hounds right 

 and left, and Mr. Stubbs never had a pull until the 



