88 STEEPLECHASING 



appointed for the race ; but he was not so much in 

 request towards the last, in consequence of the circula- 

 tion of a report that Elmore would declare to win with 

 another horse called Jerry, which people thought be- 

 longed to Elmore. This, however, was not the fact, as, 

 although Jerry once belonged to Elmore, at the time he 

 ran in the Liverpool steeplechase he was the property 

 of Lord Suffield, in whose possession he had been for 

 upwards of a year ; but for certain reasons he ran in 

 the name of Mr. Villebois. 



" Becher's Brook " was the scene of a sad accident to 

 Barker, who was riding Weathercock. The horse cleared 

 the leap cleverly enough, but fell on landing, and Cruick- 

 shank, ridden by Guy, who was just behind, tumbled 

 over the prostrate pair. Barker being underneath. Guy, 

 unhurt, quickly remounted, but Barker remained stunned 

 on the ground. He was carried to the house of Mr. 

 Curry, a farmer living about one hundred and fifty yards 

 from the scene of the mishap, and was examined by a 

 couple of doctors (Collins and Davies) who chanced to 

 be near at hand when the fall took place. In the second 

 round but five horses were left to compete, Jerry being 

 the eventual winner, as shown above ; he is said to have 

 won by no more than half a length. 



If Lottery was beaten at Liverpool in 1840, he was 

 certainly not disgraced, his defeat being brought about 

 in a rather curious manner. It would appear that Mr. 

 Power, who rode his own horse, Valentine, in the race, 

 had betted a laro-e amount that he would be first at 

 the stone wall (it had been lowered several inches since 

 the previous year), without caring whether he completed 

 the course or not. To win his wager he took the field 

 along at a tremendous pace, after he had headed 

 Lottery, so that when the wall was reached the horses 

 were all more or less blown, and four of the best, in- 

 cluding Lottery and The Nun, tumbled over the obstacle. 



