164 THE MERRY GEE-GEE 



say nothing of the mauHng he gets In the 

 effort to control him. 



Archer is my ** best jockey." No man 

 ever came round Tattenham Corner with 

 greater resolution than he. George Ford- 

 ham was probably his equal on straight 

 courses ; and that neatest of jockeys, Tom 

 Cannon, was a champion at coaxing a 

 green two-year-old ; but Archer must be 

 my "all round" man. He invariably got 

 off, and was a perfect judge of pace, 

 finished with undeniable determination and 

 ability, and won at the post where stands 

 the umpire whose decision settles the 

 fortune of so many thousands. 



I was well placed for an unofficial judge 

 when Melton and Paradox finished for 

 the Derby. Archer, who rode Melton, 

 was fifteen inches behind two lengths from 

 the post. By what seemed almost a 

 superhuman effort, he was fifteen inches 



