224 CHASING AND RACING 



happened to have one of my own with him — my size ! 

 Webb's breeches came almost to the child's chin, and 

 his boots were like unto the seven league leathers of 

 Jack the Giant Killer. They had to be strung to his 

 waist by pieces of cord; whilst my cap almost extin- 

 guished him, so much so, that when he was being 

 weighed out, old " Ben " Loates called out, ** Now 

 then young shaver, come out of that cap. I know 

 you are in it ; I can see your toes sticking out ! '* 



Well, Armada was kept well in hand by the boy, and 

 it was not his fault that my colt was baulked by a horse 

 falling in front of him at a critical moment. As it was, 

 the tiny jockey gathered Armada up and made a clean 

 jump over the prone steed and his rider, but he just 

 failed to get a place. Afterwards, as I have already 

 chronicled, Armada lost the Great Metropolitan owing 

 to a most exasperating piece of carelessness on the part 

 of his rider, who on that occasion was not Walter 

 Bradford, who turned out to be one of the cleverest, 

 most intelligent, modest, and charming of the riders 

 of his day. He was always a great favourite of 

 mine. 



Apropos Ard Patrick and Sceptre, the great struggle 

 for ** The Eclipse," when both were four-year-olds, 

 seems a pointer to the opinion, which has been so freely 

 expressed, that the mare should have been much nearer 

 to winning the Derby than she was. No one was 

 more surprised and disappointed than the owner at her 

 moderate showing in that race. That she was one of 



