ii8 THE RACING WORLD 



It is natural that jockeys, especially if they are on 

 horses that can't get off from a stand, should try to 

 be just moving when the barrier flies up. You 

 can hardly ever do this now, but we used to get a 

 chance on occasions before starters were as well 

 accustomed to the machine as they are at present, 

 and it made a lot of difference. It was just this : 

 to be on the move when the others were still, 

 meant that when you had gone three strides you 

 were three-quarters of a length in front. This is 

 a very great advantage, especially at such places as 

 Epsom and Brighton — they don't catch you. 



A jockey has of course to be discreet. Some- 

 times he will be thanked and his advice appreciated, 

 for instance, if he suggests some little thing, such 

 as running a horse in a hood ; at other times he 

 will be sarcastically told that if he minds his own 

 business and obeys the instructions given to him he 

 will be doing all that is required. Of course it is 

 true that the trainer who sees the horse galloping 

 at home and out should know whether blinkers are 

 worth trying ; but an experienced jockey notices a 

 lot of little things in a race, and at times his ideas 

 may be worth consideration. I personally like to 

 calculate the weight I have to ride, looking back 

 to see whether there are penalties or allowances, 

 and so on. It is perhaps not strictly speaking my 



