SIXTY YEARS ON THE TURF 



equal of Boyce, and 1 was so upset I did uot care 

 what happened. 



" Take the horse," I said to Boyce, *' to Liverpool, 

 and ride him if you can." 



On the morning of the race he asked me how he 

 was to ride him. " Do as you like," I answered, for 

 I had hedged a deal of my money the night before. 

 Had the jockey been in sound condition I should 

 have gone for a stake of 25,000. But how could 

 anybody be confident, no matter what the cha- 

 racter of the horse, with a jockey forced to ride with 

 the upper part of his right arm strapped to his side ? 

 I knew too much of the game to feel decently hope- 

 ful, let alone extravagantly " cocksure," as I have 

 always held the opinion that to win a National 

 a jockey should be in almost prize-fighting con- 

 dition. Green, who only looked to the betting side 

 of the business, never gave a thought to the style 

 in which Emigrant was handicapped through the 

 temporary infirmity of Boyce, and threw in for over 

 £25,000. Emigrant won, but so beaten was Boyce 

 that he needed assistance to the weighing-room. 

 His was a rare exhibition of grit and pluck, but even 

 while admitting this I could not feel enthusiastic 

 about the victory. It is true I won £5000 or there- 

 abouts. But great indeed would have been the 

 spoils had Boyce not gone hunting on that in- 



128 



