SIXTY YEARS ON THE TURF 



the finish a 100 to 15 chance. As the world has 

 known for these past thirty odd years, Formosa, 

 despite her amissness, beat my colt by a couple of 

 leno;ths. But the world has not known that Fordham 

 always blamed himself as being the cause of the 

 defeat. 



"I thoucrht when' I saw Osborne at work o» 

 Mercury I had the race safe, and took matters a bit 

 easy. If I had, as I should have done, come clean 

 away, I must have won in a canter. Mr. Hodgman," 

 he said, "I have lost you tlie Leger and all that 

 money. I shall never forgive myself" This Ford- 

 nam told me in my rooms on the night of the race, 

 and he wished there and then to go home. But 1 

 saw no sense in that, though I own that I was very 

 disappointed, an added tinge arising from knowledge 

 of the fact that if Paul Jones had won the Austrians 

 would have bought him for 5000 so vs. 



Still, if I lost the race I gained some whisky. 

 Mr. Graham, the owner of Formosa, was a spirit 

 merchant, trading under the name of Nicholson — 

 "Nicholson's London Gin." He shook hands with 

 me after the weighing-in, remarking, " I'm glad I've 

 won. But my filly was amiss, and I went for yours, 

 Hodgman." 



Mr. Graham was not prodigal in his ways, and 

 " Tubby " Morns, who stood with us, said, " WeU^ 



208 



