SIXTY YEARS ON THE TURF 



while Veni, whom I had passed to Mr. E. Green (he 

 well re-named her " Eye Sore "), finished second. 

 Vici later won me a Welter Handicap at Egham, 

 but I was weary of his vagaries, and at the end of 

 the season made a present of him to Fordham. 



Fordham used him as a hack, while, further, he 

 was a splendid jumper. But with added age came 

 increasing eccentricities, and on one occasion, at 

 Slough, Vici stopped two hundred yards from home, 

 and try as George might, neither backwards nor 

 forwards nor sideways would he move. " Stop where 

 you are, then, you beast ! " exclaimed Fordham, 

 removing the saddle and walking away. 



" Where's the horse, sir ? " said his man. 



" I don't know, and I don't care. I left him in 

 the lane. You can either fetch him or you can leave 

 him." 



Ultimately Vici returned home, but Fordham had 

 had enough of him, and passed him on to Tom 

 Cannon. The genial master of Danebury soon knew 

 he had a horse, for a change of quarters brought no 

 change of mood. He was an equine law unto him- 

 self, and about as persuadable as the proverbial pig. 

 One day at Stockbridge, when Tom Cannon was on 

 him, he whipped round and thrust his rump through 

 a bow window and he was altogether capable of 

 anything in the way of misconduct. Cannon was 



242 



