48 NEWMARKET EARLY IN THE CENTURY. 



Lord ? " exclaimed Arnull ; "of course he will win, 

 and easily enough too, unless a crow flies down 

 his throat as he comes across the flat/' Lord 

 George followed his jockey's advice, and Godol- 

 phin was duly entered. His weight was eight 

 stone, and, ridden by Bill Arnull, he won in a 

 canter, as had been prophesied by his pilot. Lord 

 George won a good stake ; and to show the dif- 

 ference between then and now, Mr Boyce and 

 Arnull stood a fiver apiece on the horse, which 

 in these days fashionable jockeys would doubt- 

 less magnify one-hundredfold. Vast as were the 

 number of races in which " Old Bill" rode, no one 

 ever dreamed of accusing him of riding dishonestly. 

 Such, however, was not always the case at 

 the period of which I am speaking, and the very 

 mention of the word " Escape " recalls an episode 

 as to which I will only add that Colonel Leigh, 

 who had the management of the Prince Regent's 

 stud, accused Sam Chifney of foul riding. Sam 

 Chifney's son William was then a boy, but old 

 enough to feel great indignation at Colonel Leigh's 

 unjust aspersions. Walking up to the Colonel, 

 the high-spirited boy told him to his face that 

 when a little older he would have his revenge. 

 Straightway he set to work to practise boxing, 

 and took every opportunity of learning the pugi- 

 listic art. When he had grown into a lanky 

 stripling of eighteen, he waited for Colonel Leigh 

 in the street at Newmarket, as he was going to 



