82 HORSE-RACING PREVIOUS TO VANS. 



Epsom losses. Like Lord George Beiitinck, the 

 nobleman of whom I am now speaking who, by 

 the way, was great - grandfather to the present 

 Duke of Devonshire could not be daunted or 

 turned from his purpose. I have often heard my 

 father describe the celebrated match between 

 Filho da Puta and Sir Joshua in 1816, when both 

 were four years old. Filho da Puta had won the 

 St Leger easily in 1815, and was undoubtedly a 

 great horse. He was matched to give Sir Joshua 

 7 Ib. over the Rowley mile in the Craven meeting 

 of 1816. The winter of 1815-16 was extraor- 

 dinarily severe in the north of England, and Filho 

 was sent by Croft, his trainer, from Middleham 

 to Newmarket many weeks before the great 

 match. The horse stood at William Chifney's 

 stable at Newmarket, and was under the charge 

 of John Scott, afterwards the famous Whitewall 

 trainer, who was then head-lad to Croft. Not 

 long before the match Sir Joshua was tried with 

 Lord George Cavendish's Bourbon, and won his 

 trial. On the first day of the Craven meeting, 

 Bourbon won the Craven Stakes very handsomely, 

 beating a good field of sixteen horses, which gave 

 Lord George Cavendish and other patrons of 

 Boyce's stable great confidence in Sir Joshua. 



During the race meetings at Newmarket Lord 

 George Cavendish always lodged at Mr Boyce's 

 house. When he arrived there shortly before the 

 Craven meeting of 1816, he was met by the Hon. 



