88 HORSE-RACING PREVIOUS TO VANS. 



under the influence of this predominant feeling, 

 which was perhaps at its climax in 1827, when 

 the Honourable Edward Petre's Matilda beat the 

 Derby winner, Mr Gully's Mameluke, for the great 

 St Leger Stakes at Doncaster. At the begin- 

 ning of this century Frank Buckle was the crack 

 jockey at Newmarket, which was always regarded 

 as being in the south of England, and simultane- 

 ously John Shepherd held a similar position among 

 his northern congeners. Buckle and Shepherd 

 were frequently in the habit of meeting in races 

 and matches, and no slight jealousy existed be- 

 tween them, although Buckle was naturally too 

 kind-hearted and easy-going to harbour an un- 

 kind thought about anybody. He was sometimes 

 forced, however, to ride with suspicion, because 

 Shepherd was by no means scrupulous, and would 

 take every unfair advantage that came in his 

 way, which indeed was at that time a character- 

 istic of most of the north-country jockeys. Fre- 

 quently there was a great deal of money betted 

 upon matches in which Buckle and Shepherd met, 

 and in those days it was generally impossible to 

 draw a line, or form an estimate as to the com- 

 parative merits of the two opposing horses. As 

 a rule, it was Shepherd's policy to make run- 

 ning, while Buckle waited, following immediately 

 in his antagonist's track. It once occurred that, 

 in a match over the four - mile course at York, 

 Buckle had his enemy dead - beat about a hun- 



