58 " MY KINGDOM FOR A HORSE ! " 



good, kindly man, but with many narrow scruples of 

 conscience. Thus when the vicar once sent him a brace 

 or two of partridges, he returned them with many 

 thanks, but said he felt bound to " abstain from things 

 strangled and from blood," as enjoined by the Bible, and 

 he understood that partridges were not bled when killed. 

 For the most part Coxwold was a very sport-loving 

 village, and almost any of the old inhabitants could talk 

 with intimate knowledge of north-country horses, especi- 

 ally those that were or had been trained on Hambleton, not 

 more than five miles away. The Stebbing brothers had not 

 a few classic winners there, though according to William 

 Day they did not make the best of their opportunities. 

 Knight of St George, Flatcatcher, Alice Hawthorn, King- 

 ston, and even Velocipede were at some time or another 

 trained on Hambleton, and it was an easy journey to go 

 from Coxwold by Oldstead and up Oldstead bank, on the 

 side of which there is the big white horse that is visible 

 from the North-Easternmain line between York and Thirsk. 

 On the top of Oldstead bank you are within half-a-mile of 

 the Hambleton Hotel and close to the training gallops that 

 were. Small wonder then that Coxwold people had many 

 training reports to discuss, and the village cronies at the 

 Fauconberg Arms always turned to racing as their favourite 

 topic. Scurr, the landlord, was quite a sound judge of 

 form, but the great authority of the village was Savage, 

 the painter and decorator. In the year 1863 there was a 

 Coxwold half-crown sweep on the Derby, and to the best 

 of my recollection this was my first venture in a specu- 

 lation of the sort. The subscribers were numerous, and I 

 was so far fortunate that I drew a runner viz. the Gillie 

 who finished fifth . The newspaper reports said he ' ' showed 

 temper " in the last furlong, and I solaced myself with the 

 belief that but for his infirmity of temper he would have 

 won. Doubtless he had no earthly chance of beating 

 Macaroni or Lord Clifden. It was the year when Sweet- 

 meat blood was in the ascendant, for there were many 

 other first-class sons of Sweetmeat besides Macaroni. 



