ASHGILL; OR, THE LIFE 



enabled to have another ' plunge ' at the remunerative- 

 odds of 6 and 7 to 1. Again at the 'Dip' Johnnie 

 was last, but coming through from that point on Meta,. 

 he won in a canter by several lengths. Mrs. Batt had 

 gone in for a large stake, and after the race she- 

 observed ' That was a very large bit you had up your 

 sleeve yesterday, Johnnie.' 



"Thorn," concluded Mr. Greer, "was the greatest 

 picture of a horse at that time that eyes ever beheld. 

 The next occasion Mr. Batt raced a horse at The Maze- 

 was when Osborne brought Waveney over. Mr. Batt 

 asked what Waveney could do. John's reply was, ' I 

 may forge him into a place, but that is the best I can 

 do,' and sure enough Waveney was second, being- 

 beaten by a very smart one from The Curragh called 

 Minnehaha." 



Perhaps Thorn's best performance was in the race- 

 to which Osborne has referred, viz., the Stewards' Cup 

 of 1876 at Stockton, in which he conceded 3 st. to a 

 useful filly, Madge Wildfire, whom he beat by a short, 

 head, our hero riding one of his electric finishes on Mr. 

 Batt's horse in this instance. Thorn, that afternoon,, 

 bore no less a burden than 10 st. 7 Ibs. Patiently 

 handled and beautifully nursed to the last few strides, 

 John then brought him on the post with a mar- 

 vellously well-timed effort. Probably this was equal 

 to any of his finest displays, revealing, as it did, 

 his judgment, patience, knowledge of pace and 

 power of pushing and screwing home a heavily 

 burdened animal. The untoward accident to Thorn 

 while at exercise on Middleham Moor in the 

 autumn of 1876 resulted in his thigh being broken. 

 He was carted off the Moor and lay a helpless cripple- 

 in his box for some weeks, suffering greatly. The bones. 



