226 ASHGILL; OR, THE LIFE 



" nobble " him for the Two Thousand Guineas was 

 happily frustrated in time. A firm of bookmakers made 

 him a " dead mark," and never left him. One day the 

 late Mr. T. V. Morgan, who had horses in the stable, 

 was riding by a back way to Newmarket Heath. He 

 came across one of Mr. Dawson's employees in close 

 conversation with one of the carcase-mongering book- 

 makers. In a moment Mr. Morgan grasped the 

 situation, and the man was promptly discharged. The 

 " tapping of the leg " had already begun. It was sweet 

 to behold the agony of the bookmakers who had laid 

 33 to 1 to lose thousands for the Derby taking back 

 their money at 5 to 2. A third party in it was at the 

 time in very prosperous circumstances, but the 

 "nobbling" affair marked his decline. Prince Charlie 

 was a horse that was run with scrupulous honesty; 

 had it not been so, it would have been said that 

 Nemesis had overtaken all concerned in the 

 conspiracy. Poor Mr. Jones, his breeder and owner, 

 having lost a large sum of money through standing 

 security for a friend, committed suicide. Mr. J. 

 Dawson, Mr. T. V. Morgan, Mr. Formby, and Tom 

 French, who rode the " Prince " in most of his races, 

 are all dead. Another jockey who had charge 

 of him was seen borrowing half-crowns at Archer's 

 funeral. Prince Charlie's match with Peut-Etre 

 was a sensational one, and created a scene of excite- 

 ment on the Heath that had never been equalled. 

 While he was the most remarkable roarer the Turf ever 

 knew, he was the speediest horse perhaps that ever ran, 

 hence his name of " Prince of the T.Y.C.," a description 

 which he well deserved. Tom French was wont to say 

 he was the kindest horse in the world, and knew the 

 winning post as well as he did. There was always a 



