304 ASHGILL; OR, THE LIFE 



CHAPTER XVII 



"Still questioned the story of niy life." 



HURRYING on through the season of '83, we find 

 Osborne distinguishing himself in many close fights, in 

 which, though he had been riding in public since his 

 first mount in 1846 at Radcliffe Bridge on Miss 

 Castling, he demonstrated that his nerve, judgment, 

 skill, and strength were undeteriorated. No bright 

 particular equine star emanated from the stable, but 

 several of its inmates proved more than useful on the 

 northern circuit. But before summarising the events 

 of the year, mention should be made of the fact that 

 stay-at-home William Osborne, who always had a strong 

 passion for the ancient sport of the Leash, won the 

 Waterloo Cup by the aid of that smart bitch Wild 

 Mint by Haddo out of Orla, trained by Jack Shaw, of 

 Northallerton, who had previously been identified with 

 the two victories of Coomasie (owned by Mr. " Tommy " 

 Lay, a penciller of some substance at that period), in 

 the great canine contest over the classic plains of Altcar. 

 Wild Mint, a slow but exceedingly smart bitch, killed 

 every hare she ran at, and, moreover, had two undecideds 

 with the Irish dog Phillip's Farm before upsetting in 

 the final the odds of 3 to 1 laid on Snowflight, who had 

 won the Cup of the previous year. 



