310 ASHGILL; OR, THE LIFE 



intelligent bright eyes, with black bushy whiskers, and 

 the " mutton chop " affected to this day by John 

 Osborne. After the General Peel affair he retired from 

 the saddle and went to Newmarket. A relative of the 

 Dawson family, Joseph Dawson, induced him to return 

 to the saddle, giving him a leg up on a mare called 

 Miss Foote, who was expected to win. But it was of 

 no avail ; he had lost his nerve and form, quite in con- 

 trast to Fordham, who rode as \vell as ever when he 

 resumed riding after his divorce from the pigskin for a 

 period. The Aldcroft " rush " was no more ; indeed, he 

 was so shattered in his system that at last he had not 

 the confidence to mount a horse. 



The match between Cambuscan and General Peel 

 arose out of their being second and third respectively 

 in Blair Athol's St. Leger. Notwithstanding that it 

 was generally supposed that John Jackson won a small 

 fortune over Blair Athol, according to his own con- 

 fession, he had little reason to be thankful for the 

 performances of StockwelTs greatest son. He stood to 

 win a great stake on General Peel both for the Derby 

 and Leger, and but for Blair Athol stopping the way 

 he would have won an easy fortune on both occasions. 

 He always swore by Lord " Glasger" as he pronounced 

 the name. Mr. Corlett relates how he went to Jackson's 

 rooms in Doncaster the morning after the St. Leger, 

 and walked on to the course in the afternoon with him. 

 Jackson then told the " Squire of Bottombarley " that, 

 far from being a winner on Blair Athol, as was generally 

 supposed, he had lost a few hundreds, and that the only 

 reason he cheered so lustily was that he was so fond of 

 a horse. Unlike the majority of bookmakers, Jackson 

 was a sportsman to the backbone. Whatever the cause, 

 it was certain that in connection with the General Peel 



