AND TIMES OF JOHN OSBORNE 327 



running. As I say, a great deal depends upon 

 the horse you are riding. Where the judgment 

 comes in is when a man has to do the right thing 

 at the right moment." 

 In answer to the query, "Which do you consider 



the best horse of your time ? " John Osborne's reply 



was 



" That is hard to tell. A few years ago I 

 met Mr. Stephenson, an old retired trainer, at 

 Newmarket. I fancy his father once trained 

 for the Duke of Grafton a good stable of horses. 

 At that time, in 1843, he was riding as Thomas 

 Stephenson. Talking about the ' best horses/ 

 the name of Alice Hawthorn first came up. Mr. 

 Stephenson said Mahmia beat Coranna three 

 times in '43, giving something like 7 Ibs. or 8 Ibs. 

 Now, Coranna won the Cesarewitch with 7 st. 

 11 Ibs.; Alice Hawthorn gave Coranna 16 Ibs. 

 over the Ditch In, and beat her fifty yards. 

 That was making Alice Hawthorn out to be 

 good enough to win the Cesarewitch with 10 st. 

 on her back. Mark you, the handicap in the 

 Cesarewitch went down to 4 st. ; so that one 

 might say that Alice Hawthorn would have won 

 with upwards of 10 st. up. Mahmia was never 

 better in her life, Mr. Stephenson said, than 

 when Alice Hawthorn beat her. Alice Haw- 

 thorn tried to give a good horse like Red Deer 

 5 st. 8 Ibs. in the Chester Cup, and was second 

 to him with 9 st. 8 Ibs., Red Deer 4 st. up. Well, 

 I made the remark, 'I think Alice Hawthorn 

 giving that weight to Red Deer made her come 

 up to about the same form as Mahmia/ ' Old 

 Alice' must really have been a great mare. I 



