AND TIMES OF JOHN OSBORNE 409 



CHAPTER XXI 



" He kept a stud of horses ; 'twas his pride to see them run, 

 And his sideboard was covered with the trophies they had won." 



ACTUATED by a fine sentiment and a full appreciation 

 of his all-round merits, the friends of John Osborne 

 determined in 1892, he then being in his fifty-ninth 

 year, to raise a national testimonial to signalise the 

 close of his career as a jockey. It was only too 

 apparent in that year he had not long recovered from 

 the terrible accident at Hull that Time was making 

 inroads upon his strength, if not his skill as a horseman. 

 Nor had his business as a trainer been so flourishing 

 as could have been desired, for Brecongill was not now 

 furnished with so many good horses. Though not a poor 

 man by any means in the sense that he was actually 

 dependent upon his fees as a jockey for the wherewithal 

 to exist, it was known that he had a large family to 

 maintain, and with a generous, kindly, and appreciative 

 spirit the movement for raising a Testimonial Fund 

 was quietly and effectively worked. Aided by the 

 sporting Press, which embraced most cordially the 

 opportunity to do honour to a worthy man who had 

 been a central figure in the strife and struggle and 

 excitement of Turf life for nearly half a century, the 

 Testimonial soon accumulated into a substantial amount 



