4GO ASHGILL; OR, THE LIFE 



employers, and integrity to himself. The son of a 

 saddler at Newmarket, he began at an early age in Mr. 

 Vernon's stables, riding during his career the winners 

 of five Derbys, seven Oaks, and two St. Legers, 

 apart from what he described, in his own words, as 

 "most of the good things at Newmarket." In the 

 second year of the present century (1802) he brought 

 off his " long odds " wager that he would win the Derby 

 and Oaks on two outsiders, these being respectively the 

 Duke of Grafton's Tyrant, who, a 7 to 1 chance, 

 defeated Young Eclipse, considered the champion colt 

 of that year. In the race for that Derby Young Eclipse 

 and Orlando were bustled along at a cut-throat pace, 

 which convinced Buckle on Tyrant that they would 

 come back to him, and so they did, with the result that 

 Tyrant drew out at the right moment, and upsetting 

 the calculations of the then astute judges of "form," 

 won on " one of the worst horses " that had ever gained 

 laurels in the great Epsom event. After this exploit 

 Buckle entertained a strong conviction that Mr. 

 Wastel's Scotia would win the Oaks, and he gained 

 the desired point of having the mount. " She was 

 beaten three times between Tattenham Corner and the 

 finish," but Buckle so nursed her to the end that he won 

 by a head, much to the amazement of the Newmarket 

 cognoscenti of the day, who were unanimous in the 

 opinion that never had finer riding than that of Buckle's 

 been seen on a racecourse. 



Sam Chifney, son of the notorious jockey of that 

 name, was at his apex between the " twenties " and 

 " thirties." Judgment of pace, exquisite hands, with 

 strength in the saddle, combined to make him a 

 formidable horseman. " His wits were so clear that he 

 could always estimate what others were doing in a race ; 



