AND TIMES OF JOHN OSBORNE 463 



was a powerful jockey at the same time no jockey more 

 so when it came to real riding a race out. But he had 

 a knack of 'kidding' to horses somehow which was 

 most astonishing. Giving a personal instance I rode 

 a horse at Newmarket once and was beaten to blazes. 

 Fordham got up on the same horse in the same sort of 

 race, and he won in a hand trot. I never knew how he 

 could make horses win races that nobody else could. 

 Now, Fred Archer, I always put him up as one of the 

 most industrious jockeys that ever rode a race. He 

 saw no fear and used to take all sorts of liberties, and 

 that was the secret of his success. He was a fine 

 horseman, without a doubt, but I should certainly say 

 not in the same class as Fordham. Everybody, when 

 speaking of greatest jockeys, always used to put 

 Fordham in a corner by himself, and then they 

 talked about the others. Archer would win races 

 with 10 Ibs. in hand, and make it appear that 

 he had got 21 Ibs. in hand. Fordham would 

 win a race with 10 Ibs. in hand, and make 

 it appear that he had got home by the skin of his 

 teeth: that was the difference between the two men's 

 riding. Archer was great at starting a Jimmy 

 Grimshaw sort of jockey in that respect who, at the 

 fall of the flag, would ' set about ' his horse directly, 

 and that was how he was great in short races. He used 

 to cut his field up before he had gone a quarter of a 

 mile, get 'em all sprawling, and that gave him an 

 advantage which he rarely lost after. He used to dash 

 his horse away from the start, take a position and hold 

 it." 



Due justice has not been done in the cursory note 

 made in earlier pages to the national testimonial 

 presented to Mr. Osborne after the racing at 



