AND TIMES OF JOHN OSBOKNE 487 



a great public "fancy" for the Cesarewitch of '98. 

 His trainer had an anxious time of it with him during 

 the interval between the midsummer and the back end 

 of the year. Signs of a " leg " were showing themselves, 

 these being accelerated by an exceptionally long period 

 of drought. Osborne consulted Mr. Vyner about the 

 advisability of running the horse in the Cesarewitch, 

 fearing a break-down. With commendable desire to 

 keep faith with the public who had backed his horse, 

 Mr. Vyner gave instructions to run him at all risks, 

 with the result that after making a bold show in the 

 race he broke down. John held the opinion that if he 

 had kept sound he would have won the Cesarewitch. 

 Through the winter King Crow had an easy time of it 

 on Middleham Moor, but when asked to do stronger 

 work in the spring, the old weakness reasserted itself, 

 and he was called away to the blandishments of the 

 stud to Mr. Vyner's breeding establishment at Fairfield. 

 As judge and handicapper and clerk of the course 

 Mr. Richard Johnson was prominently identified with 

 the Turf over a period of forty years. Born at York in 

 1813, his taste for sport was developed early. His 

 earliest recollection of racing was of Blacklock, the 

 property of old Squire Watt, of Bishop Burton, running 

 at York races in 1819, when he won a race, four miles, 

 heats, but was beaten by St. Helena in one-half that 

 distance. In our days, when five-furlong cuts are so 

 popular, it seems incredible that horses could run over 

 such long distances without breaking down. But they 

 did not race all the journey, the pace being slow for half, 

 and even three-fourths of the distance at times, so that 

 practically the horses sprinted the last quarter of a 

 mile only. Mr. Johnson began life as an apprentice to 

 his brother, Robert, a printer, whose place was in Coney 



