34 IRiMiic; IRccoHectious anD Uxxvt Stones 



8 St. 5 lb. I wore the second colours in that race, Mr. 

 Bevill having another animal running named ' Claire,' 

 with whom he declared to win. As much as lOO 

 to I was laid against mine, and backers took as little 

 as looto 12 about 'Claire.' Poor Luke Snowden, 

 an elder brother of Jem's, wasted very hard, and 

 rode ' Claire ' at 7 st. 6 lb. This was awfully light 

 for him — in fact, it was really the cause of his death, 

 as he caught a chill at Shrewsbury, went home, 

 broke a blood-vessel, and died in less than three 

 days. In my experience all jockeys who waste 

 themselves principally on physic, especially at the 

 back end of the year, are liable to meet their death : 

 if they have an illness at that season they have 

 little or no stamina to stand against it. I well re- 

 member Snowden being asked to ride ' Leontes ' in 

 a race at Shrewsbury that same year at 8 st. 12 lb., 

 and he was obliged to declare i lb. overweight, so 

 that my readers can guess how he must have wasted 

 to ride 7 st. 6 lb. in the Cesarewitch about five weeks 

 before. ' Claire ' was a moderate animal, and I 

 never could make out how his party made the 

 mistake they did. Luke Snowden was a very good 

 jockey ; he won the St. Leger on ' St. Albans,' and 

 was riding a great deal the year before he died for 

 the Marquis of Ailesbury, Mr. Payne, and other 



