*(IU5tar& Castle' 205 



flat at racing, and always fancied his own horses were 

 sure to win. He had some useful animals in his 

 time, including ' Soapstone,' and a rather smart mare 

 named ' Beauty.' I recollect once he had a horse 

 called ' Custard Castle ' that he fancied a great deal, 

 so much so that the Cambridgeshire was thought a 

 certainty for him a long time before the weights 

 appeared, and Joe Wood backed him for a lot of 

 money. When the weights came out he had at least 

 7 lb. less than they expected, so he was supported 

 at a short price. At last they arranged to try the 

 horse at weights they thought he could not be beaten 

 at ; but beaten he was, nearly a quarter of a mile, 

 and all the money was lost, as they could not get 

 anyone to back the horse afterwards. I believe 

 this was only one of many instances where owners 

 think their horse is sure to win a race, because they 

 have been stopping him to deceive the handicapper, 

 whereas they have been deceiving themselves, as 

 they have never found out their horse was good 

 enough in the first instance. Thus, after backing him 

 for a lot of money, they discover he is only a gay 

 deceiver, and no more. I don't mean that this is 

 an everyday occurrence, or that it often happens 

 to trainers or owners who know their business ; but 

 there are people like my old friend Joe Wood, who 



