206 MEMORIES OF MEN AND HORSES 



progenitor of immeasurably greater horses. Surefoot 

 and St Serf were the best of that year, and St Serf was 

 withdrawn from the Derby for fear of Surefoot, who in 

 his turn was " taken care of " by several jockeys who 

 rode in the race. This is beyond all question, and the 

 late W. T. Robinson, who had the mount on Rathbeal, 

 never in his later days made any secret of it. " I give 

 you my word," he used to say, " Surefoot had not any 

 b y earthly ! " 



Liddiard, who rode Surefoot, had been instrumental in 

 getting several of them " stood down " for a month some 

 time before, and on the Derby Day one of them "filled 

 Liddiard up with gin " of which he was all too fond 

 and the rest saw to it in the race that Surefoot should 

 not win. This is no mere vamped-up story emanating 

 from a disappointed backer, but what W. T. Robinson 

 himself told me, and others again and again. 



However, the Derby found the best stud horse that 

 year, for Sainfoin became the sire of Rock Sand. 



In 1891 there was Common, a great, lathy, sinewy 

 colt, who should have been given at least another 

 year on the turf. No horse ever won the Derby more 

 easily, and he trained stale after an arduous season, 

 so that he struggled home for the St Leger with some 

 difficulty. I think he was better than John Porter, 

 in his last book, gave him credit for, had he been 

 given further time to mature, but Sir Blundell Maple, 

 who bought him after the St Leger, never allowed 

 him to run again. Good and well-bred as he was, 

 Common was a failure at the stud, though he 

 sired Nun Nicer, Mushroom and a few other good 

 ones. 



Sir Hugo, the Derby winner of 1892, was a con- 



