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HISTORIC JOCKEYS AND A ROYAL OWNER. 



357 



" Black Jack," as Mr. John Lowther, the trainer, was known in those parts. Herring 

 once won nineteen races in succession, a feat which will take a lot of beating, and 

 was killed in 1796, in the last races that were held at Hull, by Mr. John Hutchinson's 

 black mare Gipsy, an own sister to Hambletonian, who threw him three times at the 

 start of the Mai-den Plate, and finally killed him on the spot. It was in this Mr. 

 Hutchinson's stable that John Cade (a compatriot of the elder Singleton) received 

 his first tuition. Cade succeeded Leonard Jewison on Mr. Peregrine Wentworth's 

 horses. Yet a third famous jockey came from the same village of Melbourne, in 

 Thomas Fields, who trained Miss Corn/art h for Sir Walter Vavasour, and succeeded 

 William Arnold in Charles Dawson's stables. His best race was on Sir Harry 

 Vane's Cockfighter by Over ton at the York August Meeting of 1800. The brown colt, 

 who was favourite, bolted at Middlethorpe corner and lost about 300 yards, but 

 Fields brought him up to his antagonists inch by inch, and just pulled off the victory 

 after a display of the greatest judgment and coolness. It will be remembered that 

 on the Tuesday of the meeting this same Cockfighter (then mounted by J. Shepherd) 

 beat Wonder (F. Buckle) and Mr. Cookson's Sir Harry, the owner of the last-named 

 colt being very angry with his jockey, Sam Chifney, for what he considered his bad 

 riding. But Sam stuck to it that Sir Harry " could not run," and when he was 

 ridden by Singleton the next day he came in last again, which proved the jockey 

 knew what he was talking about, and also rode straight, as I am inclined to think 

 was the case in the famous incident of Escape. To this I must now turn without 

 further delay, or the careers of other jockeys will carry me too far beyond the story 

 of the Prince of Wales, which must be told in this chapter. 



Samuel Chifney (senior) wrote a book. Its published price was five pounds, and 

 it was " Sold for the author at 232, Piccadilly, and nowiiere 

 else." Not long ago I bought a copy in the same neighbour- 

 hood for rather less than one-tenth of that sum, and the confiding 

 sentences upon its title-page are worth consideration. 



j u y ney 



" Genius Genuine, by Samuel Chifney of Newmarket. A fine part in riding 

 a race, known only to the author. Why there are so few good runners, or why 

 the Turf horses degenerate. A guide to recover them to their strength and speed, 

 as well as to train horses for running, and hunters and hacks for hard riding ; to 

 preserve their strength and their sinews from being so often destroyed ; with 

 reasons for horses changing in their running ; likewise a full account of the 

 Prince's horse, Escape, running at Newmarket on the 2oth and aist days of October, 1791, with 

 other interesting particulars. January gth, 1804." 



Just three years after this was printed its author died within the Rules of Fleet 



VOL. II. 7 p, 



