460 



A HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH TURF. 



and meet Mr. Osbaldeston. No one could ever accuse him of want of courage on 

 either occasion. But he was no doubt offensively arrogant ; and the truth lies rather 

 between the extravagant hero-worship of John Kent and the deliberate belittlement 

 of John Day. The removal of his horses from Danebury is a sufficient reason for 

 the latter, just as the subsequent success of the sky-blue and white is sufficient 

 explanation of the former. This momentous change, which occurred in 1841, 

 really marked the crisis of his career. With as many as sixty horses running in 

 public, a stud of a hundred, three training establishments, and huge subsidiary 

 expenses, he was obliged to bet heavily to keep it all going. He did. He stood to 

 win ^150,000 on Gaper for the Derby, and though that horse did not get a place, 



Lord George landed 

 ,30,000 on Cotherstone. 

 In 1845 ne won 

 ; 1 00,000 by betting 

 alone. But his ex- 

 penses that year must 

 have been at least 

 ^50,000, and on Farin- 

 tosh alone he lost ,3,000 

 in stakes. Crucifix, 

 however, was more than 

 a compensation. She 

 won the Two Thousand, 

 One Thousand, and 

 Oaks of 1840, the latter 

 in presence of Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort, after sixteen false starts. 



Dressed in buckskin breeches, made from the hides of his own stags, with well- 

 cut boots of the orthodox length and antique colouring, a buff waistcoat, a scarf 

 that was only to be worn once (though it cost a guinea), and a big ruby in it, and 

 double-breasted coat ornamented by the buttons of the Jockey Club, he made a 

 characteristic and patrician figure at Newmarket or any other racecourse ; and when 

 waving the starting flag in his hand and followed by a score of racehorses, as hap- 

 pened at the Great Yorkshire Handicap, he was certainly a picture not easy to be 

 forgotten. His reforms at the start, with his "advance-flag," were but a small part 

 of what he did for the Turf. He forced trainers and jockeys to come out sharp to 



" Elis" (1833) by " Langar. " 



