STEEPLECHASING. 589 



above-mentioned race, it may be mentioned, was such a disappointment to him 

 that Lord Waterford matched Cock Robin against Vivian for 1,000 guineas, but 

 the latter won, owing, it was said, to a fine exhibition of horsemanship on the part 

 of Captain Becher at a critical moment. Not a word was ever breathed against 

 his integrity. He always rode to win, and it was perhaps on that account that 

 when he gave up riding he was not in very affluent circumstances. Lord Segrave 

 was a great friend to Cheltenham ; he subscribed liberally to its funds, gave some 

 added money to the Grand Steeplechase, and acted as umpire. In 1839 the 

 Grand Steeplechase was won by that fine combination, Jem Mason and Lottery. 

 This famous horse was foaled in 1830, and was by Lottery Parthenia by Welbeck, 

 her dam by Grog out of a mare by Staghunter ; so Lottery, though virtually as 

 "thoroughbred as Eclipse" had "h.b." after his name. In the name of Chance, 

 he ran in a couple of races on the flat at the Holderness Hunt Meeting of 1834, 

 winning once ; and just afterwards Mr. Jackson, his breeder, who lived near Thirsk, 

 took him to Horncastle Fair, where the only man to look twice at the narrow, 

 mean-looking horse was Elmore the dealer, who lived near Harrow. He became 

 his owner, put him to jumping, sold him, bought him back ; and discovering his 

 good qualities, afterwards put him to steeplechasing, at which he made his mark, 

 until at last he was so heavily penalised that it was useless to start him. 



It is in the year 1840 that we first find the name of William Holman (father of 

 George Holman, who rode the club-footed horse The Doctor in the Grand National) 

 among the riders at Cheltenham Steeplechases. In 1847, William Archer, who 

 acquired some fame as a steeplechase rider, seems to have made his first appear- 

 ance at Cheltenham, riding Mr. Evans's Daddy Longlegs, but he was beaten 

 by Mr. Smith's well-known Stanmore, ridden by William Holman, who trained 

 Freetrader and The Doctor, and died at Cheltenham, on Tuesday, the roth of 

 January, 1888, in his 78th year. Born in Leicestershire, Holman began his career 

 quite in the early days of steeplechasing. He saw Jem Hills, afterwards the 

 famous huntsman of the Heythrop Hounds, win the first steeplechase ever run 

 in Wiltshire ; he rode at St. Albans, and at Liverpool, though he was never 

 fortunate enough to ride the winner of the Grand National. In 1845 he rode 

 The Page in that race, but was unplaced; in 1852 he was third on Sir Peter 

 Laurie, and fourth in the following year on the same horse, when Freetrader, 

 trained by him, won, George Stevens being the jockey. Holman hoped to lead 

 back another Grand National winner, and in 1870 he thought that he should 



VOL. III. T 



