LORD FALMOUTH 



seriously ill, and the state of his health from then 

 until the time of his lainented death was never such 

 as to entitle me to ask for his invaluable assistance. 

 Thus owner, trainer, and jockey had all gone, and 

 it will easily be understood that I have been 

 compelled to deal with the famous horses that 

 carried the " black, white sleeves, red cap " at far 

 less length than I hoped to have done. I received 

 considerable help from " Jockey " Swift, a well- 

 known character in Newmarket, whose memory is 

 still wonderfully good, though he must be over 

 seventy years of age. He was one of INIatthew 

 Dawson's right-hand men through all the most 

 brilliant period of the history of Heath House, and 

 rode nearly all the cracks in their work. There 

 is little of what may be termed " inner history " 

 attached to Lord Falmouth's horses, and thus 

 general followers of racing knew almost as much 

 about them as did the owner or trainer. As the 

 former never made a bet — the time-honoured story 

 of Mrs. John Scott's diamond -mounted sixpence 

 needs no repetition here — there was no necessity for 

 trials, and it was possibly this immunity from severe 

 tests at home which enabled the horses to do such 

 great things in public, for there can be no doubt 

 that many a good race is left on the trial ground. 

 It was seldom that anything more than a good 

 " Yorkshire gallop " was attempted with any of the 

 cracks, even prior to a Derby or Leger, and Swift 

 invariably rode in these. I remarked to him at 

 last that it seemed a little strange that he should 

 have been almost always lucky enough to finish 

 first in these gallops, especially as Archer gener- 

 ally had a mount on one of the beaten division. 

 The old man replied, not in the least boastfully, but 

 with the air of one mentioning a well-known and 

 incontrovertible fact, " Well, you see, sir, I taught 



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