THE DUKE OF PORTLAND 



never even took a hair off, and that Fordham 

 never lost his hold of him. Indeed the only time 

 that he ever got away from his watchful custodian 

 was once in his early four-year-old days, and then 

 he only went about fifty yards before stopping 

 and allowing himself to be caught. In the spring 

 of his three-year-old season he became remarkably 

 quiet, so much so that it was feared that he had 

 lost his action, and Archer was told to ride him in 

 a good gallop, and report how he moved. When 

 Fordham gave the jockey a leg up for this purpose 

 he observed that he was wearing spurs, and begged 

 him to take them off, or, at any rate, to promise 

 not to use them. Archer only laughed, saying 

 that the colt needed "rousing up." He showed 

 no lack of action in this gallop, and, when Archer 

 slightly pricked him, shot clean away from Iambic, 

 who was attempting to lead him, and fairly bolted 

 with the great horseman. His first appearance as 

 a three-year-old was in that curious public-private 

 trial with Tristan on the last day of the Second 

 Spring Meeting at Newmarket. No money or 

 prize of any sort was run for, and it seems doubt- 

 ful if any return of it was ever intended to appear 

 in the Calendar. However, it did do so, and seems 

 worthy of reproduction here : — 



Trial Match, 1| Mile 



Duke of Portland's St. Simon, 3 yrs., 8 st., C. Wood . . 1 



M. Lefevre's Tristan, 6 yrs., 9 st. 9 lb., F. Webb . . 2 



M. Lefevre's Credo, 5 yi*s., 5 st. 8 lb., Tomlisson . . 3 



Duke of Portland's Iambic, 3 yrs., 6 st. 2 lb., E. Martin . 



3 to 1 on St. Simon. Won easily by six lengths. 



The peculiarity of terming a race in which four 

 horses were apparently engaged a " match " is 

 explained by the fact that St. Simon and Tristan 

 were supposed to be the only competitors, the 

 other two being merely started to ensure a strong 



175 



