GEORGE FREDERICK 



distance, who rode him in the majority of his 

 engagements, was out of it a long way from home, 

 and Avas enabled to devote his entire attention to 

 watching a pretty finish between Sir William 

 Wallace and Apology. During the next fortnight 

 the colt was sent along in his work, but he was 

 still not a quarter fit when he went to Doncaster 

 under the care of Tom Leader, who Avas then 

 Oliver's head man, to run in the Municipal Stakes 

 on the St. Leger day. It was a pouring wet 

 morning on the Wednesday, and, under ordinary 

 circumstances. Leader would not have taken the 

 colt out at all, but he knew that he could not. 

 afford to miss even a single canter, so, clapping an 

 extra rug on him, he started for the Town JNloor. 

 Very few trainers had cared to brave the downpour ; 

 a mere handful of people were about, and Custance, 

 who was to have ridden George Frederick in his 

 work, was nowhere to be seen. Fortunately, 

 however. Leader came across Tom Chaloner, to 

 whom he gave a leg-up just at the St. Leger 

 starting post, with instructions to canter to the top 

 of the hill, walk from there to the Red House, and 

 then canter quietly to the stand. The jockey ful- 

 filled the first part of his mission right enough, but 

 then, with the rain coming down harder than ever, 

 did not feel inclined to walk for a mile, and the end 

 of it was that George Frederick covered the full St. 

 Leger course without a break ! Of course the pace 

 was slow, little more than a brisk canter throuirh- 

 out, but surely this is about the most remarkable 

 piece of work on record for a two-year-old on the 

 morning of a race, particularly as that race happened 

 to be the first on the card ! 



When the colt was at last pulled up, what with 

 the rain, which was coming down harder than ever, 

 and the sweat, which was literally pouring off him, 



255 



