Captain Becher 



Clinker ; and at the next, a tremendous post and rails, Becher 

 was floored, and though he was soon up again and persevered 

 to the end, he never got near enough to interfere with the 

 result. 



In 1830 he was second on Tatler in the first St. Albans 

 Steeplechase, and again on Wild Boar the following year when 

 Moonraker won ; whilst in 1832, again at St. Albans, he was 

 third on Corinthian Kate to Moonraker and Grimaldi, and in 

 1834 was again placed on Zigzag. From 1829 to 1839, 

 Becher may be said to have lived in the saddle. Railway 

 facilities were not to hand in those days, as at present, and 

 during one particular fortnight in the height of his career, he 

 was known to have travelled over seven hundred miles, the 

 greater part of it on horseback, to attend the different meetings 

 in which he was entered to ride. Nor did he confine himself 

 to the " duties " of the life he had selected ; the end of the day, 

 more often than not, finding him in the chair at some race 

 ordinary, where his wonderful flow of spirits and genial 

 disposition helped to keep the fun going far into the small 

 hours of the morning. 



On the 4th of April, 1834, he appeared for the first time on 

 Captain Lamb's Vivian — the horse of all others with which his 

 name will always be associated — in the Northampton Steeple- 

 chase, which he won to the great surprise of the public, who 

 had booked the race a certainty for Cannon Ball, belonging to 

 Mr. Osbaldeston, who had previously challenged all England 

 with his horse for five hundred sovereigns a side ; and in the 

 same year the Captain inaugurated his success in the Vale by 

 landing Vivian the winner in a field of twenty, amongst whom 

 were some of the best men in England over a country. 



A month after this, the celebrated match for one thousand 

 guineas between Vivian and Cock Robin, ridden respectively 



5 



