Gentlemen Riders 



Useless Brute. The following year, owing to a bad fall, he had 

 no mount in the race, but 1866 at Warwick found him in 

 great form, the Gold Cup on Ironsides, the Light-weight on 

 Lincoln, and the Veterans on Cortolvin, all falling to his share. 



The next year the Colonel, on Tiger, was second to 

 Tally Ho ; and the year after, over a very severe course at 

 Rugby, won his second Grand Military on Captain Brabazon's 

 King Arthur, 6 yrs. 13 St., beating Colonel Harford on 

 Northern Light by a length, after a tremendous set-to from 

 the last fence. 



In 1869 he missed fire with Miss Bosquet, but made up 

 for the defeat the next year by winning the Gold Cup for the 

 third time on Knockany, Colonel Harford again running him 

 close on Tinderbox. One of the Colonel's best ridden 

 races was on Mr. Vyner's Fly-by-night at Catterick Bridge; 

 whilst on Captain Grosvenor's Hungerford he won six out of 

 the seven times he rode him. Another good performance was 

 when, in 1868, he got Alcibiade into third place for the Liver- 

 pool, just in front of Captain Crosstree, belonging to his friend 

 Mr. Reginald Herbert, who, having backed the horse heavily 

 I, 2, 3, would have been better pleased had the gallant " Curly" 

 not fought out the finish quite so energetically as he did. 



Besides steeplechasing. General Knox occasionally ran a 

 horse or two on the flat that could gallop a bit. For instance. 

 Armourer, belonging to him, was backed down to 5 to i for 

 the Cesarewitch of 1857, but though highly tried was nowhere 

 in the actual race. 



A dandy of the first water, pretty much of the same 

 pattern the late John Leech portrayed to such perfection in the 

 pages of ** Mr. Punch," and a good-looking one to boot, it was 

 hard lines that after so long an immunity from those dangers 

 to life and limb inseparable from the career of a steeplechase 



216 



