Colonel R. F. Meysey-Thompson 



not make out who it was, and never saw what became of him." 

 " Oh," replied Mr. Meysey-Thompson with a smile, "it was I 

 who was making the running — only I managed to win after all ! " 

 After the meeting was over Fortal was sold for a good sum ; 

 but he never won another race, though he passed through 

 several hands, and indeed he never got round a jump course 

 again at all. 



In the autumn the Rifle Brigade was ordered to Gibraltar, 

 at a time when racing in Spain had reached a high level under 

 the fostering care of King Asmodeus, and subsequently King 

 Alfonso. Mr. Meysey-Thompson took out with him a little 

 horse he had bought at Middleham, from the jockey George 

 Cooke, which had already won ten races in England, Lackland, 

 by King John out of Gaiety, by Touchstone, bred at Middle Park 

 by the late Mr. Blenkiron. On this horse Mr. Meysey-Thomp- 

 son won races at Jerez de la Frontera — then the Newmarket of 

 Spain — and at Seville. His successes against the crack pro- 

 fessional jockeys at once brought him into notice, and secured 

 him plenty of mounts when he could ride the weight, for even 

 with hard wasting he could not ride less than 9 st. 10 lbs. At 

 every meeting he was constantly in the saddle for the next two 

 years, and at one time or another rode the winner of most of 

 the chief prizes in Spain, the King's Prizes at Jerez de la 

 Frontera and Granada being amongst them. 



Amongst the professional jockeys his chief rival was W. 

 Everitt, who had been an apprentice at Epsom, but having 

 broken his indentures and ran away from his master, 

 had first sought refuge in Russia ; but when Spanish racing 

 commenced to offer valuable inducements, like many another 

 he sought that El Dorado to mend his fortunes, and became 

 so skilled in his profession that if he had returned to England 

 he would assuredly have become one of the leading jockeys of 



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