Mr. John Upton 



man, he followed the example of many a famous gentleman 

 rider before him, and placed himself unreservedly in the able 

 hands of Mr. Arthur Yates, at Bishops Sutton, where he lived 

 almost entirely from 1885 to 1892, riding four or five schools 

 every morning before going racing, and then perhaps riding in 

 as many races during the day. 



It goes without saying that no man could get through such 

 an amount of work as this without being pretty fit at the end of 

 it, and it is to this fact, and the tuition so ungrudgingly given 

 on all occasions by Mr. Yates, that Mr. Upton, to a great 

 extent, attributes his success. 



His first winning mount was in the spring of 1886, on a 

 horse called Mayfair, at Burgh-by-Sands, near Carlisle, which 

 was followed soon afterwards by another victory at Dumfries. 



Once set fairly going, there was no stopping him, and 

 1890-91 found him at the head of the list of gentlemen riders. 



His most memorable ride was, of course, that on Cloister, 

 in the Grand National of 1892, when he had to put up with 

 second place to the lightly weighted Father O'Flynn, ridden 

 by his friend the late Major '* Roddy " Owen, on which occasion 

 the son of Ascetic, notwithstanding his heavy weight, made all 

 the running. 



What opinion Major Owen had of Cloister's chance may be 

 gathered from the fact that some time previous to the race, he 

 begged Mr. Dormer to give up the mount to him. 



On Lizzie he won the Scottish Grand National, and he rode 

 a great deal for the late Duke of Hamilton, who put him up 

 on a mare of his named Waterwitch in the big Paris Steeple- 

 chase of 1 89 1, but without success, Saida, belonging to Baron 

 Finot, who started a warm favourite, winning easily. This, we 

 believe, was Mr. Dormer's solitary mount abroad. 



On giving up riding in 1892, for reasons already given, the 



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