HINTS TO YOUNG JOCKEYS. 47 



latter, if a good and willing horse, is only of very 

 rare occurrence. I am quite aware that some horses 

 require "getting along all the way." But this is 

 not punishment, and such horses are but a few among 

 the many ; and I am satisfied many racing men will 

 agree with me that if we could contrive to give most 

 jockeys their whip and spurs when a hundred yards 

 from home, and not till then, it would be all the 

 better ; for I venture to assert, without fear of con- 

 tradiction, that an early application of either loses by 

 far a greater number of races than ever were won by 

 it, and, in more cases than are supposed, produce a 

 shortened instead of a lengthened stride. Experi- 

 enced jockeys know this, and seldom use their whip 

 but as a last resource : young ones, and particularly 

 gentleman jocks, too often make it their first, 

 whether wanted or not. This does make racing cru- 

 elty. I can only say, if I was a race-horse, I would 

 rather be ridden ten races by such men as the 

 Chifneys, Robinsons, Scotts, Days, and many others, 

 severe as they can be, than be ridden once by the 

 generality of gentlemen or ordinary jocks. With the 

 first, I should be certain of not being punished unless 

 I deserved it, or necessity compelled them to it : with 

 the latter, I should be almost sure of it, perhaps a 

 quarter of a mile from home, unless absolutely in 

 front, and indeed sometimes then. If we were always 

 to flog a boy, when he is first put up to ride, if he 

 dared strike his horse when more than half distance 

 from the winning-post, nine times out of ten he would 

 have deserved it, and it would make a jockey of him. 

 As to the gentlemen jocks, if there were ten of them, 

 I should like to flog at least nine before they start 

 merely as a reminder to use more head, more hands, 



