148 A DEGENERATE RACE. 



enlightened. Neither of these premises are, however, 

 the fact, though the increased number of steeple- 

 races is. That numbers of persons do now ride in 

 these races is quite clear ; so numbers ride in the 

 Park ; yet in both these cases I could pick out a few 

 simple ones. To ride a steeple-chase well, like doing 

 every thing else well, certainly requires considerable 

 skill ; but I cannot consider it requires by many de- 

 grees the same skill as riding a flat race. In the 

 latter case, horses are often so very equally matched 

 that the best jockey is (barring unforeseen circum- 

 stances) all but sure to win : if the talents of two 

 jockeys are very disproportioned, I should say the 

 thing was certain. Now in a steeple-race the thing 

 is not drawn so fine. Many horses start for a steeple- 

 race, the owners and riders of which perfectly well 

 know, that unless some accident or mistake, or not 

 happening to be in their best form on that day, occurs 

 to some two or three others' horses, their own has no 

 earthly chance : but such accidents do occur, and 

 their horse is let go, hoping (charitably one would 

 say) that some of these accidents will overtake the 

 favourites. When any of these races end in a close 

 thing, the skill of the jockey can hardly be shown : 

 both horses are so beat that it is only how far whip 

 and spur and lasting may enable one poor brute to 

 canter in before the other. This is my objection to 

 making steeple-races four miles : it always produces 

 a long tailing business, occasions serious accidents, 

 broken backs and bones, and ends in no race at all. 



In Ireland, at Ashbourne, and other two-mile 

 steeple-races, I have seen six or seven horses top the 

 last fence nearly abreast at something like a racing 

 pace, and really an interesting struggle take place 



