BRITISH TURF. 45 



bit. A young foreigner, a great favourite with 

 Lord Derby's hunt, was induced, after a hunting 

 dinner, to back a second time one of his horses, 

 which in a former match had been beaten easily by 

 a famous mare belonging to a noted stable keeper 

 at Croydon. The conditions were, two miles, 12 

 stone each, to start precisely at one o'clock, p.m. 

 and then to fix the riders ; before they parted, 

 the stable keeper having fixed upon the servant 

 of a gentleman present to ride for him, the fo- 

 reigner mentioned his own groom as his jockey. 

 Two days only before the match was to be run 

 the unsuspecting gentleman heard by accident that 

 his opponent had secretly engaged a regular jockey ; 

 he had already given up the matter as lost, 

 when he chanced to mention his dilemma to a 

 Yorkshire friend, well skilled in racing tactics. 

 Acting on this person's advice, he instantly set 

 out for Newmarket, and engaged Buckle, the most 

 celebrated jockey of the day, and returned with 

 him to Epsom. 



On their arrival at the place of starting, they 

 found the stable keeper and his friends betting 

 ten to one that their mare would again prove suc- 

 cessful. Having taken bets at these odds to a 

 considerable amount, and when his opponent's 

 jockey was mounted, and they were calculating on 

 an easy victory over an inexperienced groom, 

 Buckle, ready equipped and weighed, jumped from 

 a post chaise, mounted his horse in an instant, and 



