A Jockey Family 



whilst, curiously, he adopted almost the same 

 seat as that now associated with the American 

 jockeys. He was an excellent judge of pace. 

 One morning, on " Six Mile Hill," Epsom Downs, 

 he rode in a trial — he was a very old man then 

 — with his son (my father) and Robert I 'Anson, 

 the celebrated jockey, who called to him to lay 

 up with them, as he seemed to be out of his 

 ground. "I'll lay up with you directly," he 

 shouted back, " and also lay you out. Wait till 

 I get my steam up." He won in a canter by 

 several lengths when his steam was up, and 

 his subsequent comments as to the riding of his 

 antagonists were exceedingly caustic. He was 

 never at a loss for words when he had anything 

 to say. 



I may also mention here that the jockey tradi- 

 tions of our family must have been carried on 

 in unbroken sequence since Thomas Nightingall 

 scored, as already recorded, in 1738, though I 

 possess no information with reference to what 

 my forefathers did in the pigskin prior to the 

 date mentioned. Probably they were doing a 

 little incidental " flapping " on their own account, 

 so as to keep their hand in for more impor- 

 tant engagements. Indeed, I have a recollection 



of my father speaking about a brilliant riding 



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