My Racing Adventures 



At the last jump the two leaders ran a trifle 

 wide, so that I was able to go up on the inside, 

 and a fierce tussle ensued on the flat. Going in 

 as straight as a gun barrel, showing the courage 

 and tenacity of a bulldog, " Why Not " gradu- 

 ally wore his opponents down, and won by about 

 three-parts of a length ! The applause was grati- 

 fying. Neither of us " blew " much, considering 

 what we had just done, when we returned to 

 weigh in, and I pass over the many complimen- 

 tary allusions. They were sufficiently numerous 

 to have pleased a girl in love not for the first 

 time or two. My acknowledgments were, I am 

 afraid, inadequate, since eloquence has never been 

 my strong suit, least of all after riding the winner 

 of the Grand National ; and I like to weigh in 

 all right before people begin to throw bouquets 

 at me. A few notes inside — not billets doux — 

 are sweet enough. Their counterfeit present- 

 ments only are vile. 



" Why Not " was one of the gamest and most 

 generous horses I have ever ridden. He was a 

 perfect glutton for work, a distance of ground 

 had no terrors for him, and, though I did not 

 punish him at all severely — for that has never 

 been a habit of mine, " butchery " being barred 

 in this connection — he had to be ridden out to 



116 



