My Racing Adventures 



up to post and rails, and pop over like a bird, 

 thence galloping along with his head in his 

 chest during the run, as if the whole business 

 were child's play to him — which it probably was 

 — that oracle changed his tune. He wished to 

 know whether " Ilex " was for sale. " Money," 

 I answered, " wouldn't buy him, so you may 

 guess what a patent safety treasure this is. 

 Why, in Epsom," I went on, warming to my 

 work, " little boys play truant to see him jump, 

 and when they are birched for doing so, they 

 say the pleasure was worth the pain." Good 

 judges, too, or my education has been neglected. 

 Whilst dealing with this branch of the subject, 

 I may reproduce the following anecdote written 

 in our honour by a man whose judgment of 

 hunters is authoritative, and who wrote the para- 

 graph during moments of inspiration — all too few 

 in his career. So the story goes : 



" Some time after running third in the Grand 

 National, ' Ilex ' suffered from a ' leg,' and could 

 not be trained. Then Arthur Nightingall used 

 him as a hack and hunter ; and it was also very 

 funny to watch the circus tricks played by him 

 and the old horse of a morning on Epsom 

 Downs. Arthur would stand up in the saddle, 

 pretending that he was doing the great hoop and 

 similar acts through a ball of fire ; while, to con- 



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