My Racing Adventures 



once ; and when I am doing well in the saddle, 

 I don't want to 'crab' it in the ring." One's 

 scintillations there often end, alas ! in smoke, 

 not in sparkles. 



It may be said in a general way, and not 

 metaphorically, that wages rather than wagers 

 have chiefly absorbed my energies in a racing 

 sense, and that so long as I have had plenty 

 of horses to ride I have not yearned to back 

 them. The man who hopes to kill two birds 

 with one stone usually misses his mark alto- 

 gether, and has not a feather to fly with, as 

 may be said, when his sweetheart comes to see 

 him on a holiday job. Assuredly, a jockey 

 is likely to be more affluent towards the end 

 of his bright sporting career — I am assuming 

 that his intelligence has not been perverted by 

 too much success — if he avoids the fascinating 

 form of speculation under notice. He may 

 even ride with more dash and determination 

 and confidence ; he may not be quite so anxious 

 to get home before his time, as the saying is, 

 when his own money is not at stake ; he is cool, 

 resourceful, master of his elevated situation. 

 He does not see his hardly-earned sovereigns 

 left in the "ditch." Nor is he foolish enough 

 to contribute appreciably to the coffers of the 



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