My Racing Adventures 



riding his representative in the Grand National ; 

 and satisfactory terms being arranged, I agreed 

 to do so. On the morning of the race I piloted 

 him in a canter on the course, where he pleased 

 all beholders, and thus the full extent of my then 

 acquaintanceship with him is indicated. He 

 was not an easy horse to ride, having a will of 

 his own ; yet, curiously, his owner's daughter, 

 Miss Bletsoe, who is a most accomplished horse- 

 woman, seemed to handle him better than any- 

 body else. I have seen him walk for yards on 

 his hind legs with Miss Bletsoe on his back ; 

 even so, she was a perfect mistress of the situa- 

 tion. She also rode him over fences with the 

 same charming dexterity and insouciance. If 

 she could have taken charge of him in the actual 

 race there is no reason to doubt that she would 

 have acquitted herself in an able and success- 

 ful manner. And would she have signed that 

 petition in view of the cheerless meteorological 

 aspect ? Perhaps not ; ladies have no end of 

 pluck in the saddle ; still, one cannot help but 

 feel a sentiment of pity, which is all they are 

 likely to get, for shivering jockeys. 



Seeing what the state of the going was, and 

 grasping the situation at once, Mr Bletsoe made 

 large purchases of butter on the spot just before 



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