" Grudon " 



that we could go round again if that were neces- 

 sary, but I was glad to think that no such extra 

 turn would be demanded from us. The weather 

 was bitterly cold, and the going was not heavenly. 

 When unsaddling the horse prior to weighing 

 in after our victory, 1 put the whip between 

 my knees as jockeys do under such felicitous 

 circumstances, and, hey presto, it was gone in 

 the twinkling of a second. Miss Bletsoe had 

 been prompt to annex it. No one else had half a 

 chance of getting it while she was on the course. 

 That relic of a great sporting event is in good 

 hands, and its historical value will be increased 

 probably when I have won another Grand 

 National or two. All that is wanted is a second 

 " Ilex " or " Grudon " to do the trick with per- 

 fect distinction. The jockey is ready and waiting 

 for his job ; he trusts that in the fulness of time 

 the essential horses will be forthcoming. What 

 if their sires are now at the plough ? It is as 

 easy to come back from the land as to return 

 thither with our capacity for enjoyment sadly 

 diminished. " Somebody must be at the bottom 

 of the class," as a bad little boy said, " and why 

 not I ? Anybody else would be ashamed." 



After winning the Grand National on 

 " Grudon," I rode him in the Great Lancashire 



175 



