My Racing Adventures 



though, unhappily, such pleasant experiences are 

 not often repeated. In 1895 I was entrusted 

 with the handling of the favourite, Captain M. 

 Hughe's " ^Esop," who fell ; in 1896 1 rode "Why 

 Not " again, and was nowhere, the winner being 

 " The Soarer," both he and " Why Not " being 

 trained by Mr W. H. Moore ; in 1897 I did not 

 appear in the big Aintree event, an arrangement 

 falling through at the last moment ; and in 1898 

 my adventures were rather exciting. I steered 

 " The Soarer " when he accomplished (what has 

 been poetically termed) an imperial " buster " 

 at the brook, sending me yards. He had a sort 

 of polypus in his head, and gradually choked 

 after galloping some distance. Having gone 

 about 2J miles he was in trouble, and Jim 

 Hickey, the Australian jockey, who was on 

 " Grudon," called out to me to stop, or I might 

 have reason to regret the day's festivity. 



" Oh yes," I answered, with the fire of battle in 

 my heart, "I'll stop all right, my boy, when I 

 get over the brook " ; and little did I think that 

 my words would come so literally true. " The 

 Soarer" fell at the brook, as mentioned — it was 

 snowing slightly at the time — and knocked me 

 silly. I stopped far more suddenly than antici- 

 pated. My impressions of the surrounding 



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