Jack O'Connor. 109 



Ceylon, where he distinguished himself. Jousiffe bought 

 and then lent him on racing terms to the popular and 

 genial veterinary surgeon of the Horse Gunners, who 

 baptized him Cast Off, In those days some persons 

 had a way of changing horses' names at almost every 

 meeting to which they went. The fiv^e gold mohur 

 penalty for so doing, which is now enacted by the 

 Calcutta Turf Club rules, has, happily, limited the 

 practice. Cast Off finally figured at Meerut as Redan, 

 and was the cause, as well as I can recollect, of some un- 

 pleasantness between the 15th Hussars and Mr. Maitland. 

 Jack O'Connor was born in New Zealand, where 

 Mr. Anderson knew him. He was a light weight, could 

 ride about 7 st. 7 lbs,, had no style or finish about him, 

 but was one of the bravest lads I have ever seen over 

 a country. No horse was too uncertain, no fence too 

 big, for the lion-hearted boy. He was not quite a 

 model in other respects; but de mortiiis, &c. He 

 met his death in a strange way. In the days when 

 honorary secretaries to race meetings made steeple-chase 

 courses as if they were in the wilds of Ireland, and 

 had been commissioned to provide a corpse or two 

 for the " divarsion " of the " boys," the Meerut racing 

 authorities constructed a course the like of which 



