RUMOURS ABOUT SURPLICE. 275 



a great satisfaction to me, although I fully ex- 

 pected it, as there never was a better "doer" than 

 Surplice. 



As the Derby approached, everybody, and espe- 

 cially the " sharps," had it that my horse was " a 

 safe un." Out at exercise on Tuesday morning, 

 every acquaintance that I met kept on asking 

 me, " What's the matter with Surplice ? He's up 

 and down in the market in a very queer way." To 

 add to my anxiety, Mr Payne refused to give up 

 Flatman, believing that he had a very good chance 

 of winning with Glendower. It was then arranged 

 that James Robinson should ride Surplice, as there 

 seemed no probability that any of his masters would 

 need his services. At the last moment, however, 

 the Duke of Rutland claimed Robinson to ride 

 The Fiddler, and the difficulty of getting a good 

 jockey for Surplice seemed almost insurmountable. 

 At this critical moment, Mr Harry Hill, whose 

 interest in the horse, for Lord George's sake, re- 

 mained unabated, and who had backed him heavily, 

 recommended, for private reasons, which he stated 

 to Mr Mostyn and Mr Lloyd, that Sim Templeman 

 should be put on Surplice's back. 



It was, of course, a great relief to me when this 

 was settled, although I did not think Templeman 

 the best jockey to do justice to a big lazy horse 

 like Surplice, who would make a race with a 

 donkey, and deceived everybody w^ho rode him for 

 the first time. Sim Templeman formed the same 



