SIR JOSEPH HAWLEY 145 



three years afterwards I went to Stockbridge 

 races. When I entered the station -yard the 

 only vehicle available was a small wagonette. 

 I got up beside the driver, to whom I said 

 presently: ** I seem to know this horse you are 

 driving. I am sure I have seen him before. 

 Where did you get him ?*' ** From the postman 

 here," replied the driver, " and he bought him 

 from Tom Cannon.*' "Ah!" said I, "so this 

 is my old friend Fakir. Do you know you are 

 driving a horse whose father won the Derby, 

 and whose mother won the Oaks ?" " Never ! " 

 exclaimed the man. ** Yes," I replied, " it's a 

 fact. This horse of yours has in his veins the 

 most aristocratic equine blood in England." 

 Making further inquiries, I learned that Fakir 

 had always been perfectly well behaved in 

 harness, and he duly landed me safely at the 

 racecourse. 



One of the two-year-olds at Kingsclere in 

 1868 was Siderolite, a colt by Asteroid out of 

 Aphrodite. He was a much overgrown juvenile, 

 and I never expected him to win a race that 

 season. Nor did he, though we ran him five 

 times in the autumn. The following year, 

 however, he developed useful form, winning the 

 Gratwicke and Racing Stakes at Goodwood, 

 and a Match at Newmarket against Baron 

 Rothschild's Midsummer. The Match arose 

 out of the race for the Gratwicke Stakes, in which 



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