JOCKEYS. 317 



Archer seems, as a rule, quite severe enough 

 with his horses, but that he can be gentle when 

 occasion demands is proved by his handling of 

 Peter, when he won the Eoyal Hunt Cup at 

 Ascot. When, in accordance with his most 

 awkward habit, Peter stopped to kick, a little 

 way from the start, a quiet and soothing " Go 

 on, old man ! " set this wonderfully speedy horse 

 going again. Another requisite of jockeyship is 

 courage, and this Archer possesses in abundance, 

 as his dashes on the rails round Tattenham 

 Corner and such like dangerous places amply 

 demonstrate. In Bend Or's Derby, for example, 

 it is said that his left boot actually shaved a 

 post, and when one thinks of the horrible effect 

 of smashing a leg against a massive piece of 

 wood when racing at this terrific pace, the 

 daring which runs the risk so fine becomes 

 apparent. "Getting the rails" is usually an 

 advantage, as being the shortest way round the 

 turning, but the jockey must know when to seek 

 this advantage, and to avoid being shut in, as 

 sometimes happens. Petronel would certainly 

 have won the Liverpool Autumn Cup in 1880 but 

 that his rider hugged the rails, and was afterwards 

 unable to get through, Prestonpans and Philam- 

 mon being in the way. The stout-hearted son 

 of Musket pricked his ears gamely, and would 



