THE TRAGEDY OF SIBOLA 



yards from home he then went away from me as easily 

 as possible. 



There was just a possibility that if Martin had done 

 as we had arranged I might have stolen the race, for 

 with one sharp run from the turn through a clear space 

 I might have got a lead of Morny which he couldn't 

 have made up in the time. Still, as I have said, far 

 and away the best horse won the race and neither 

 Lord William nor Huggins disapproved of my tactics. 

 They didn't come off, that's all, but Morny I fancy 

 will never forget the way the winner fought him every 

 time Skeets " clucked." I laughed then and I can 

 laugh now at the way he pitched into Martin. In that 

 last burst of speed of Flying Fox's it wasn't so much 

 that Morny called to him, but that directly he saw 

 Caiman the horse knew all about it and raced away from 

 him altogether on his own. I believe that if we hadn't 

 run two strings in that race Caiman wouldn't have been 

 in the first three even, and that is emphatic enough. 

 I rousted Skeets but he answered, " You called ' Go on ! ' 

 and I went on " — and what was the good of arguing ! 



In the Spring I had ridden Sibola home a winner in 

 the One Thousand ; she was not a high-class mare but 

 a nicish sort. I was riding with such confidence that I 

 believe that there must have been a certain amount of 

 it transferred to the mounts I had. Tlie successes I 

 had were certainly remarkable. Musa ran third in the 

 One Tliousand and was destined to just beat me in 

 the Oaks, but I shall always put it down to my own 

 fault and temper that I lost that race at Epsom. I 

 ought to have won it with a good margin in hand. As 

 it was, many think that Sibola did win — but the judge 

 didn't. She was a 7 to 4 on favourite and when I 

 went down to the paddock before the race Lord 

 Charles Beresford was standing with Lord William. 



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