xli 



MAT DAWSON. 

 Chapter XXIII. 



Much of what I have said with regard to Mr. Mathew Dawson's late 

 years has been discounted during the process of delay in the publica- 

 tion of my book, so I must devote some pages to bringing the history 

 of this Prime Minister of trainers up to date, but in doing so I am 

 enabled by information which he gave me lately to add much interest- 

 ing matter to that which already appears in the above chapter, and at 

 the same time I can correct a few slight inaccuracies which occur. 



CoEEECTioxs, p. 394.— I find that it was at Bogside, for Lord Mont- 

 gomery, that Mat's father trained horses over a century ago, and in 

 1815 he moved to training quarters at Gullane, and I am glad to know 

 that only six out of the seventeen sons and daughters died young. 



More Great Horses and Jockeys. — To the list of good horses 

 which were trained by Mat, and given at p. 395, may be added Crow- 

 berry, Galore, Mowerina, Cannobie, Pericles, Silenus, Wild Oats, 

 and Leonie ; and the jockeys he employed most were Marlow, White- 

 house, Custance, Tom French, Fordham, Archer, and, of late years, 

 perhaps Jack Watts and Tommy Loates. Mat also tells me that Lord 

 Falmouth did not win any handicaps, because he would not allow his 

 horses to run in that class of race, and he showed me a year ago how 

 he had got the names of the horses put under their several portraits, 

 as was so often suggested by me and others (p. 397). 



His Marriage— Death of Mrs. Dawson.— When training for Lord 

 Eglinton, at his seat in the North, Mat got married, on the 7th July, 

 1844, to Miss Mary Rose, the daughter of Mr. Alexander Rose, who 

 had charge of the gardens and forests at Eglinton Castle ; and that 

 good woman, after being to her husband the best of wives for over 

 fifty years, died on the 19th October, 1894, after a few days' illness. 



A Marvellous Record.— Although in the first year of his training 

 he prepared for the Derby Lord Kelburn's (afterwards Lord Glasgow) 

 Pathfinder, and had won the Oaks with Catherine Hayes in 1853, 

 it was not until 1856 that Mat went in regularly for the classic events, 

 having previously confined his operations to the North ; but since then 

 a year has not passed without his having horses under preparation for 

 them, and for some five-and-twenty years have his representatives 

 started, giving him the following marvellous record : — He has had six 

 Derby wins, with Thormanby 1860, Kingcraft '70, Silvio '77, Melton 

 '85, Ladas '94, and Sir Visto '95 ; three seconds, with Dundee '61, 

 The Baron '87, and Crowberry '88 ; nine thirds, with Cannobie '56, 

 Buckstone '62, Scottish Chief '64, Speculum '68, Queen's Messenger 

 '72, Atlantic '74, colt by Macaroni out of Repentance '75, Childeric '78, 

 and Galliard '83. The Two Thousand he won with Atlantic, in 1874, 

 and Camballo the year after, Charibert in '79, Galliard in '83, and 

 Ladas in '94. The One Thousand was his share in 1873 with Cecilia, 

 Spinaway in '75, Wheel of Fortune '70, Busybody '84, Minthe '89, and 



