402 



reposed in him, that he became one of the most popular jockeys of a! 

 time, and for many years Fordham was backed, no matter what horse 

 he rode, and thus was instituted the habit, which still exists, of backing 

 jockeys' mounts. 



During the first part of his career he was called '"The Kid." He 

 gained the name from his habit of gammoning jockeys in a race by 

 pretending his horse was beaten, and as soon as they eased theirs he 

 would come with a rush and do them on the ix)st. Afterwards he was 

 known as "The Demon." Truly a devil he was to beat, and deuced 

 few could do so ! 



He was fond of Sport in every shape, was a capital man to hounds^ 

 a good shot, and, though not in the category, a first-rate whist player. 



In the end he suflfered from a complication of diseases, and died at 

 Slough on October 12, 1887, aged 50 years, regretted by all who admired 

 a brilliant horseman and an honest jockey. 



Frederick James Archer 



was born at St. George's Cottage, Cheltenham, on January 11, 1857, 

 He was son of William Archer, the well-known steeplechase jockey, 

 who was a contemporary of Tom Olliver and Jem Mason, and won the 

 Grand Xational on Little Charley just fourteen months after the birth 

 of the boy, who, in after years, made the world ring with his own deeds 

 in the saddle. 



Fred Archer was a born horseman, for when eight years old he could 

 go like a bird across country on his pony Moss Rose and rode her in 

 two races at Great Malvern. In neither was he successful, but he scored 

 on the next occasion, and with a pony called Maid of Trent he won 

 his first race when quite a child. 



Continuing to show unmistakable ability, lie was bound apprentice in 

 18C9 to Mat Dawson, with a view to trying his hand at the " legitimate " 

 business. =■' Young Freddy, then only twelve years old, was not long in dis- 

 playing the grit he was made of, for, with more pluck than any of the 

 other boys, he would mount any kind of awkward horse, and when in 

 the saddle would stick there. 



His master soon saw in the lad the makings of a great horseman, and 

 before long entrusted to him the riding of important trials besides 

 allowing him to sport silk. Bar the pony race, his first win was on 

 Athol Daisy in the Nursery Handicap at Chesterfield, on September 28, 

 1870. His firot important win was the Cesarewitch of 1872, when, on 

 Mr. Radcliffe's three-year-old Salvano?, carrying 5st. 7lb., he beat 

 twenty-three others. This was a most meritorious performance, even 

 for an experienced jockey, not to speak of a lad of fifteen. 



* Will some of my readers tell me why flat racing is called "legitimate" 

 while steeplechasing is not ? — The Author. 



