98 The Course, the Camp, the Chase 



explanation of it. The horse was now going as willingly 

 as possible, and after taking him once round the course 

 and over the jump again that he had refused at first, I 

 pulled him up, and from that time to the end of his 

 training he never gave the slightest trouble. On the 

 first day of the races he ran third to " Chaddington," the 

 recent winner of the Erdington Plate at Birmingham, 

 " Aurifera," who a few days afterwards won the Grand 

 Stand Plate at Cork, beating us a head for second place, 

 and the next day he won the Light Division Steeplechase. 

 Being pulled out yet again for the Cup, he was sailing 

 in a gallant winner, when he fell heavily at the last fence 

 but two. From most of the horses having jumped at the 

 same spot it had become very weak at this place, and 

 not having then learned that a tired horse always " runs 

 through " a gap, I put him at it, thinking to save him 

 exertion by so doing. The next moment we were rolling 

 over and over as if we were never going to stop. There 

 was a ditch on the far side, and as " Leading Suit " did 

 not rise at the jump, he put both feet into the ditch and 

 over we went. 



Some years afterwards I was an A.D.C. in Dublin, 

 when a man, who was a small horse dealer, called at my 

 quarters in the Koyal Barracks. He introduced himself as 

 having been the means of obtaining " Leading Suit " for 

 Captain Milligan, and stated that it was he who was leading 

 the horse about on the occasion of my first ride upon him. 

 It flashed across my mind to ask him the explanation of 

 the remark I had heard made when the horse had given 

 up plunging, viz., " He'll do," and asked him to what it 

 referred ; he then told me the following story : — It 

 appeared that a rider of much repute had been engaged, a 



