BLIND HOOKEY 41 



and there are no spectators — we have a deeply-rooted 

 objection to being bolted with. Greatly to our surprise — 

 and we might add joy — however, after a preliminary 

 " prop " or two, Blind Hookey carried us round the dam 

 as quietly as a park hack, and such an excellent turn of 

 speed did he show that Mac agreed there and then to 

 train and run him on half shares with us. 



The secret of success was a plain snaffle and light hands. 



We learned subsequently that Blind Hookey had, 

 after nearly killing a Basuto stable lad, been sold out of a 

 small racing stud in Cape Colony as incorrigible and use- 

 less, and had been sent up to Johannesburg with a string 

 of ponies and horses of sorts. Then came a blank in his 

 history, but, judging by the condition in which we first 

 found the galloway, he must have been well cared for 

 during his sojourn in Johannesburg. 



But to bring a long story to a close, Blind Hookey, 

 under the careful training of old Mac, became a very useful 

 " plater "; and, although it was never our pleasure to 

 see him first past the winning post, reports came to 

 us in England of his many successes at Turffontein and 

 other pony and galloway meetings in the Transvaal, 

 Natal, and Cape Colony. 



