The Life of Fred Archer 83 
younger jockey, as so many of his races showed, having formed 
his style on that of his predecessor. 
In September of this year Archer won the A}^ Gold Cup 
on Alaric for Mr. Houldsworth, who had claimed the horse in a 
selling race from Count Lagrange. This was a runaway win 
by ten lengths, and created some surprise, as the horse had 
been nearly last for the Ayrshire Handicap the day before, and 
the victory was no doubt due to the young jockey's trick of 
getting off well and making the most of his advantage. 
Mr. Dawson always considered that Queen's Messenger was 
very unlucky in not winning the Derby of 1872, in which he 
could only finish third to Cremorne and Pell Mell, though he 
beat Joseph Dawson's favourite. Prince Charlie, who had 
finished four lengths in front of Queen's Messenger for the 
Guineas. 
Maidment, the rider of that year's Derby winner, still 
lives in Newmarket , and his proudest boast seems to me, not 
that he twice carried off the Blue Riband of the Turf, but that 
he first tried Emblem and Emblematic over hurdles, and his 
hints enabled George Stevens to win the Grand National 
with these two mares in successive years. It is worth going 
a long way to hear Maidment 's dramatic account of Stevens 
getting ready to ride the second year, and asking in a hoarse 
and agonised whisper : " Can I win on sisters ? " to which 
his guardian angel (Maidment) replied : "Of course you can. 
I could myself, and I'm not a steeplechase jockey." 
The Lincoln Meeting of 1873 found Fred riding as a free 
lance and carrying Mr. Rufford's colours on Seringa. He did 
not win, and in riding Cobham for his own stable in the Handi- 
cap Archer had no better fortune. He went on to Liverpool 
and scored twice on Mr, Houldsworth's Woodcut, and next took 
the Nottingham Handicap with Sybarite and the Delapre 
Free Handicap at Northampton with the Vevette colt by 
Wamba. No sooner was the lad out of his articles than re- 
tainers came in right and left. Some of his supporters were 
