Ii6 The Life of Fred Archer 
A French writer told in the Figaro how, in 1877, Archer, who 
had pulled off the Derby with Lord Falmouth's Silvio, was 
in the stalls of a theatre with a friend. Lionel Brough, " the 
Christian of the London stage," who never lost a chance of a 
good gag, had to say : "I will fly to — such and such a place — 
as quick as thought," but recognising the favourite jockey 
among the audience, Brough exclaimed : " I'll go faster than 
Freddy Archer ! " Immediately all eyes were fixed on the 
celebrated Freddy, and cheers burst out from all parts of the 
house. Freddy could not stand this fire of glances, and 
coloured up until his face was redder than the cap he had worn 
the day before when steering Silvio to victory on Epsom Downs. 
On one occasion the Hon. John Boscawen was with Archer, 
and said that " No king could have had a greater reception." 
Although Mathew Dawson had already captured more 
than one Derby and others of the classic races, it was not until 
1877 that he was able to add the great Northern race as a 
laurel to his crown. Silvio had been third in the Two Thousand 
Guineas and had won the Derby, and with eleven opponents 
in the St. Leger he became a very hot order, 13 to 8 being the 
best offer. 
Lord Falmouth's second string, Lady Golightly, was, 
however, well backed at 4 to i, and for nothing else was there 
any very large demand. As, indeed, might have been ex- 
pected for they were, taken altogether, but a sorry lot. It 
is true Manoeuvre was beaten by the mare by a head only for 
second place, but that by no means represents the difference 
between them ; for, barring accidents, she would have left 
Lord Bradford's filly far enough behind, if she had not 
actually beaten Silvio. But Archer, who rode the horse, no 
doubt had a long pull in jockeyship over old Jack Morris, who 
steered the mare, and while Fred, with consummate ability, 
kept clear of all scrimmages, Morris got sadly interfered with at 
one part of the race, being nearly knocked do\\Ti by either 
Sheldrake or Zucchero or both of them ; and towards the finish 
