132 The Life of Fred Archer 
the best horse he had ever ridden, and the reply was : ' Wheel 
of Fortune,' and this after he had won the Derby on Ormonde. 
That Archer did say this we well beheve, as we have heard him 
say the same thing. In the list, however, that he sent us some 
time afterwards, on our asking him his opinion of the ten best 
horses of the century, he gave only four, viz., WTieel of Fortune, 
St, Simon, Barcaldine, and Bend Or, and in reply to the ques- 
tion, Which was absolutely the best horse he ever knew ? we see 
that his reply was : ' St. Simon.' 
" Mathew Dawson had achieved his first classic triumph in 
the Oaks with Catherine Hayes by Lanercost, Sir John Don 
Wauchope's charming filly, whom he always considered to be 
the best of her sex he ever trained, not even excepting that 
wonderful niultum in parvo, Wheel of Fortune, whom Archer 
looked upon as the best he ever rode until St. Simon came on 
the scene. Whatever Mr. Dawson may at one time have 
thought about Julius, he afterwards expressed the opinion 
that not only was St. Simon the best horse he had ever trained, 
but the best he had ever seen, and Archer expressed the same 
opinion, highly as he had up till then thought of Wheel of 
Fortune." 
The late Mr. Tattersall was once watching Mat Dawson's 
horses out at exercise. Archer was on St. Simon, and suddenly 
the horse bolted away with his rider and almost got out of 
control altogether, in which case it would have been a bad job. 
This was probably when he was a two-year-old, as Archer 
never rode the Duke of Portland's colt after that year.* St. 
Simon had won all his races, and now Archer had touched 
him with a spur for the first time. He could win easily 
without ever needing a spur, but now, Mr. Tattersall said, he 
never saw a horse run so fast in his life. 
When the splendid old Squire Fletcher of Shipton Oliffe, 
* Archer won for the Duke of Portland, on Langwell, Oct. of 
1884. 
