The Life of Fred Archer 163 
" Probably it was the knowledge of what Archer could do 
that frightened him, and small wonder at it. His finishing 
powers frightened better men than Rossiter. Bend Or drew 
level ; they were together for a moment, then, like a flash, they 
were past the post, and the Duke of Westminster's famous 
horse had won. Bend Or was always at his best over Epsom 
course. Robert the Devil had his revenge in the St. Leger, 
when that grand horseman, Tom Cannon, had the mount. Bend 
Or was favourite at odds of 11 to 8 on, but he must have been 
fifteen to twenty lengths behind Robert, and finished nearer 
last than first. It was an awful day. Rain came down 
in torrents, the course was a sea of mud, the riders were soaked 
and so was the crowd, and the jockeys were allowed to draw 
about a couple of pounds overweight on account of the dirt on 
their jackets. 
" Tom Cannon's colours were sky blue and white, so it 
may easily be imagined how they looked. 
" Next year Bend Or won the City and Suburban, carrying 
9 stone, giving Foxhall 2 stone 6 lb. What sort of a performance 
was this, when we consider what Foxhall did afterwards, 
landing the Cesarewitch and the Cambridgeshire double ? 
Fred Archer always regarded Bend Or as one of the best he 
ever rode, probably he was the best. I had a double event bet 
over the Derby and St. Leger when Iroquois won, but it did 
not amount to much. 
" I also took 2 to I against the field for the St. Leger, 
Iroquois and Peregrine, the latter being soon after scratched ; 
so I only had the American going for me. During the St. 
Leger week Iroquois went up and down in the betting like a 
cork, and some people in Newark were lucky enough to get 6 
to I about the 2 to i chance. 
" Iroquois was a good horse, but not in the same street as 
Bend Or. There was a fog covering the course during the 
race, and going over the brow of the hill the favourite was last, 
but he got into his field near the rifle-butts. Lucy Glitters, 
