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1 J . ; 1 DONOGHUES STRANGE WIN " English Rider Scored in French Bace When Opponents Fought. Horse Sent Into Race to Make Pace for Stablemate Wins Without Competition When Opposing Riders Battle. The reminiscences of the English jockey, Stephen Donoghue, are replete with interesting and amusing incidents, but perhaps the strangest tale he has spun is contained in the following selection from his memoirs : I always felt exiled the whole time I was abroad, and although after that first winner in France I rode many more, in fact I never looked back from then onward, it was at home in England that I yearned to be riding and making my name. At that date, however, I still had a great deal to learn and valuable experience to gain, and I stayed in France for more than two seasons longer. My style of riding, with the forward seat, and sitting quietly on a horse as I always did, scarcely ever using the whip, seemed to please owners and trainers; it was certainly a new style to them and soon I obtained all the riding in public I could wish for. TINT GIMCRACK TRACKS. Kindly critics here have often specially praised me for my riding at Epsom. No one would be surprised at any skill I may have shown in negotiating bends and turns on any race track who could see the sort of "courses" I gained my experience on in France. Tiny little gimcrack tracks, often not three-quarters of a mile around, all sharp elbows and bends, with no railing round at all in most instances ; perhaps just a few posts would be dotted along at intervals, with or without a connecting rope. Hyeres, Toulon, Aix-en-Provence, and even Avignon were all like this. Unless a jockey was entirely without fear he was useless on these courses ; it needed all the dash and nerve imaginable to ride races under the conditions. I remember an amusing instance that happened once when I was riding on one of these tiny tracks. The stable had a much-fancied horse running in a race at a place called Draguignan. It had not been assigned my weight so it was arranged that W. Hirons nicknamed "Darkie" should ride the animal, and that I should ride a stable companion that was also entered for the race and make the running for our other candidate. "When the numbers went up it was seen there was only one other starter besides our two. Hirons was at that time a useful jockey, who could go to scale at a light weight indeed ; he was a good little fellow, too, but rather quick tempered, and there happened to be, for some reason unknown to me, bad feeling between him and the jockey riding the third horse ; they hardly ever met without indulging in a heated argument over something or other. We went quietly enough down to the starting post the flag fell, and we jumped oft together. I set oft on my mission of making the running, but soon afterwards I heard wild shouts and fierce threats being exchanged behind me in well, distinctly unparliamen- tary language ! I did not pay much attention, but suddenly I saw one of the horses was loose ; in fact it came galloping along- : side me on the other side of the rope railing. I naturally then looked round to see, to my surprise, the bold "Darkie" and the other jockey lying on the ground inside the rope, pommelling each other with might and main, going af it hammer and tongs, utterly regardless of their mounts or the race. So I, on the pacemaker, was left to proceed in solitary state, and on each of the remaining times around that I had to pass s the two "scrappers" in completing the distance of the race, there they were, still on i the ground and still hard at it Finally I - passed the post the winner, so helpless with i laughter that I almost had to be helped off - my horse when I rode him to the inclosure.
