Hussar on Jehu

Charles II, King of England, rode horses in the races at Newmarket: in sporting bars, there are prints that show him leaning back on a lanky thoroughbred, leading the field across a wide and rumpled turf. George IV, when he was Prince of Wales and later during his regency until he began to put on too much weight, rode his thoroughbreds against gentlemen who knew him too well not to pull their mounts when they galloped into the stretch. Last week, for the first time in a century, a prince of England rode to the barrier for a regular race,* the Wallop Selling Plate, one mile, for amateur jockeys, $1,000.

The Duke of Gloucester, Captain of the loth Hussars, who is the king's third son, Prince Henry, paraded to the barrier on Jehu,/- a tall gelding which belonged to his friend, Capt. E. A. Elgee. A fairly large gallery cheered when the Hussar Duke got off to a clever start. Coming into the stretch, he was a length and a half behind Aquilon, last year's winner. The Hussar Duke urged his horse, stooping in his stirrups, but Jehu was tired. Aquilon finished first, Mr. Polly second, Jehu third. Bookmakers made money, but several of the Duke's friends, officers of the loth Hussars, lost more than they could afford.

It is not recorded that the Hussar Duke, before riding his race, asked the blessing of the Rev. J. H. Davies, Vicar of Westley Waterless, near Newmarket, who last fortnight said: "I am the chaplain to the King's Horses and the King's Stablemen . . . before the 'Guineas' I asked God's blessing on the stables. ... In answer to my supplication or by Chance, the horse won. . . ."

* The Prince of Wales, a poorer horseman than his brother, has, as everyone knows, ridden point-to-point races, not recognized under Jockey Club rules.

/-". . . The driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously."--2 Kings IX. 20.