A LUCKY JOCKEY.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XI, Issue 137, 1 June 1876, Page 4

A LUCKY JOCKEY.

(Glasgow News.)

I Only five years ago F. Archer was a iraere; stable iadi apprentice to Matthew Dawson; now he is a young gentleman of some repute in the world, and earning more than some of the bishops. During the short time he has beeti a recognised jockey he has twice beaded ithe poll, and on a third occasion was only two' behind, after having held such a good lead that it seemed to be any., odds /r on him. Matthew Dawson's attention, according to the Sporting Times, was at first called to him by a •plucky feat" '-be,"did with a horse- at exercise one morning, when be, without the slightest hesitation, jumped a threeyear old over a hedge and ditch and back again. 1 At that time he did not weigh much more, than four stone. It |is this resolution and] courage that baa jgot him on: as a: jockey, for he is not a brilliant horseman in .the highest acceptance of the term. Integrity and 'steadiness have ..had much to do with [bis rapid rise. He was brought up in !a stable where lads are as , carefully •looked after as they are in any Sunday School ; and I have seen Archer when

jhe was earning a thousand a year ; (he jwas not out of his apprenticeship at the time) amongst the lads in the evening school, presided oyer by the wife of ithe excellent trainer. We usually jassociate a light-weighted jockey with .everything that is impisb, and, as a ■rule, a lad has only to be aucceaaful for jhis employers to make a perfect, fool of Shim. Thanks to the discipline of jHeath House, the "kindness" of 'emjployera is a quicksand from which jArcber escaped. Archer has made J604 mounts this year, 172 of which jhave' been winning ones. For the '604 jmouuts he would receive three guineas, land [two guineas extra ®n each of tbe; ;172. The riding fees are, however, by jno means the s.ole earnings of a jockey. jFordham received a retaioer of £1000 iper annum from Captain' Machell, and isums in proportion were paid for the 'second and third claimß on his services. The riding fees are, of course, over and above tbe retainers, and tbere are also heavy travelling expenses to be considered. I do not know what was ithe tfmoupt of Archer's fee for. riding, j Activity' in tne Liverpool, but I dV know that, in addition to adything else that might have been paid to him, be received from one hand alone a present iof £500.